SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Member of Parliament

Garnett Genuis

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of Parliament
  • Conservative
  • Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan
  • Alberta
  • Voting Attendance: 67%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $170,231.20

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 299 - Apr/15/24
Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)
  • Apr/15/24 7:16:38 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, it is somewhat ironic that it is a Liberal member who wants us to be remembering what happened during the pandemic. Frankly, I would expect Liberal members to want us to forget what they did during the pandemic. I would not have expected this, but the Liberals should be offering a grovelling apology to the Canadian people for their disastrous record over the course of the pandemic and should be hoping that people forget afterward. The reality of the government's approach to the pandemic was that it showed capricious disregard for the basic civil liberties of Canadians. It showed disregard for the law. It sought to demonize people who disagreed. It saw the pandemic as an opportunity to spend outrageous sums of money, and in many cases, it was on things completely unrelated to the pandemic. It aggressively demonized people who would disagreed with it. That is the government's pandemic record. It shows a lack of respect for taxpayers' dollars and a lack of respect for constitutionally protected fundamental human rights. Let us go back to the very beginning. Then finance minister Bill Morneau, of course with the full encouragement and co-operation of the Prime Minister, tried to use the pandemic as an excuse to bring in legislation that would have given the government the power to raise taxes without the permission of Parliament. That group of Canadians, when the pandemic hit, was immediately thinking how they could use it as an opportunity to raise taxes. The Liberals have a one-track mind over there. There was a global health crisis, and they saw it as their opportunity to raise taxes, to take over more control from Canadians and to undermine fundamental rights. They did that during the pandemic. They wanted to be able to assume, within the executive, all the powers of Parliament. That was the government's attitude to the pandemic. It is unbelievable. I do not support this legislation. I wish Liberal members of Parliament would have more ambition with their private member's bills than to just have more days for this and days for that. Actually, I do not. I am glad they do not have more ambition because I can only imagine what kind of terrible ideas they would come up with. While we are talking about remembering what happened during the pandemic, I hope government members will take an opportunity to apologize for how they tried to abuse the circumstances of the pandemic to undermine the rights of Canadians, to attack taxpayers and to demonize people who disagreed with them. The pandemic is behind us, but we should never forget what it revealed about the kind of Prime Minister and the kind of government we have.
460 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border