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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 136

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 28, 2022 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 136 - Nov/28/22
Mr. Maninder Sidhu (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lib.)
  • Nov/28/22 2:25:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are following the unfolding events in China very closely. We remain in close contact with our embassy and consulate. We believe in freedom of expression at home and abroad, including in China, and that protesters should be able to peacefully protest and share their views without fearing for their safety. We will continue to follow the events very closely.
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Context: House Hansard - 136 - Nov/28/22
Mr. Mike Kelloway (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Lib.)
  • Nov/28/22 6:34:54 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is good to have a chance to debate the hon. member opposite. We want to unpack a couple of things in the member's questions in relation to what we saw last winter. This past winter we saw a state of emergency declared in Ottawa with protesters blocking key infrastructure and harassing and intimidating citizens. We also saw interference with transportation and other critical infrastructure throughout the country, which was preventing the movement of people and essential goods. The illegal blockades we witnessed were well funded and constituted a serious threat to national security. We knew through our engagement with partners that law enforcement had certain tools available to address illegal protests and blockades. Existing powers included those under provincial and municipal statutes in place to address traffic and noise violations. However, as all Canadians saw, despite those existing tools, the situation was rapidly changing and changing in a bad way. We saw it reach a point in which local law enforcement, for example here in the nation's capital of Ottawa, required additional assistance to address the unique situation posed by the illegal blockades. We also saw that the economy as a whole was being affected by the situation, with the safety and security of Canadians in more than one province affected. We knew the decision to invoke the Emergencies Act was becoming clearer. Invoking the act was a measure, and the Prime Minister and others have spoken to this, of last resort, which is the situation we found ourselves in. The new measures the act provided were additional to the existing tools, and they were squarely aimed at public safety and protecting our country's interests. The new measures were temporary and in place to address a specific emergency. They helped to prohibit unlawful assembly that interrupted the movement of people and goods, affected trade or interfered with critical infrastructure. They also helped to deter the financing of the occupation and end material protests to the illegal demonstrations. They helped to secure our border crossings, bridges, airports and other public institutions. As well, thanks to the temporary measures available under the act, we saw vehicles towed, including, most vividly, here in Ottawa, where Wellington Street and the streets of the downtown core were finally given back to the public of Ottawa. We saw the act being used to bring about the peaceful conclusion of the illegal blockades at ports of entry, at the border, deterring unlawful actions and encouraging, in fact, peaceful protest. On February 14, we invoked the act, at the right time, for the right reasons, in the right way. We revoked it at the right time, for the right reasons, in the most responsible way. Now we find ourselves looking back, able to take a necessary look at what was done and what could be done, quite frankly, differently. Along with the significant limits and safeguards that provided, we knew that accountability mechanisms were also built into the very act. That includes the Special Joint Committee on the Declaration of Emergency scrutiny and the invocation of the act. It includes the work of the Public Order Emergency Commission, which is examining the aspects of the public order emergency and the Emergencies Act. This is the accountability Canadians demand. It is exactly what they will get thanks to our responsible, timely and effective use of the Emergencies Act, just as the act intended.
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