SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Member of the panel of chairs for the legislative committees

Blaine Calkins

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of the panel of chairs for the legislative committees
  • Conservative
  • Red Deer—Lacombe
  • Alberta
  • Voting Attendance: 67%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $146,499.79

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 148 - Dec/14/22
Mr. Blaine Calkins (Red Deer—Lacombe, CPC)
  • Dec/14/22 4:42:44 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Speaker, from the outset, Conservatives wish to acknowledge and thank our security and policing professionals for their hard and important work keeping our Parliament safe, secure, open and accessible, as these are important hallmarks of any democratic Legislature. While I am on my feet, I would like to thank each and every one of those people, and wish them a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. During the study, the committee heard testimony about the implications the closure of Wellington Street has had on local businesses in downtown Ottawa, which are already suffering from the pandemic and the Liberal government keeping public servants working at home, as well as the disruption it brought to Ottawa and Gatineau's public transit operators. At the committee table, we also heard a lot about the importance of communication, coordination and collaboration among the assorted police and security services with responsibilities in the national capital region. The importance of taking time to get things right among stakeholders was stressed by witnesses, even by the Liberal public services minister who appeared. What we did not hear was a call for politicians to decide security arrangements and impose them on the professionals. That is why Conservatives are dissenting from this report. Put simply, we think the majority on the committee is going too far and too fast with its prescriptive recommendations. We would have preferred the professionals collaborate on developing a coherent plan which reflects a consensus of implicated stakeholders subject to parliamentary oversight.
251 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border