Debates of Feb. 14th, 2022

Health

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know why it upsets them when we say we follow public health advice. I do not know why it is so irritating for them.

We will do what it takes to protect our truckers, our transportation industry workers and our economy. I know people are frustrated with public health measures, but we will do what is right. Canadians understand that this is for their own good, and this is for the good of the people—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Regina—Lewvan.

[Warren Steinley, Conservative, Regina—Lewvan, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I am so happy to hear that answer.

What public health officials are asking for an interprovincial trucking vaccine mandate for the truckers? What public health official is asking for more restrictions to be put in place? What public health official is asking for mask mandates and vaccine mandates across our country?

I want to hear from the member. I ask the member to show me the scientific proof that this country cannot move forward. I want to see the data they are looking where we cannot reopen our provinces and businesses and let people get back to living their normal, everyday life in Canada.

[Omar Alghabra, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I know my hon. colleague knows that vaccines save lives. I do not know if the hon. member can point out a single doctor who can say that the pandemic is over. I do not know if my hon. colleague can point to a single scientist who says that the pandemic is over. We will do what it takes to protect the health and safety of Canadians. We will respond to the advice. When the advice is to ease measures, we will ease measures.

One thing I can say is that honest leadership tells Canadians that we do not know what the future hold, but we must remain prudent.

COVID-19 Protests

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Public Safety correctly stated, it is the Windsor Police Service and law enforcement in Alberta that are diffusing the illegal public infrastructure blockades that have traumatized Canadians. It has not been the federal government. In fact, the Prime Minister has been inflammatory, at best, and unresponsive, at worst, as this crisis has mushroomed and traumatized Canadians.

How can the Prime Minister justify asking for an unprecedented power through the Emergencies Act when he has failed to exercise leadership with the authority he already has?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I want to thank the members of the RCMP who aided the situation in Windsor. As a result, now we have an Ambassador Bridge that has reopened, which means Canadians are going to get back to work and our economy is going to continue to roll on.

I am quite surprised to hear my hon. colleague asking about the inflammation of the situation outside this chamber when it was the interim leader who said that they should not go home, and that they would make this a problem for the Prime Minister.

That is how they inflame the situation. That is why it is important that the Conservatives call on the illegal blockades to end, so Canadians can get their lives back.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that was embarrassing. Canadians are not looking for finger pointing. They are looking for leadership right now.

This is an unprecedented public crisis, but the federal government has done nothing. It has not responded to the provincial governments' requests for resources to end this crisis, and now the government is asking to invoke the Emergencies Act, which has never been invoked in Canada before, and several provinces have already said no.

It seems as though the Liberals want to invoke the act to get provincial governments to shoot it down as a way of abdicating the use of the existing powers that they have at their disposal. Why are the Liberals doing this instead of taking leadership?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, let us talk about leadership. When we see illegal actions occurring outside of this place, and border crossings and bridges being blocked, all these illegal actions, what would responsible leadership be?

I will tell the member what it absolutely is not. It is not saying that they are proud and stand with the illegal actions they are seeing. It is absolutely not equivocating, as in some of their members saying to continue to stay, egging them on, and then saying, sometimes, in the House, that maybe they are against it, and then tweet that they are for it. That is not leadership.

Leadership is exactly what we are doing every day with patience, caution and prudence, making sure we safely—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, nature abhors a vacuum.

In the absence of federal government leadership, private citizens stepped up to block potentially dangerous occupiers because they feel their government has abandoned them. Ordinary people, brave as they may be, put themselves in harm's way because of this government. After three weekends of chaos, ordinary people felt they could count on nobody but themselves.

Protecting the people is the cornerstone of the contract between citizens and the government.

Does the government understand the consequences of its lack of leadership?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question, and I agree with her. Ensuring respect for the law is a priority for this government.

People have to respect people's rights, even those of the people of Ottawa. That is why we have supported police services with more resources, more people and more officers right from the start. We will keep working with all levels of government to protect Canadians.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is a vacuum.

We are where we are because the federal government has been three steps behind since the beginning of the crisis. It took the federal government 10 days to convene a trilateral table with all levels of government, and it forgot to invite police departments. It was only on Saturday, 16 days in, that they ended up creating their own integrated command centre.

Today, day 18, the government is talking about invoking the Emergencies Act but has no concrete plan to share. When will the government take over crisis management for real?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, we have taken a lot of concrete measures since the beginning of this convoy. Officers have been deployed on three occasions, in addition to the police departments in Windsor and Alberta. The Ambassador Bridge has been reopened in Windsor. That is good news and shows that this government is making progress in co-operation with police forces. We will protect all Canadians.

