Debates of Feb. 16th, 2022

Public Safety

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, even as the members of the Conservative Party were calling on us to take more action on this over the past two weeks, they continued to stand with and encourage these illegal blockades.

Canadians are watching carefully, and they see exactly where the Conservative politicians who stood with the blockades are standing. We will stand on the side of Canadians who deserve their lives back and who deserve their livelihoods back.

[Dane Lloyd, Conservative, Sturgeon River—Parkland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know how any member of the government caucus could stand by the Prime Minister when he accuses hon. members of this House of standing with a swastika. I am calling on all members of the Liberal caucus to denounce the Prime Minister. I have given him two chances to apologize. He has refused to apologize.

Mr. Prime Minister, apologize.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Once again, I want to remind the hon. members, and I know this is getting emotional, to place your questions through the Speaker, not directly to each other.

The Right Hon. Prime Minister.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, these illegal blockades have been going on in Ottawa for 20 days now. People have been interrupted in their daily lives. They have been made to feel fearful. They have been made to miss shifts from their work across southern Ontario. These are things that cannot be stood for, which is why we are moving forward with a responsible set of measures to allow the local police of jurisdiction to do their jobs.

We continue to defend freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, as long as it is peaceful and legal.

Tourism Industry

[Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal, Lac-Saint-Louis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the tourism and travel sectors have been hard hit by the pandemic. Businesses and organizations in these sectors are excited and look forward to being able to welcome and move even more vaccinated people.

Can the Prime Minister tell us more about the easing of health measures at the airports?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for all the work he does for his riding, Lac-Saint-Louis.

Our measures for travellers change as the pandemic and public health recommendations change. That is why, starting on February 28, we will lift the ban on flights to all airports that usually receive international flights. This will help support local tourism and contribute to creating good jobs and growing our economy.

Public Safety

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has proven today that all he cares about is getting out of the crisis that he, himself, created.

His lack of leadership is the direct cause of this crisis. He mentioned the history books earlier. He will go down in history as the Prime Minister most lacking in leadership in the history of Canada.

He has barely answered any questions from the opposition on the real reason he invoked the Emergencies Act. The Prime Minister is struggling in the polls, in his party and in his own caucus.

Why is the Prime Minister putting his own interests ahead of the interests of the country?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have been there from the beginning to support the local police in their handling of these illegal blockades.

As things progressed, we saw that we needed to give them additional resources, and we took responsible, measured action to do just that on Monday evening.

We are here to help where needed. That is what Canadians expect. While the Conservatives continue to encourage these illegal blockades, we are working to help local police remove them.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, insulting Canadians, as the Prime Minister has done, is not what we would call leadership. Canada has never been as divided as it is today. That is what happens when a Prime Minister chooses to play at being a master politician rather than act like a head of state.

He is not seeing the discontent in our ridings or in his party and caucus. He is not seeing the discontent across the country. That is the reality.

Can someone tell us why the Prime Minister always takes too long to do the right thing but is quick to take action when his own reputation is on the line?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I completely understand, and we all agree that everyone is fed up with this pandemic and with the measures that need to be taken to protect each other.

We want this whole thing to be over, but I would remind the Conservative member that illegal protests are not the way to end this pandemic. We need to follow the science, gradually adjust public health measures in a responsible way and get vaccinated.

That is what Canadians have done. Canada's unified response to vaccination shows that we will always be there for one another.

[Luc Berthold, Conservative, Mégantic—L'Érable, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us look at what he did. When he had the opportunity as the head of government to take action to deal with COVID‑19, he chose to play politics. He called an election in the middle of a pandemic, which allowed him to divide Canadians and stigmatize those who do not think like him.

He imposed a vaccine on truckers without any scientific evidence. He demonized and ridiculed some of his citizens instead of listening to what they had to say. He stayed in hiding instead of facing this situation and then he accused others of not doing their job.

Enough is enough. When will the Prime Minister apologize to Canadians for politicizing this crisis?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, in the last election, which the Conservative Party did not win, Canadians were consulted on the issue of vaccine mandates and vaccination.

