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.