Debates of Feb. 17th, 2022

Emergencies Act

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Speaker, I do not think I said that. What I said is that we will stand up for ending the mandates.

In her relationship with the Liberals and supporting bringing in a reduction in people's freedoms, I would pose a question to her. Why is she not listening to the people she is hearing from who are complaining about wanting these mandates reduced and relieved? Provinces are doing it. Provinces out west are doing it. All kinds of provinces are doing it. The government is ignoring and continues to ignore the needs of Canadians who want to get back to a normal life. It is putting its own political agenda ahead of everybody in order to try to wedge and divide us.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Madam Speaker, I am glad to be speaking to this bill. Actually, I would rather not be speaking to this bill and these measures. I do not think it is necessary and is a total overreach of the government for political expediency. It is inappropriate and very selective. That will probably be the nature of my comments tonight.

First of all, I want to thank all the staff here this evening: the table officers, interpreters, food services and maintenance. We appreciate what they do for us in these late hours of the night. The cafeteria workers are here half an hour later than we finish tonight, so I thank them. I also want to thank the Parliamentary Protective Service, which has had long hours on the Hill for the past three weeks in order to keep order. Its members have been having a lot of polite conversations with the protestors and approaching them with a calm, professional demeanour.

If the Liberal government would have had the same approach, I cannot help but wonder if the situation would be where it is today. As a matter of fact, I am sure it would not be. The government made absolutely no effort to reach out. It is not just in the past three weeks. This is the approach it has had over the years, during and before the pandemic.

I cannot think of a single time the Prime Minister or any member of the cabinet have even taken a minute to voice any degree of willingness to listen to the Canadians who disagree with the measures the government has taken to promote the exclusion of Canadians based on vaccination status. The Prime Minister and many other Liberal caucus members try to paint anyone not fully vaccinated or not supportive of exclusionary mandates as enemies, questioning whether they should be tolerated.

This is Canada we are talking about. We are known for our tolerance. We are known for our multiculturalism, yet this is the type of approach the government is taking constantly. It is its mode of operation.

Last year, when 50 churches were burned down, the Prime Minister said:

One of my reflections is I understand the anger that’s out there against...institutions like the Catholic church. It is real and it is fully understandable. The shameful history that we are all becoming more and more aware of and engaging ourselves to do better as Canadians.

Those are such pious words. It is wrong. The burning of churches, for the Prime Minister and the Liberal government, is understandable, but there is no desire to show concern for those protesting now. He told several church leaders that evangelical Christians were the worst part of Canadian society.

[An hon. member]

What are you talking about?

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Yes, exclusionary tolerance is what I am speaking about. I am talking about 3%—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Order, please.

I just ruled on this a few minutes ago for the minister, and now the minister is doing exactly what I asked somebody not to do. I know the ministers want to ensure they are role models in the House. I ask them to hold their discussions and thoughts until the appropriate time.

I would also ask opposition members not to engage in discussions, especially when I am speaking.

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Madam Speaker, I am happy to answer questions afterward.

I think of something that the Prime Minister once said regarding exclusion and intolerance. He spoke about an event that killed several people and wounded hundreds, many of them losing arms and legs. He said, “But there is no question that this happened because of someone who feels completely excluded.... And our approach has to be, okay, where do those tensions come from?” Who was he speaking about? It was the Boston marathon bombers, not the families and others here in front of us. That is his approach to those he might identify with and he is excluding many others. It is shameful. It is divisive.

Why now has he no willingness to understand where these tensions come from? It is because he knows the answer to the question of why there are these tensions and problems is in the mirror. He just has to look in the mirror.

Does the Prime Minister think that calling anyone who is not fully vaccinated or is against his exclusionary mandates a bigot or a racist is a way to help relieve tensions? No, it is not.

Does asking if their very existence should be tolerated help relieve tension? Of course it does not. What it does do is drive wedges through the population and the Liberals are masters at using wedges. That is their way to win elections: using wedges. They do not care if they divide Canada. Shame on the current government.

That is what the Prime Minister and his colleagues like to do. For them it is a great electoral strategy. All this is an electoral strategy. Do not just ask me. Ask the members of the Liberal Party. It is obvious from this side, as well as to different members on that side within their benches. They cater to 35% approximately maybe out of Toronto, Montreal and downtown Vancouver because they expect to win the election with that if they expand it a bit. They do not care what they are doing to Canada. They do not care that they exclude most of Alberta, Saskatchewan and rural parts of Canada. They believe the Conservatives are Nazis. As long as they get 35% and can sit on that side they do not care what happens to Canada.

Do they care? I do not think so. It is ridiculous. Honestly, principle is a lot more important than just winning elections. They dismiss other parties. They are obsessed with poll numbers. I understand polling is important.

[An hon. member]

Oh, oh!

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Maybe the hon. member is just walking in, but it is not questions and comments at the moment.

Was there a point of order down there?

