House of Commons Hansard #33 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was police.

Topics

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

6:55 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Madam Speaker, I made that point earlier today to the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle, who was trying to say that somehow it was hypocritical that the government did not crack down on Wet'suwet'en people, who he referred to as protesters. Those were Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs with legal rights derived from the Constitution of this country and Supreme Court of Canada decisions. I could not agree more with what she said, and I will add nothing to it except to thank her for making those points.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

6:55 p.m.

Liberal

Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for her speech, which is always eloquent. I think we all learned something from her today.

What should a responsible leader, a prime minister, wait for before declaring an emergency? What kind of egregious harm should befall a country and its citizens before we do something, or do we stop it where it is?

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

6:55 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Madam Speaker, I feel as though the city of Ottawa and many Canadians are in the situation of a battered wife, where the police ask if her husband has used a gun on her or hurt her yet. We are menaced by an occupation, and we do not want to wait any longer to have this problem solved. We found guns in Coutts. We know that this group has been infiltrated by the alt-right global network, which the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre referred to earlier.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

February 17th, 2022 / 6:55 p.m.

NDP

Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC

Madam Speaker, I will splitting my time with the hon. member for London—Fanshawe.

I will start by acknowledging that we have all been in the pandemic for two years, and frustrations are mounting. People certainly want to be to able to get on with their lives. To some extent, this has culminated in what we have seen over the last few weeks. However, make no mistake: We really do need, as parliamentarians and indeed as an entire country, to acknowledge the intense gravity of the situation we find ourselves in. This truly is a watershed moment in Canadian political history, because we are now, as a House, being asked by the government to confirm the declaration of a public order emergency that was proclaimed on February 14 of this week.

This is something that has never happened before. This is the first time that this act has been invoked in this way. I and, I suspect, many members of Parliament have been receiving concerns from constituents who are concerned over this drastic step. I owe it to the great constituents of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford to talk about this extraordinary time and why we have found ourselves here.

We need to have a serious conversation about why we find ourselves in a place where the enacting of the Emergencies Act is suddenly a necessary action, because it should never have come to this. The use of the Emergencies Act, even the consideration of its use, is an acknowledgement that we have had a failure of leadership from many different levels of government. The citizens of Ottawa rightly feel abandoned by their own police. The provincial government has not been there, but more importantly, the federal government has not been there. That is what I am here to focus my remarks on.

We are now two and a half weeks into an occupation. It might have started off with many people who joined this movement thinking it was a protest. Certainly people have that cherished right in our democracy. The right of citizens to peacefully assemble, protest, make their views known and push for change is very fundamental to a well-functioning democracy,

However, what we see in Ottawa and what we saw at many of Canada's border crossings were not protests. They were not peaceful assemblies. They were occupations and they were blockades. They started having a very negative impact on residents, on small business owners and on workers. That is where the line was crossed.

People in Ottawa did not feel safe in their own homes. We saw reports of attempted arson in some of the buildings. We know that people have been suffering verbal abuse on a daily basis. Sometimes it has been physical. They have had to deal with all sorts of noise complaints and ongoing pollution from idling trucks. The city of Ottawa, our national capital, has seen some of our most precious and honoured national monuments defiled and, in some cases, completely walked over. It has been completely unacceptable.

The border blockades have impacted far more people. We know that trade between Canada and the United States numbers in the millions of dollars every day. Factories in southern Ontario had to shut down, impacting families there. Many agricultural manufacturers, processors and producers out in the Prairies and across Canada were negatively impacted by the blockades. They was having an impact on those people.

It is those people we need to keep our remarks focused on to answer the question of why we are here today, suddenly debating the invocation of the Emergencies Act.

The Emergencies Act, of course, was first brought in as a piece of legislation all the way back in 1988. Pursuant to section 17(1) of that act, we have had a public order emergency declared by the Liberal government. There are a few things that come about as a consequence.

