Madam Speaker, a lot of people are calling and telling me not to go to the Hill and asking if I am okay. I am a politician. Being abused is part of the job. This is what we do. I walk on Wellington Street, and it is fine. It is like a big, crazy parade. I do not have a problem with that.
However, I have been very concerned with what I have seen. Outside of Farm Boy, a group of guys were shouting at locals while they were trying to shop because they were wearing masks. I saw three big thuggish guys wearing Canadian flags as Batman capes going into small shops without masks and demanding service. What kind of people think their freedom is about intimidating others?
I thank the Ottawa police. They have been trying to be respectful, but I would encourage them to start dealing with that when it is off of Parliament Hill and in the residential neighbourhoods, where people are being harassed. People can stay on the Hill. That is fine, but not in the residential neighbourhoods where there are senior citizens, who I have spoken to, and young people.
A young woman told me she did not want to be out on the street at night in her own neighbourhood because she was afraid. We are better than that, and we have to protect people. This is a residential city as well as a place of political work.