[An hon. member]

Madam Speaker, I rise on the same point of order. The ministers on the government side—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I took care of it, yes.

[An hon. member]

It's shameful.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Order. I already ruled on that.

Again, I would ask the hon. members of the government side to please hold onto their tongues until it is time for questions and comments.

The hon. member for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge has two and a half minutes left.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Madam Speaker, the Liberals are obsessed with polls. A number of times today, the member for Kingston and the Islands used polls to taunt the Bloc Québécois. He said that Quebeckers would no longer vote for the Bloc.

Thank God the Bloc Québécois and the Conservative Party have a very different approach to that of the Liberals, who are being propped up by the NDP.

We do not agree with the Bloc on most things, but we do understand the Bloc's—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Order. Are we still having a debate in between? I will tell members that I actually had a call from someone from Wendover this week who indicated it is really not pleasant for him to listen to debates or votes when people are heckling in the House. I am sure if he is listening tonight he will appreciate the fact that I put that forward.

Again, question and comments will be in just under two minutes. I am sure the hon. members and ministers can wait until then to ask a question.

The hon. member for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Madam Speaker, this is a precedent-setting, first time ever invocation of the Emergencies Act. They did not seem to be so quick to impose it recently when there were blockades. I disagree with blockades or violence anywhere. I have spoken out against it as an MLA in British Columbia and as a Conservative MP. They pick and choose, and go way over. The blockades were actually gone before this imposition. This is totally unnecessary. This is totally for the purpose of diversion.

Let me just say one thing and that is this. Why are we having this all of a sudden? It seems to me it is a couple of things. Their pandemic strategy might be what is going on here, to impose mandates on truckers who needed to drive back and forth in the past two years to keep the supply chains open, bring that in and try to double down when there is push-back. They do not care if tens of thousands of Canadians are losing their jobs. I talked to them. I have talked to truckers. I have talked to many others.

There is no compassion. It is like this is political fodder for them to win, to strategize, without thinking, without realizing how many countries are opening up and how many provinces are opening up. No, they are going to double down on this right here.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Families]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member made some interesting comments. I was glad to hear him denounce violence, although I did not hear that with regard to the blockade here in Ottawa. I was concerned by some of the rhetoric he was using. I think we all need to be reducing the volume and de-escalating. However, he was being very accusatory toward the members on this side, who have always stood against violence.

I would like to ask the member opposite how he feels that the words that he used de-escalated the situation. I would like to ask him about the—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I have other people who would like to ask questions as well.

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Madam Speaker, I do not happen to be the Prime Minister. I am not. The Prime Minister is the person right in the front, supported by the cabinet, supported by the Liberals. Here is the thing. I used direct quotes from our Prime Minister. He said them. I am not just making things up right here. These are the words. He called them misogynists, racists, extremists, Nazis. These are the words.

It is always flippant. Is it the truckers, is it the unvaccinated, is it Christians, is it this, the west or whatever? We will keep our little power base, maybe grow that bit. I'm sorry; it is inappropriate for Canada.

[Denis Trudel, Bloc, Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Madam Speaker, I believe that my colleague will agree with me that what is happening outside no longer has anything to do with vaccines, masks or health measures. It has moved way beyond that.

We are hearing that the movement was infiltrated by extreme right-wing groups. We are also starting to hear that the Emergencies Act is going to throw fuel on the fire, that it will result in further radicalization. The more protesters are told the police are going to move in, the more they will want to stay. Does my colleague agree with me?

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his comments. Some people are claiming that there are terrorists. However, if that is true, why did the police let them come to Parliament Hill? My wife walked here. When I walk here, most of the people say hello to me. If the danger is imminent, where are the police? How come we can still walk around? Those are good questions.

[Leah Gazan, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Madam Speaker, I have had to be in this House for a couple of years where the anti-indigenous racism is fierce. I understand that it is an intense moment, but we are in the process of recovering our children. We just discovered 52 children in unmarked graves.

This member of Parliament used our pain as an example. I would like to ask the member if he has humanity and will apologize for his comments.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Madam Speaker, I happen to be indigenous. My family went to residential schools. I understand that, but that is not what this is about. This is about the Emergencies Act being imposed as it has never been before. It is disgraceful.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Madam Speaker, following up on the question from the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre, I also heard anti-indigenous racism, as did most indigenous people in those areas. It is not right to burn down the churches, but the quote from the Prime Minister was absolutely appropriate to the circumstances of the pain of discovering the bodies being found of the children who were stolen from their homes who never came home, as the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre just said. I do think the hon. member could have expressed himself more clearly to show some sign that he understands the pain of the communities that are going through this now. It is retraumatizing people across this country in our indigenous communities.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Madam Speaker, these are examples of the tolerance and intolerance of our Prime Minister and the Liberal Party primarily. I just gave a variety of examples, including the Unabomber. There are all sorts of different examples. There are so many. There is a constant approach, and we oppose this imposition of the Emergencies Act as extreme.