Now the government has the ability to designate specific areas and declare that any assemblies in those areas will henceforth be unlawful. This would include the downtown core of Ottawa so that the main thoroughfares can be cleared of all of those trucks and so that the residents can get their lives back. It will also include some of our critical infrastructure, notably our ports of entry with the United States, the Windsor Ambassador Bridge; Coutts, Alberta; and Emerson, Manitoba being the most recent examples. However, we also saw disturbances in Vancouver and in other ports of entry, such as Sarnia.

The act is going to allow the federal government to direct essential services, such as mobilizing tow trucks to help with clearing those streets. It is going to give FINTRAC the ability to cover crowdfunding. Also, the federal government is going to have the extraordinary power of freezing the commercial bank accounts and personal bank accounts of people who are funding these illegal occupations. It is a very real and extraordinary attempt to cut off the funding that is supporting the occupation of Ottawa and all of this misery. As well, it is going to give the RCMP the power to act as provincial police officers and municipal police officers and enforce their respective laws.

I certainly have personally wrestled with the invoking of the act, wondering if I am doing the right thing in supporting it, but what gives me some level of comfort, and I want to be very clear to the constituents of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, is that this is not a blank cheque. The powers we are granting to the government will be carefully reviewed on an ongoing basis. I will not hesitate to withdraw my support if I feel the government is overstepping its confines. By that I mean that the application of these powers has to be specific and it must be in relation to the disturbances that we are seeing from the blockades and the occupation. These powers must be used only in relation to that situation, and they must be quickly withdrawn once public order has been restored.

It has taken a long time to get to the point where we find ourselves now. I am very proud that my caucus colleagues in the NDP and I have been trying to push the government to take this crisis seriously, because the warning signs were there from the beginning. As the public safety critic, I was able to initiate a study at the Standing Committee on Public Safety into crowdfunding platforms and their possible involvement in funding movements like this. I was also able to move a successful motion to call upon the RCMP, the CBSA, the Ontario Provincial Police, Ottawa police and the minister for public safety to eventually come before our committee to explain how we got to this point. Why did we have such an intelligence failure and lack of coordination over the last two and a half weeks, bringing us to the point where we now have to use the sledgehammer of the Emergencies Act?

Of course, I have to recognize my colleague, the member for New Westminster—Burnaby, and his private member's bill to basically ban symbols of hate, which we unfortunately have seen evidence of in this occupation. Also, our leader was able to initiate an emergency debate in the House of Commons so that we could give parliamentarians their first opportunity to focus on this situation.

In conclusion, Parliament is where we make the laws of this country. It is the pinnacle of our democracy, and every single one of the 338 members who serve in the House of Commons was duly elected to this place to make laws and to hold the government to account on behalf of the citizens in their ridings. To try to subvert that is an affront to the people who participate in our democracy, and we must uphold that cherished right.

I will end by saying that it is with great reluctance that we are going to be giving our support to these emergency powers, but I can assure people that we will not take our eye off the ball and we will not hesitate to withdraw our support should any powers be used past their intended purpose.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:05 p.m.

Liberal

Kody Blois Liberal Kings—Hants, NS

Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague and I have the privilege of working together on the agriculture committee. I always find him to be balanced, reasonable and quite eloquent in his remarks. I did not catch all of his speech, but I did catch the tail end.

I have often heard members in this House, particularly Bloc Québécois members and Conservative members, say that they want to see more leadership from the Government of Canada. Of course, this member would know that policing is inherently in the municipal jurisdiction and the the provincial jurisdiction, and that really the role of the federal government would be to impose some of the measures we have seen today. Ultimately, the very last resort would be to call in the army.

Can the member at least opine on what he has heard from leadership? The Conservatives are calling for the government to acquiesce to what the protesters are calling for, while the Bloc members say that this should not apply in their jurisdiction. What does the member think, in terms of leadership from the federal government? Does he agree with this as a step to giving the tools to the provinces and municipalities to address the situation at hand?

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:05 p.m.

NDP

Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC

Madam Speaker, I enjoy serving at the agriculture committee with my colleague.

