Yes, the Green Party leader.
People want to do another one, and another one, and another one after that, because there are no consequences. They think it is fun. Then they put it on a crowdfunding site in the U.S. and get paid to do it. We have seen that happen. This can be happening at this point in time.
What is the goal of these protesters? The Liberals have to look at that very seriously as a government, and ask if this is a real issue of reconciliation.
For some of them, for a small group, maybe it is. However, they are being abused by all of the other people who actually have no skin in the game. It is not their issue. They just want to stop development at all costs.
How do we deal with people like that? We enforce the rule of law. If we do not enforce the rule of law now, what prevents them from cranking it up later, and more and more going into the future?
I am very concerned that if we do not do things properly and fairly right now, if we do not deal with these issues in an appropriate fashion right now, it is going to lead to even more chaos as we get into the summer.
I will go back to the $300-billion worth of goods every year. If I am a company owner who is thinking about building a plant in Canada, and think that Canada is a pretty good place and Canadians are good people, but I see in an article that Canada has protests going on and it has shut down its rail lines, it tells me that if I build in Canada I may not be able to get propane for my plant.
That is what we are telling the world right now. As folks in Canada are trying to sell investment opportunities in Canada to corporations or other companies, business people are asking why they would do that, when there is no rule of law in Canada. It is gone. The Prime Minister is not enforcing the law, and he is very weak.
I was in a committee last night where we had a witness whose business has seven facilities across Canada building IPEX pipes for plumbing and electrical goods, to run the cable through it. At the end of the testimony, I asked him how things were going. He said that four out of the company's seven plants are now shutting down because they cannot get the raw goods to make the pipes. That is one facility.
I had wings with a friend last night. He was wearing his glasses and I asked him why he was wearing them. He said he could not get contact lenses. He could not find contacts in Ottawa, so he was wearing his glasses.
We are starting to see what is going to happen here unless the folks across the aisle start to deal with this in a serious manner. Our economy is shutting down and there is going to be a tremendous cost.
Even if we were to end the blockades today, it will take time to get things going. I hear about vandalism to rails out on the west coast. Before a train can cross a bridge, that bridge is now going to have to be fully inspected. The consequences of what these folks have done in just more than two weeks are pretty serious. They are going to last quite a while.
Another thing I want to highlight is that the grain sector has had its challenges in shipping its product around the global market. I can remember having debates with CN and CP about them not delivering on time. I remember times when there were 50-plus ships sitting in the port of Vancouver. We are at 40 now, and 10 in Prince Rupert. A purchaser of Canadian grain, from Japan let us say, who needs just-in-time delivery is going to get tired of us in Canada and is going to buy from the U.S.
That is what is happening here. That is the breakdown. There are implications for this country of more and more unemployment and families not being able to pay their bills. It is a domino effect. The dominoes have started to fall, and it is not a pretty ending. This could have been stopped. It could have been prevented.
When we go to communities and say we are going to do this and this for them, when we raise expectations this high and then do nothing or very little, what do we expect? That is what the government has done. The reality is now Canadians are going to pay for it, and that is very disappointing.
There is no reason Canadians should be paying for this. This should have been dealt with a long time ago. It should never have gotten to this point, and it is sad that it has.