Debates of Feb. 20th, 2022

Emergencies Act

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

Unparliamentary language was an issue last evening and we agreed that we would not use it, even in quotes. I recommend that members stop using those words.

I will give the member for Lambton—Kent—Middlesex a chance to answer.

[Lianne Rood, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question, but this is just more inflammatory rhetoric from the NDP. Why would the NDP support this? The party was founded on the principle of civil liberties, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association is actually suing the government right now. It is unprecedented.

I did spend time talking with my own constituents, whom I met up here on the first weekend the protest started in Ottawa. I did not see any of these things. What I saw was patriotic, flag-waving Canadians who had more joy than I have ever seen before. People were hugging in the streets. It was like Canada Day times a thousand, bigger than any Canada Day I have ever seen in this country. I will always be proud to represent Canadians and constituents in my riding who are patriotic and who are free to speak and assemble peacefully.

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

Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I join the debate today. I feel that we should not have gotten to this place where we are debating whether or not to use the Emergencies Act. I believe so many steps should have been taken before we got to the point where a government can freeze Canadians' bank accounts if they do not believe in its political ideology. It is not with great joy that I stand on my feet today, but it is always an honour to represent the people of Regina—Lewvan. I want to do that because I have had countless phone calls and hundreds of emails on what we are talking about today in the House of Commons.

I have constantly heard from the other side about the threat to democracy in Canada, but over the last three weeks, we have all been in the chamber, day in and day out, doing our jobs. We have been to committee, doing our jobs. Not once have I heard a Liberal member tell us what the threat to democracy is, because we have been here doing our jobs.

Our leader is a member of the Privy Council, and if there were imminent threats, they could have taken her in, briefed her and talked about what those imminent threats were. The only other group that is carrying the same narrative about a threat to democracy is the CBC. I would love to see the proof from my hon. Liberal colleagues about what is and what was the actual threat to democracy.

It seems that everyone on their feet today is trying to litigate the protest outside, which does not exist anymore, or trying to litigate whether the blockades were illegal. They were illegal, but they are over. What we are talking about is a government that never has the ability to look forward. This Monday, we asked the Liberals for a plan to get rid of mandates and restrictions and they voted against that because they did not have a plan to put in place.

When I stand on my feet today, I am not going to litigate the protests, nor whether the blockades were illegal, because they were illegal and they were removed. What I am going to talk about is whether the Emergencies Act, formerly the War Measures Act, is needed going forward. Does the government still need that power? Does the government still need the ability to freeze the bank accounts of people who donated to the “freedom convoy”? Does the government need the ability to freeze the bank accounts of people who have put pro-Donald Trump comments on their Facebook pages? Is that something that we believe as Canadians a government actually needs? Does the NDP believe that this is a power the government needs going forward?

These are the questions that I think everyone in the chamber should ask. The Liberals have invoked the Emergencies Act and used it to get rid of the protesters and the trucks on Wellington. They are not there anymore, so the question is, moving forward as Canadians, do we want to give the current Prime Minister these powers?

I have the order in council right here, and it is one of the reasons I could never support this act. The order in council, in item (c)(vi), says:

other temporary measures authorized under section 19 of the Emergencies Act that are not yet known.

Canadians do not want to give more power to the Prime Minister and his cabinet given not only what is in the act, but what is not even known yet about what they might use this power for. When I go back to Regina—Lewvan for door knocking and to talk to constituents, they are going to ask if I voted for this. I am going to be proud to say that I absolutely did not.

There are so many other measures the government could have taken before we got to this point. It was unnecessary. We saw the illegal blockades at Coutts, Emerson and Surrey removed without this act. Going forward, when there are no protests and no trucks on Wellington, why would we ever approve this power? Not one Liberal has explained that to me. I hope that in questions and answers one of them does try to explain, first of all, why they need these powers going forward, and second of all, what the imminent threat to our democracy is. We are here. We are doing our jobs. Why would this power be needed going forward?

I had the experience, as many of my colleagues did, of staying downtown in a hotel and walking here and back over the last three weeks. My family was in town for the weekend. My wife, kids and I walked around and talked to some people who were from Saskatchewan. We had conversations and we never felt threatened.

The member for Whitby talked in his speech about downtown residents of Ottawa feeling terrorized by horn-honking and big trucks. I know one resident of downtown Ottawa who feels terrorized right now and her name is Tammy. She runs a gelato café.