Specifically with respect to the last two and a half weeks, I would say that history will not be kind to municipalities, to the province and to the federal government. There was a failure at all levels, but the federal government had an important role to bring all of those separate pieces together. There was a failure in intelligence and there was a failure in coordination. It was as though we were just asleep at the switch in figuring out how bad this situation was eventually going to become.

Yes, I am glad that we are now taking this important step to reassert control and to give people their lives back, so that workers, small business owners and residents can actually enjoy their lives again.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:05 p.m.

Conservative

Anna Roberts Conservative King—Vaughan, ON

Madam Speaker, I have been waiting awhile to speak, and I want to speak on behalf of my constituents of King—Vaughan.

I have been flabbergasted today by the number of emails I have received from the constituents of King—Vaughan. I would like to share this one with the hon. member: “The freedom convoy is not asking that people do not wear masks if they choose to. They are not telling people not to get vaccinated if they choose to. They are not telling people not to stay home; if they don't feel safe, they should. They are simply saying that we should have the freedom of choice to do what we feel is best for us as individuals. That right, that freedom, is what our brave and heroic veterans fought for us in the wars. This is the right of our country to be free and strong.”

I would like the member's comments, please.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:10 p.m.

NDP

Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC

Madam Speaker, I very strongly agree with individual rights, but we also have responsibilities that come with those rights. The responsibility we have as individuals goes beyond our personal selves and out to the larger community as a whole.

We have just gone through two years of an incredibly deadly pandemic. I know we have had our failures, but we have had success in dealing with this disease in comparison with other jurisdictions that have had a more libertarian approach. This is about saving lives and about making sure that we get through this pandemic together. There have been tough choices that people have had to make, but with that individual freedom comes a greater responsibility to the community as a whole. That is how I would answer that question.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:10 p.m.

Bloc

Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for sharing that he is finding this difficult, that he is troubled about it and that it is not easy for him to approve this measure. I appreciate his honesty.

However, he also said that he was not giving the Liberals and the government a blank cheque by supporting this measure, which I do not understand. How is the NDP's support not a blank cheque? What kind of measures would it take for his party to see reason and reject the use of this act? What would it take to change his mind?

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:10 p.m.

NDP

Alistair MacGregor NDP Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC

Madam Speaker, it is not a blank cheque, because in reading the act, we can see that there is considerable room for Parliamentary oversight. Furthermore, all it takes is for 20 members of Parliament to indicate that they no longer wish to have this act in force. If they submit a letter, we can initiate debate, and debate will conclude with a vote on whether these powers should remain in force, so there is that strong parliamentary democracy oversight. As I said in my speech, if I feel the government is overstepping its bounds, I will not hesitate to withdraw my support for this current course of action.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:10 p.m.

NDP

Lindsay Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today. I feel that we are standing at a crossroads.

I have heard so much frustration and disappointment from people in London. They are frustrated by this pandemic that will soon mark its third anniversary. People are frustrated that they have sacrificed and struggled to help one another. They have done the work that we asked them to do to keep people safe. To them, I want to give my thanks. I want to tell folks in London that I understand their frustration. I am tired of this pandemic too. I share in the wish for this to be over, but I also see the bigger picture here.

People are not just frustrated because of the pandemic. This is much bigger than that. They are frustrated that, even though people are working harder than ever, sacrificing more and more, their government has offered less and less. There is a growing sense throughout Canada that our elected leaders are not listening and do not appreciate the struggles of Canadians. The protests that we have seen in our streets and our communities are a symptom of that frustration. It is understandable why someone would feel like that, because for years now successive Liberal and Conservative governments have asked Canadians to do more with less, to pull themselves up by their boot straps when they do not even have shoes. Today, many people feel that their government has let them down, especially when they needed support the most.

These last few years have been tough on my community, like so many, but within this last year we experienced the loss of the Afzaal family to an extremist act of hatred and violence. In spite of that, I saw my community come together in incredible acts of love and kindness. That is what I hold on to tonight.

I grew up in a very political household and watching my mother at community meetings and standing up for what she believed in, fighting for a better world, truly shaped how I saw my role in the world. I knew that I benefited significantly from the systems and programs that people and governments had created for me and that I had a responsibility to pay that forward. I came to this place because I wanted to make the necessary changes for people, to pay it forward.