[Kristina Michaud, Bloc, Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for 18 days, the Prime Minister allowed the crisis to escalate. Today, he is announcing that he plans to invoke the Emergencies Act.

After 18 days, we have waited long enough on the federal government. The government must tell us today how it plans to use these emergency measures. It must set out a plan and tell us exactly when it will be implemented.

People are at the end of their rope. Law enforcement is at the end of their rope. What is the plan?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I share my colleague's concerns, and that is why we will continue to support police services on the ground with more resources and all the services that police and authorities need.

We must work closely with the City of Ottawa and the City of Windsor and with all the provinces to address this crisis. We must protect all Canadians. That is our government's priority.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Blue Water Bridge border crossing and the 402 highway in my riding are still being impacted by the lack of action from the Prime Minister on these trucking mandates. Provinces are listening to their medical experts and they are getting rid of the mandates.

When is the Prime Minister going to follow the science, listen to the World Health Organization, work with President Biden and end these mandates?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for the question. I know we have been working very closely with her community in Sarnia to ensure that the Blue Water Bridge and the port of entry continue to remain open with the support of local law enforcement and with the support of CBSA.

This is a very critical moment, and that is why the government will continue to provide the people, the resources and all of the tools that law enforcement require to ensure that our ports remain open and that our critical infrastructure remains protected. We have to continue to do that to uphold the law.

Health

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, provincial governments in Alberta and Saskatchewan have dropped the COVID-19 mandates. Both Manitoba and Ontario announced they would lift the vaccine passports on March 1. They too are following science.

Will the government stop speculating and reassure truckers that they will not face new federal mandates when they cross provincial boundaries?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition would like someone, perhaps the health minister, to declare that COVID-19 will end on a particular date. Unfortunately, that is not how the virus operates and that is not what science tells us. What science has told us is that we need to be prudent and responsible in assuming federal leadership. The federal government does not dictate everything. A lot of the restrictions to which the opposition is alluding are restrictions imposed by provinces and territories, and we are going to support them in whatever manner we need to.

COVID-19 Protests

[Richard Bragdon, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

Mr. Speaker, one of the foundational principles of leadership is that a leader should be slow to speak and quick to listen. We hear a lot of talk from the Prime Minister, but not a lot of listening. Canadians are speaking clearly and they want their lives back.

When will the Prime Minister stop the division, stop the traumatizing, stop the name-calling and scapegoating, and instead start to listen to what Canadians are saying from coast to coast? Canadians are doing their part. When will the Prime Minister do his, and end these divisive mandates?

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives opposite have been doing a lot of talking. I would pose back to them this very clear question. When the member for Yorkton—Melville said that ripping down barricades in front of the war memorial was an act of patriotic passion this weekend, and when their aspirant leader was saying that he is proud of the illegal actions outside and stands with them, is that the position of this caucus across from us?

I would ask if they would stand up and condemn these incendiary tactics that are escalating this situation and join with us to say it is time for the folks outside to go home.

Indigenous Affairs

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, February 14th is the date of the Women's Memorial March in honour of murdered and missing indigenous women, girls and two-spirited people. Despite the national inquiry, its final report and the Liberals' weak national action plan, the violence continues. Last week, I attended the beginning of the inquest for 16-year-old Eishia Hudson killed by the Winnipeg city police service. Her family and thousands of others deserve justice. The government needs to immediately stop political sound bites and instead offer a meaningful solution.

When will the government implement the calls for justice and stop the genocide?

[Marc Miller, Liberal, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations]

Mr. Speaker, frankly, the member opposite is absolutely right. We have invested $2 billion in the federal pathway, and as we approach the first anniversary in June, survivors and 2SLGBTQQI+ persons are looking for results and outcomes.

This is something that we say is a whole-of-government approach, but it is up to every minister in our cabinet and, frankly, everyone in this House to make sure that we are living up to our goals and the calls for justice, which are vast in nature. First and foremost, they have to be trauma-informed and focus on those who are still suffering in silence and those who are courageously speaking out.

We will be there for them. This is a whole-of-government approach. It is a whole-of-Canada approach. The member opposite is absolutely right.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Uqaqtittiji, for too long the families of first nations, Métis and Inuit women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA members have suffered violence and injustice while consecutive Liberal and Conservative governments stood by. It is six years since the Liberals came to power, and things are only getting worse. In May, 2020, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada announced its concerns for delays in implementing the MMIWG calls for justice. They called for a commitment of federal funding of $20 million. They are still waiting.

We need to make sure the organizations that support indigenous girls and women can do—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

The hon. minister for indigenous and Crown relations.