Her bank account was just frozen because she has a big heart and she cares for people. She donated $250 for the truck convoy and now her bank and business accounts are frozen. That is one citizen of Ottawa who is feeling terrorized by not the protesters, but by their own government right now. That is what we are talking about.

Citizens around this country are now feeling traumatized, stigmatized, divided from their government. What would my colleagues across the way have to say to Tammy? Do they think it is fair? She said in an interview that she has a big heart and cares for people, but her bank account was frozen. Do they think she is a domestic terrorist? Is that the type of people that now we are trying to protect other Canadians from? I would ask my friends on the NDP side to think about some of these statements because they are going to have to answer to their constituents as well.

I am from Saskatchewan, home of the CCF, home of Tommy Douglas. I guarantee if Tommy Douglas were in the chamber today, he would not be voting in favour of the Emergencies Act. He is the founder of the NDP. He built the principles that the party is supposed to stand on. I believe his comment was “using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut”. Do the New Democrats still have those same principles? Do they believe in the Civil Liberties Association of Canada that is suing the government now saying this is a step too far, this is unconstitutional?

In going home to our ridings, I believe my colleague and friend from Lambton—Kent—Middlesex was exactly right. This will be remembered throughout history. This speech is something that people will look back on and decide who was on the right side of this. The trucks are gone. The blockades are gone. Now we have to decide whether or not we want to be on that side.

I know my Liberal colleagues thought I was going to be up in arms in a very passionate speech, but it is something that is coming from my heart and from what people are telling me. The member for Winnipeg North is always on his feet and says a lot in the chamber and he is going to have to make a decision on how he is going to vote. I know some of his constituents are asking how he is going to vote on this because some will not want him to and he is ignoring his community.

I have some really good friends, Derek, Ryan and Mike, who drove here to to see what was going on. It is 30 hours from Saskatchewan. We walked around the other night and talked with people and they did not feel threatened. A couple of them started to tear up and these are grown farm kids when they saw what was going on in our country. They said is this what Canada looks like now? Is this the type of Canada we want to leave for our children? Police in riot gear and horses on the street. I remember the 2006 election campaign the Liberals said Stephen Harper was going to have police on the street. Well, the Liberals are actually fulfilling that prophesy. They brought in many armed riot police to make sure that Canadians were dispersed. There was not a lot of violence.

Why is no one talking about the violence that happened at the Coastal GasLink Pipeline, where 20 people with axes attacked police officers, did tens of millions of dollars worth of damage and there was not a peep from the Liberal side. Why is that so different from what is going on here? They tried to light a car on fire with people in it. I am troubled. What is the difference?

One of the things I want to get on the record is that the Liberals did not do the steps to make sure the protesters left before three weeks. They sent the Minister of Indigenous Services to talk to some of the protesters in 2020. They sent the Minister of Northern Affairs to talk to protesters at the Mohawk blockades. Why did not one of the front-benchers talk to the protesters and listen to what they had to say?

I will represent my people well. I will be voting against the Emergencies Act. There is no emergency. There is no threat to our democracy and it is a shame that the government has not pulled this bill.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would be very interested in this colleague's personal view on whether he believes it is justifiable in what he calls civil disobedience, which is against the law, by the way, or occupation, whether it is acceptable to make the lives of other people very difficult, either because their jobs may be in jeopardy because their livelihoods depend on products crossing the border or the poor people who live in Ottawa Centre whose lives have been made very difficult over the past three weeks.

In the member's personal opinion, is that justifiable?

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

Madam Speaker, I am here to represent the people of Regina—Lewvan, Saskatchewan. Their lives have been made miserable for seven years because of Liberal policies.

There are people who have not been able to go to work for years, because of the anti-oil, anti-agriculture policies put in place. To talk down to me and expect that I do not know what people are going through or who have tough times is, quite frankly, disrespectful to me and to the people I represent. I am here because the people of Saskatchewan have had a tough time because of the pathetic policies these Liberals have implemented over the last seven years.

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

Madam Speaker, my colleague wondered whether the NDP had lost or changed its convictions, since it took a firm, clear position against the War Measures Act in 1970.

I would say to him that we are critical of people living in echo chambers right now because they only hear what they want to hear.

I feel like that is kind of what is going on with the NDP right now, because they are only focusing on the abusive actions and words of the protesters, and they are forgetting that the debate is about the Emergencies Act. This act of last resort allows for the use of measures that might be unjustifiable under normal circumstances.

Does my colleague not agree that the NDP is endorsing what could become a dangerous precedent?

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

Madam Speaker, that is a tough but fair question.