As people continue to struggle, I fear that we will lose that sense of community and that people will turn away from each other more and more. The more people struggle, the less they have for themselves, the less they feel they can give to others. The more they have to fight for the little that they have and the less that they have to fight for, the greater the divide between the richest in this world and the rest of us, the worse this will get. People will turn on their governments and they will turn on each other, because they believe their governments have turned on them.

Canadians are looking for answers and they are looking for solutions. The system has been rigged and they want to do something about it. Solutions offered by right-wing politicians and extremists online must be called out as entirely, completely unacceptable.

I am often in awe that Conservatives seem to provide simple solutions to the complex problems that we face. This is not unique to Canada. We saw these simple solutions offered in the U.K. on the vote for Brexit. They said that life would get better, but it did not. We saw many simple solutions offered by Donald Trump, just south of us, ones based on racism, sexism and fear. They did nothing for working Americans. Their lives did not improve under his administration. We see these so-called solutions being offered in this House as well. Lift all public health measures and let neighbours and friends fend for themselves. Simple solutions are often the most dangerous.

I hope that this protest will end shortly but the reasons for it will not go away. Look at any crisis. It takes a long time to get to that critical point, and it takes even longer to fix it.

Let me be very clear. Nothing makes the racism, the hatred or the threats of violence that we have seen in Ottawa over these past days acceptable. However, to truly address the causes that have led to so many people feeling disenfranchised, to feeling like they are not being heard or that they are abandoned by the government, resulting in their resolve to occupy the streets in Ottawa or critical infrastructure across Canada, we have to address the systemic issues at the heart of the matter.

New Democrats are offering alternatives to move forward, rather than what is offered by the right wing that has allied with them. There are concrete measures the government can make to address rising inequality in our country. We can tackle rising drug costs with a national pharmacare plan. We can tackle the housing crisis that is impacting every community in Canada, and my home city of London, by getting the Canadian government back into the business of building housing. We can take on poverty and disparity in our streets by establishing a guaranteed basic livable income.

We can address the lack of education and access to it by making post-secondary education accessible, removing those financial barriers. We can take on the growth of low-paid insecure work by updating labour codes, creating a living wage and tipping the scale back in favour of Canadian workers. We can sign trade agreements that protect Canadian jobs, instead of making it easier to ship them overseas. We can strengthen and safeguard workers' pensions, ensuring pensioners can retire with dignity and security. We can ensure the rich pay their fair share and close tax loopholes.

Many people are rightly concerned about the impact of the Emergencies Act. It should have never come to this. The use of the Emergencies Act, and even the consideration of it, is an acknowledgement of failure of leadership from all levels of government, including the Prime Minister. They have allowed things to escalate unchecked since the beginning, and I share the concern of many Canadians and people from my constituency that the government may misuse the powers in that act, so I want to be very clear. We will be watching and we will withdraw our support if at any point we feel these powers are being misused.

People in communities across our country are feeling the impacts of the convoy. Health care workers, retail and grocery store workers, truck drivers themselves, small business owners and residents have been harassed, intimidated and even assaulted during these illegal occupations. Thousands of workers have been forced to stay home from their jobs, making it harder for them to feed their families and to pay their rent. Canadians have been missing the national leadership they need during this crisis. They are tired of jurisdictional excuses, and they just want this to stop. We owe it to them to use every tool available to stop these occupations that are harming Canadian workers and their families and to work on a plan to get this to end.

I want to reassure my constituents that the NDP is taking the use of the Emergencies Act very seriously. We will not give a blank cheque to the government. We also believe the federal government, and all governments, need to take responsibility before things are allowed to escalate further. We cannot abandon Canadians to deal with this on their own.

Over the coming days we need to see action from our police in ending this occupation and returning the streets back to our communities. Over the coming weeks New Democrats will remain vigilant in watching and protecting Canadians' rights and freedoms, and holding the government to account. In the next few months we will push for more supports to remain until the pandemic is over and to call for a science-based approach to see us out of this pandemic.

