Mr. Speaker, I asked on October 23 the following question and did not receive an answer. I asked:
The APEC issue is about the constitutional rights of Canadians; the right to speak out against injustice, the right not to be arrested for only political purposes, and the right to fair process before a tribunal. These things have all been suspended by the government. Now the fix appears to be in and the commission has been adjourned to November 16. We do not know where this is going to go. We need a judicial inquiry to clean up this mess. What will the government do to restore the constitutional rights of Canadians that it has tossed aside?
Most Canadians are very familiar with the ongoing saga of the APEC inquiry. The inquiry has been a sham since the outset, and today we know that the inquiry is in complete disrepute.
Reform is asking for an independent judicial inquiry and Canadians agree. The only group that disagrees are the Liberals and perhaps they are too afraid of what might be uncovered at such an inquiry.
The students who protested at the Pacific Rim summit of APEC leaders had every right under the charter of rights to do so. This was the premise of my question to the Deputy Prime Minister. The constitutional right of Canadians was suspended so the Prime Minister would not be embarrassed.
No place in the charter of rights and freedoms does it state that the rights of the prime minister supersede the rights of ordinary citizens. In fact the charter is mainly there to restrain governments.
The Deputy Prime Minister in his response to me outlined that I should have praised the Prime Minister for his part in establishing the charter of rights and freedoms. If the Deputy Prime Minister is so proud of the charter, perhaps he might want to go the next step and actually honour it, live by it, not just when it is convenient.
Section 2(b) of the charter speaks of freedom of expression. It guarantees that everyone has the right to express thoughts orally or through writing or through pictures. If the government restricts these thoughts it is trenching upon the guarantee. Many students had their banners torn down because the content was not in support of Suharto.
Section 2(c) of the charter speaks of freedom of assembly. The rights of an accused cannot be restricted on a speculative concern of danger. With the fear of something going wrong the RCMP used clean-up tactics the day before the motorcade event. This type of practice is commonplace in some other APEC countries but should not happen in Canada according to the law but apparently not Liberal law.
Section 9 of the charter says everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned. Law student Craig Jones was tackled, arrested and imprisoned for holding up a sign that said “free speech, democracy and human rights”. It almost seems that every section of the charter was overridden to save the Prime Minister from embarrassment.
When the RCMP went in to deal with these protesters the charter of rights was tossed out the window. Whether or not the Prime Minister gave the directive is a question Canadians hope will be answered in an independent judicial inquiry. However, the Prime Minister has always supported the action taken by the RCMP and because of this support has told Canadians that he is above the law and the charter.
Let me remind the government member who will be answering on behalf of the government that Canadians are interested in the truth. They want to know that the charter of rights works for them, not against them. Canadians want to know that they are able to speak their mind on any political issue without suffering punishment. If the government is so proud of the charter then it should prove to the House that it works and prove that the students in Vancouver had the charter on their side.
The question remains: What will the government do to restore the constitutional rights of Canadians that it has tossed aside?