The majority of Canadians voted for candidates who supported mandatory vaccination for public servants and for air and rail travel. Canadians themselves chose this. What is more, with a vaccination rate of roughly 90%, we have seen that Canadians are united, that they are in agreement and that they will continue to be there for one another.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Jean Yip, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, immigrants from coast to coast to coast have significantly contributed to the prosperity of this country and my riding of Scarborough—Agincourt. Last year we exceeded our goal of welcoming over 401,000 immigrants who will make Canada their home. This was a historical record that will help shape Canada’s growth.

Can the Prime Minister update the House on our government’s plan to welcome more newcomers in the coming years?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, immigration is and has always been essential to Canada's success. This pandemic has highlighted the contributions of newcomers to the well-being of our communities and across all sectors of the economy.

That is why we have tabled our most ambitious immigration levels plan yet. This plan will welcome more newcomers in the coming year and will continue to help key sectors of our economy. It will help staff almost a million unfilled positions across all sectors. It will also help with filling in the five million Canadians set to retire by 2030.

Public Safety

[Jagmeet Singh, NDP, Burnaby South, BC]

Mr. Speaker, many Canadians are raising serious concerns that the Emergencies Act should not apply to legal protests. We know that there have been many counterprotesters standing up to the convoy, and we have seen some of those counterprotesters arrested by police, instead of the actual convoy, so Canadians have raised this question.

What assurances will the Prime Minister provide that legal protests will not be impacted by the invocation of the Emergencies Act?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that was an excellent question and one we are also very much preoccupied with, which is why, in the measure set forth, we have been very clearly indicating that illegal protests, illegal barricades and illegal blockages are the ones that we are giving extra tools for the police to respond to.

Of course, we will always stand up for Canadians' charter rights. We will always stand up for freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. That is extremely important, but we also know that it is the police of jurisdiction who need to do their jobs, and not Canadians taking things into their own hands to end these illegal protests. That is what we are ensuring with this measure.

Peace Tower Carillon

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I would like to remind hon. members that, when the Peace Tower was inaugurated in 1927 as a memorial to Canada's First World War sacrifice, Prime Minister Mackenzie King called the carillon “the voice of the nation”.

Since 2008, Dr. Andrea McCrady has been the soul behind that voice as Canada's Dominion Carillonneur.

Dr. McCrady has been able to give a voice to our country's emotions during our most joyful and most painful moments. She has channelled her artistic talents, compassion and enthusiasm into telling our stories and our histories.

The rehabilitation work on the parliamentary building has now reached the Peace Tower. On February 18, this Friday, the carillon will fall silent for several years. The Dominion Carillonneur will continue to work with young students of the instrument, but we will sadly have to do without her recitals for a while. I will miss Dr. McCrady's performance more than I can say, and I know that all members will join me in thanking her for her irreplaceable gift of making the bells of Parliament speak for the people of Canada.

Oral Questions

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I am a strong Jewish woman, a member of the House and a descendant of Holocaust survivors. This has never been singled out and I have never been made to feel less, except for today, when the Prime Minister accused me of standing with swastikas.

I think he owes me an apology. I would like an apology, and I think he owes an apology to all members of the House.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Order. I want to encourage all members to be as judicious as possible when using words in this chamber and to reflect on what they say in all cases.

The hon. member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia on a point of order.

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

Mr. Speaker, there have been consultations among the parties and I think you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That the House, in conjunction with a unanimous motion from the Quebec National Assembly, express concerns about the current disruptions in Ontario and around certain federal border crossings; that it affirm that no emergency situation currently justifies the use of special legislative measures in Quebec; that it ask the Canadian government not to enforce the Emergencies Act in Quebec; and that it reiterate the importance of working closely with the Government of Quebec, in particular to ensure peace of mind and safety for residents in the Outaouais region who are affected by the ongoing demonstrations in Ottawa and who could suffer from any further deterioration of the situation.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

All those opposed to the hon. member moving the motion will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

There is no unanimous consent.

The hon. member for Etobicoke Centre on a point of order.

Ukraine

[Yvan Baker, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and if you seek it, I think you fill find unanimous consent to adopt the following motion:

That the House:

a) stand firm in supporting sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity in the face of growing Russian aggression in and around Ukraine;

b) strongly condemns the Russian Duma's vote recognizing the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, which would be a clear violation of the Minsk agreements, and a threat to the security and stability of the region; and

c) call on the international community to stand together in opposition to any further Russian aggression and support Ukraine and its people in the face of these growing threats.