Better is possible, but it will take tough and courageous choices for us to get there. It is not too late to make a better world.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:20 p.m.

London North Centre Ontario

Liberal

Peter Fragiskatos LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue

Madam Speaker, I think the member did a very good job of outlining why these measures are justified.

I want to ask her a question about what will happen after in terms of combatting hate, and what members of this House, across party lines, can do to do just that. We have seen hate expressed by the alt-right in the United States in recent years, and evidently it has made its way northward, unfortunately.

What can we do, collectively as elected officials in the House, to work together to fight hate? We have seen its effect in London, clearly.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:20 p.m.

NDP

Lindsay Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Madam Speaker, this is something that we have been talking about in London for quite some time, especially after the murder of the Afzaal family. We must come together and ensure that there are legislative solutions. I know that we have been pushing for the government to introduce legislation on online hate. I believe that has now come forward again. We need to ensure that is passed. We need to hold those Internet companies and social media companies accountable as well to be a part of that solution.

I think overall larger solutions involve education. They involve ensuring that we, as I said in my speech, provide for each other and make sure that we are not closing in on ourselves because of that fight against poverty and that fight against desperation. We have to work harder on those social programs and those social solutions that provide for each other, so that we can share with each other and fight for each other and be together.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:20 p.m.

Conservative

Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB

Madam Speaker, the member talked about withdrawing support if New Democrats see abuse. As she knows, the Emergencies Act provisions are already in force. What we are essentially talking about here is a confirmation vote by the House of Commons on whether to keep these provisions in place. What we should be doing is preventing harm from happening in the first place. What my caucus and many Conservative members want to do is to prevent the harm we see going on with innocent people having their bank accounts frozen based on commentary that has been made by the Minister of Finance.

I want to draw the member's attention to what the NDP caucus did in 1970, 11 years before I was born. I was born in a country where there was martial law at the time. In 1970, Tommy Douglas took a courageous and principled stance, many people would say. I would have probably disagreed with his position, but it was definitely courageous to do. He stood against the War Measures Act at the time. Today, the NDP has decided to side with the government and allow the government extraordinary powers for 30 days. I wonder if the member would explain why.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:20 p.m.

NDP

Lindsay Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Madam Speaker, I have to recognize that those are two very different situations. The thoughtfulness that Tommy Douglas and his caucus put in at that time about the War Measures Act and the implementation of it is the same thoughtfulness that my caucus has taken on the implementation of the Emergencies Act. The leader of the NDP, the member for Burnaby South, talked about that today. He told the Prime Minister directly that New Democrats will not let him off the hook and we will be watching.

I stand here today, like I said, with a heavy heart because so many things are at play. I have spoken to people on the street who are worried and have been assaulted, and that cannot stand. The hatred cannot stand.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:20 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

The member for Longueuil—Saint-Hubert has time for a brief question.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:20 p.m.

Bloc

Denis Trudel Bloc Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC

Madam Speaker, something my colleague said did not sit right with me. At one point, she said people were tired of jurisdictional excuses. That seems strange to me because I get the sense that that is part of the reason why we are here tonight.

Vaccination rates in Canada and Quebec are among the highest in the world. People here have, more than most, followed public health measures. Despite that, we are one of the last countries to lift restrictions, and that is basically what the people outside are tired of. I understand them. I am tired of it too.

Maybe people are tired of talking about jurisdiction, but it matters to the provinces. Provincial premiers, including the Premier of Quebec, want the government to increase health transfers to strengthen our health care system. If the system had had adequate funding, the crisis might not have been quite so bad.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:25 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

That was not a brief question.

There is no time at all, actually, but I will allow the hon. member to give a very brief response.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:25 p.m.

