Madam Speaker, I remember very clearly that a couple of weeks into September, about a week before the election, we saw protests happening at the hospitals and health care centres across this country. As a brand new mom and a federal candidate, I remember thinking about how scary it would be if I were going into labour and trying to get to a hospital that was blockaded by protesters. I know many watched in horror as these protests happened all across the country.
In Alberta, we saw those protests happen at two of our major hospitals: the Royal Alexandra in Edmonton and the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary. I am very proud to say that luckily we did not have any of those protests in my riding of Fort McMurray—Cold Lake at our amazing health centres and hospitals. However, we very easily could have.
One thing I am really proud of is that the Conservatives' campaign plan actually had a protection proposal for Canada, the critical infrastructure protection act. It would have prevented any protesters from blocking infrastructure such as hospitals, roadways, rail lines and pipelines.
As some members in the House have already pointed out in this debate, these protests are evolving. A few months ago the protests were happening in hospitals, but this weekend we saw protests in the West Edmonton Mall. We do not really know what the next place for these protests will be, and while I believe that all members on this side of the House support the idea of peaceful protests and understand that it is a fundamental right here in Canada to peacefully protest, many of these protests, unfortunately, have been very violent. It is these violent protests that are the problem.
I remember watching as traffic was being directed around the Royal Alexandra and the Foothills hospital. I watched it on the news. Police officers were allowing ambulances to get through, and I cannot imagine what that would have meant for me had I had a family member who was trying to access one of those hospitals at that point in time and was delayed in getting there. I think there is overall agreement on this, but the bill is a bit too narrow because we are only protecting certain small locations.
One thing that is critically important to do is thank our health care workers. Our health care workers have stepped up. They have brought us through this pandemic by smiling through their masks, by protecting us and by serving us to the best of their ability, often working extra shifts to make sure that all patients had the very best of care.
I am someone who is generally quite healthy and I do not go to hospitals. However, having been pregnant this last year, I probably went to the hospital more often than I had gone in the 10 years prior. I was very grateful that each and every time I went to the hospital, I was greeted by friendly, amazing health care workers who really did step up. That is one of the big pieces.
In my hometown of Fort McMurray, we saw countless acts of kindness toward our health care centre, the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre. At the very beginning of the pandemic, flooding hit the community of Fort McMurray and hundreds of people stepped up, filled sandbags and protected the hospital from flood damage. We saw people putting the needs of the many well ahead, and it was spectacular to watch.
We also had some pretty unexpected health care heroes who stepped up and helped us in a way that really hit close to the heart of so many, me included. We had help come from far away. We had a team of seven spectacular health care workers: two doctors, four nurses and one nurse practitioner. They flew to Fort McMurray all the way from Newfoundland and Labrador to help us in our surge capacity.
We welcomed them with open arms. We did everything we possibly could as a community to make sure these health care professionals knew they were supported and welcomed in our community. I think there needs to be more done in general to show our thanks.
I remember chatting with Brian, a constituent of mine, during the campaign. He decided that he was going to show his support for our health care workers, so he and his company bought hundreds of donuts from Tim Hortons on the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation and brought them to our hospital to thank our nurses and doctors. He said it was a double win because the money went toward amazing charitable organizations to help further truth and reconciliation, and it was a tangible way of thanking our nurses and health care professionals. Little acts like the one by Brian need to be done more often. We need to show kindness, compassion and a level of respect.
I am blessed to have some amazing friends who are nurses working at our hospital. They are always there. I know many of them have given up their evenings and weekends and have taken on extra shifts. They do that gladly because they are there to serve.
I think of one particular friend, Katie, and all of the amazing work she has done in going from team to team to make sure that our health care centre, our hospital, has all of the nurses in the right places at the right time and with the right training. I think about the nursing students who joined our hospital before finishing all of their schooling so they could help in our time of need. It is these kinds of things that really are important. It is about compassion and kindness, and they need to be shown. Often when these protests were happening, they turned quite violent, and respect and kindness were not witnessed. It is therefore critically important to make sure we find a balance so that peaceful protests can happen.
However, I do not think a hospital or health care centre is necessarily the best place to have protests of any form, to be perfectly clear. Most people who go to hospitals are not going because they choose to go, unlike our health care workers. Most people are going because they are under some kind of duress or in distress. They would rather not be there, so seeing these protests probably does not make their lives any easier.
The bill, as some of my colleagues have mentioned, is a bit of an omnibus bill that clashes together many pieces, and I think we should bring it to committee to explore all of its different pieces and consider its intent. I have heard some great speakers on the other side explain some of the rationale behind the bill, but I really think it would benefit from further exploration at the committee stage to ensure that we are always putting forward the best possible legislation for all Canadians so we can serve Canada as a whole.