NDP

Lindsay Mathyssen NDP London—Fanshawe, ON

Madam Speaker, the investments the hon. member is talking about are absolutely long-term solutions. What I was referring to were excuses that the federal government consistently makes to avoid its responsibility when it comes to what it has to do to ensure it is fulfilling its role to the provinces.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:25 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Madam Speaker, from the beginning, I would like to reflect on the comments the Prime Minister made earlier. He talked about families and the importance of their freedoms and their rights. He also talked about our small businesses, the economy and the impact of what we have been witnessing over the last few weeks, and how critically important it is, when we have this dialogue over the next number of days, that we do not lose focus of those particular points. The impact on Canadian society is, in fact, quite significant and severe.

Here we are, after a couple of years of going through the pandemic, approaching the third-year mark. What we should have been talking about, and what I would have liked to be talking about, are the heroes of the pandemic. I think of the community I represent, Winnipeg North, and the people who have responded so well and encouraged others. We stepped up together. When we were hit with the pandemic, we saw people of all political stripes, volunteer organizations, individuals, private businesses and governments of different levels all coming together and recognizing that the battle that had to be overcome was the pandemic.

We are starting to see more light at the end of the tunnel. It is, in good part, because of the residents of Winnipeg North and residents across this country who said they wanted to listen to the science, follow health experts and get vaccinated. The vaccination rate we have in Canada is virtually second to no other place in the world. As a result, we have been able to see some provinces, even the federal government, look at loosening some of the mandates.

What we are seeing today is not what I would have liked to be talking about. It is not a true reflection of Canadians, our values and the hard work we collectively put in together to get us to this point in battling the coronavirus. I could have spent a great deal of time talking about the individual effort or, from my perspective, what the government in Ottawa has been able to come up with to support Canadians. These are very tangible things. That is what I would have preferred to talk about.

When we look at the need for the Emergencies Act, let me reflect on the walk I have made every day since the convoy has been here, as many of us have, and the types of things I see. Downtown Ottawa should be full of activity, much like downtowns in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and Vancouver, big cities and small cities alike. We all value our downtowns. They contribute so much to who we are in many different ways. They are a hub of economic activity and are opportunities for people to connect, even nowadays when we are starting to see more of the mandates being lifted.

I walk down, and no matter the time of day, I can look down Queen Street and see that in all the skyscrapers there are no people. It is because of the convoy. If we go one block over onto Wellington Street, we see protesters who are not protesting in the traditional way. They are individuals who have put up blockades. They are individuals who are shutting down downtown Ottawa. It is not just happening along Wellington. As I said, I walk down Wellington and up Metcalfe to get to my apartment. Metcalfe has been the same way.

If this were happening in Winnipeg, I would not tolerate it, and I suspect that many residents in Winnipeg would be quite upset about it because it is not a legal, law-abiding protest. It is hurting the people of Ottawa, in particular the downtown area.

There are other things I have observed. I do not know how many red and yellow gas cans I have seen underneath large semis and on the roofs of vehicles. There are cars and trucks that are constantly running. At past one o'clock in the morning last Saturday I could hear the horns blaring, and I am quite a ways out from downtown area, on Lisgar. I can only imagine what it is like for those who are even closer. Imagine bringing children into an environment where they are constantly inhaling gas fumes.

We see different tents being put up right on Wellington and hay being brought in. I take it that is to provide some sort of comfort on the ground. I have no idea, but it surrounds the tents that are being permanently put up on Wellington. I have seen several tents. I have seen them on Metcalfe too. Those are just in the areas I walk every day.

I see an incredible truck right below the flame. It is a crane of sorts and has a big iron ball on it. Members in the chamber would be aware of it. That is a destruction ball. It is the type that swings in the air to bring down buildings. I do not know what is inside those trucks. I suspect no one in this chamber knows what is inside those trucks.

I truly believe the need to act is there and it is very real. I am disappointed in the Conservative Party in its approach to dealing with this issue. If we put all the facts on the table, I think a vast majority of Canadians would understand the need for us to invoke the Emergencies Act. I will go into that.

I find it interesting that the Conservatives are once again working with the Bloc. It is almost like a given with the Conservatives and the Bloc. They talk about other coalitions, but there is no coalition stronger in the House of Commons today than the unholy alliance between the Conservative Party of Canada and the Bloc Québécois. That is the strongest alliance I see.

At the end of the day, those members are being critical because NDP members are at least giving this serious thought. They are listening to their constituents, as I am listening to mine, and they realize that these blockades have to come down. They are hurting people. They are hurting our economy. They are hurting our society in many different ways.

The official opposition is all over the place. I was recently shown a picture of the interim leader of the Conservative Party dining out with some of the organizers of the event. I would be very interested in having the Leader of the Opposition tell us what she talked about when she was having dinner with them.

Let me talk about inconsistency. On the one hand, we have the newly elected interim Conservative Party leader advising senior Conservatives on this in a leaked email. As CTV News notes:

Newly elected interim Conservative Party Leader...advised senior Conservative MPs not to tell members of the trucker convoy to leave Ottawa and instead make the protests the prime minister’s problem, according to an internal email obtained by CTV News.

In an email sent on Monday, the then deputy leader told her colleagues “I don’t think we should be asking them to go home.”

How does that fit the interests of Canadians? I suggest that is very much a slant of politics. It is pure politics coming from the official opposition.

To go to another point, Politico notes, “[The] Opposition leader...wants [the Prime Minister] to step up to solve the ‘crisis,’ just a week after meeting with protesters and telling them, ‘Don’t stop, it’s working.’” She is out there dining with them and telling them, “Don't stop, it's working.”

The other day when I was speaking inside the chamber I said they have to be consistent. Inside the House, the Conservative leader says the blockade is bad and it is time for people to go home. Anyone who is following the debate tonight can get that quote and much more. It did not really have an impact outside, though. The comment I had for the member then is that it is one thing to say something in here, but what is she saying outside? Take a look at the social media feeds from Conservative Party members. Listen to some of the words they are espousing even today inside the chamber. They are giving a mixed message at best, and I would suggest they are causing more harm than good.

However, they have their friends in the Bloc who are more than happy to assist them in the best way they can. I tell my Conservative friends that the Bloc has a different agenda. The Bloc's agenda is a lot different, I would like to think, from the Conservative agenda. Before members start criticizing other political parties, they might want to start re-evaluating the associations they have inside the chamber on this issue and, at the same time, the associations they have and role they play with the convoy outside and the protest.

The irony of the protest does not escape me. Toward the end of January, it started off with truckers who were concerned about mandates for truckers going into the United States. Before anyone arrived in Ottawa, the United States made it very clear that unless they are vaccinated, they cannot go into the United States.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:35 p.m.

James Bezan

Who called the White House and told them to do that? Was it you, Kevin?

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:35 p.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Madam Speaker, no, the President of the United States did that. I do not have a phone line, so I did not tell the President to say that.

Then what ends up happening? If we fast-forward to today, we have these semis and trucks that have started to shut down downtown Ottawa. This is not to mention the other blockades.

I want to quickly go over that. I think of the weeks of illegal blockades and the occupations, and how important it is that our borders remain open. In Coutts, Alberta, I think of $48 million a day in trade. In Windsor, it is roughly $390 million. In Emerson in my home province, it is $73 million a day.

Members ask why we took this action. I can make reference to the mayor of Ottawa's declaration of a state of emergency here in Ottawa. I can talk about the Premier of Ontario's declaration of an emergency in the province of Ontario.

Let me talk about my home province of Manitoba. I read yesterday's Winnipeg Free Press. I have been able to get a copy of the February 11 letter through the media, and the article states:

“In a February 11 letter obtained by the Free Press, Stefanson asked [the Prime Minister] to take “immediate and effective” action as she pleaded for “national leadership that only [the Prime Minister] and the federal government can provide.”

That was just a couple of days before the act was brought in on Monday.

The article goes on:

Her February 11 letter said the situation was urgent and blockades that disrupt “this critical corridor—even temporarily—create potential dangers, impose severe hardships on all Manitobans and cause severe economic loss and damage to Manitoba and Canadian businesses.”

Her letter warned of urgency and dangers. Again, I look at the impact at just the Emerson border. Here is another story that appeared in the Free Press:

The trucker blockade of the Emerson border crossing not only added additional time and costs to shipments but will also damage the reputation of the province, manufacturers and stakeholders say.

Although the RCMP announced on Tuesday afternoon that demonstrators are leaving and should be gone by Wednesday, Ron Koslowsky, the vice-president and head of Manitoba operations for the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters—95 per cent of whose Manitoba members rely on regular cross-border shipments at Emerson—said, of the Emerson blockade, “ The impact has been massive.”

Winpak Limited, the large packing material manufacturer that is headquartered in Winnipeg and has manufacturing plants throughout the U.S., had to shut down one of its production lines because it couldn't get the raw material it needed.

Olivier Muggli, Winpak's CEO, said, “Overall the whole blockade damages the Canadian reputation at large and specifically Winpak. The Emerson thing hurt us significantly.”

The federal government invoked the Emergencies Act on Monday. The measures are geographically specific and targeted only to where they are needed. They will also be time-limited. We are not limiting people's freedom of expression in any way when it comes to peaceful demonstrations.

Since Monday, we have seen the Coutts blockade dismantled; on Wednesday, it was the blockade in Emerson. We have provided more tools for law enforcement, which in part are already being utilized.

At the end of the day, on this side of the House, we recognize that the harm to our society in many different ways is a direct result of these illegal blockades and protests, and we would suggest that the Conservative Party revisit its positioning.

It is not as if you have not flip-flopped before. Take another flop and get on the right side. Support what Canadians expect the loyal opposition to be doing and ensure that there is accountability on the measures that are needed at this time in order to bring back order and secure the type of trade and support that Canadians deserve and the opposition should be providing.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:45 p.m.

Conservative

The Deputy Speaker Conservative Chris d'Entremont

I know the member is an experienced member of the House. Make sure to speak through the Chair. I know he was really trying to engage the opposition on this one, but try to address your remarks through the Chair.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:45 p.m.

Conservative

Tom Kmiec Conservative Calgary Shepard, AB

Mr. Speaker, I have a commentary to make about the member's speech, just to set the record straight and correct the misinformation.

For the last three weeks I too have been walking downtown every weekend and every day across this line, and I have met a lot of very friendly people. Of course, some people are profane in what they say; this is a protest, after all. However, the member was talking about a wrecking ball on a vehicle. It is not a wrecking ball; it is actually a hook weight at the end of a cable, and there is a difference between the two.

I have met a lot of people with families. I stay at a hotel when I am down here, and I have met people who have brought their families here. There are music shows going on. The impression the member is trying to give to the general public and people back home in Calgary is that this is some type of riot that is going on downtown. Yes, people have blocked streets, and yes, we have said that they should go home. We have heard them and we are hearing them. We are addressing their concerns.

However, what the government is doing here is going far too far. It is asking for powers that have not been given to anybody since the 1970s. It is asking for too much, more than the House should be willing to give. Every day that I have been here, I have not seen the same things the member has seen. I am getting thousands of emails from constituents demanding that we vote against this measure.

I just wanted to correct the member that it is a weight at the end of a hook and not a wrecking ball. I just want to make that correction. Also, the vast majority of the people I have met are friendly. I have seen people play street hockey on the street, but the impression the member is giving is that this is a chaotic scene. It is unpleasant, I understand, for people who live here. It has been unpleasant for three weeks for me as well.

Emergencies ActOrders of the Day

7:45 p.m.

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB

Mr. Speaker, the member kind of makes my point. The Conservative Party says, “What's wrong? There's nothing wrong with what is happening in downtown Ottawa today.” However, the activities by this blockade have shut down downtown Ottawa. There are no cars and there is no foot traffic and businesses are closing down. I do not know what the member might be engaged in as he tries to give the impression to the residents he represents that everything is okay in Ottawa, but it is definitely not reality.

Okay, maybe it is not a wrecking ball, but it is a 200-pound iron ball that is positioned right above the Prime Minister's office, which Stephen Harper used to be in. Is there any way in which that member can foresee problems with thousands of gallons of gas along Wellington Street on trucks and cars, on roofs and under vehicles?