I do think the NDP are going to look back on this and have some reservations about giving unbridled power to the Liberal government. My hope is that through conversations and through talking with their constituents over the next couple of days that they will have a bit of a “come to Jesus” moment and realize that they should be on the side of freedom, they should be on the side of protecting Canadians' civil liberties.

If they go back and look at a few speeches from Tommy Douglas or at a column by Erin Weir, my predecessor, in the National Post about why they should not be supporting these measures, maybe a few of them will make sure they do the right thing on Monday and vote against the Emergencies Act.

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Madam Speaker, a lot of people have throwing around the name, Tommy Douglas. In any other circumstance, I would be happy about that. It is hard to know what Tommy would do at this point. These are very different times. It is also difficult because he has been gone for so long.

Maybe instead, I could quote someone who is very much in the present, a former Conservative leader, maybe a future, again, Conservative leader. He said:

This is not freedom, it’s anarchy on display at the threshold of our democracy....But what we have seen in the occupation of Ottawa and blockages at border crossings is not the right of protest enshrined in our constitution, but illegal activity that represents a national security and economic threat to Canada. Leaving aside the stated manifesto of the organizers to overthrow the government, these protests are weakening our economy and disrupting the freedoms of law-abiding citizens....Illegal activity cannot shape government policy.

I would like the member to talk about what Peter MacKay and Conservative Senator Vern White had to say about what his party is doing.

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

Madam Speaker, this is what this question is about. To have one's own opinion about protesters and blockades, that is fine, but what we are talking about today is the Emergencies Act, and whether it should be used going forward and whether we in this House think the government needs that unbridled power—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès), Liberal, Alexandra Mendes]

I would call members to order so the hon. member's answer can be heard.

The hon. member for Regina—Lewvan.

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

Madam Speaker, we all know this is about whether the government should have unbridled power going forward after Monday. We all know this is a manufactured crisis because junior wanted his “just watch me” moment.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries]

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Steveston—Richmond East.

Today we are here to debate the decision by the Prime Minister to invoke the Emergencies Act with the purpose of bringing the unlawful protests in Ottawa to an end. After three weeks of exercising the right to protest, what has happened and what is happening in the streets of Ottawa must come to an end.

Over the last week, the “freedom convoy” taking place in our nation’s capital has been on the minds of Canadians from coast to coast to coast. It has morphed into something it was not intended to be. It has been a demonstration organized by folks whose views that I believe at their core do not align with the Canadian values we are so proud of. Respecting the right of freedom of speech and the freedom to protest, I was disheartened by the way events over the last three weeks have unfolded. I have spent the last several weeks reflecting on how far we have come in this pandemic and how, over the past two years, we have all had to learn to live with COVID-19.

I will be the first to say that it has been challenging for all. Fortunately, across the country and in my riding of Cape Breton—Canso there have been thousands of dedicated, essential workers who, at a time when the world had come to a standstill, continued their work to ensure we were all able to live as normal a life as possible. All workers in Canada are important and have an essential role in our communities and, if may, I would like to acknowledge as many as I can here, workers who continued to show up despite the challenges of the past two years.

I thank the first responders who never stopped answering the calls for help, to the corrections staff for maintaining our jails, to the doctors, nurses and long-term care workers, pharmacists and all health care workers who show up every day. Let us not forget the amazing work of the cleaning, maintenance and kitchen staff in our hospitals and long-term care facilities. Thanks go to the home care workers who continue to go into the homes of those in our community who need that extra support. Also, thanks to the farmers for making sure we have food to eat and manufacturing employees who have been making PPE.

I thank the mechanics, plumbers, electricians and carpenters who can get calls at any time of day or night and show up to fix problems in our homes, hospitals and everywhere in between. Thanks to the tow truck drivers who help us on the side of the road when we need it. Thanks to those who make sure our water and waste-water systems continue to function and those who collect our solid waste. Thanks to the public works crews for keeping our roads clear and salted. Thanks to the contractors for fixing and replacing our bridges and buildings, particularly after major weather events.

I thank the early childhood educators, teachers and all staff who care for and teach our children. They reached out, even when the schools were closed, to help with virtual learning and to check in on children and families when they knew they needed their support. Thanks to those who work in retail and customer service, from big box stores to local community businesses and grocery stores, and the owners and employees who continued to do everything they could to keep the shelves stocked, always adapting to the endless changes to safety guidelines and to help people access the items they needed when they needed them.

I thank the truckers. Let us remember that when we were all staying home, many of them were going to where infections were the highest to bring home the food and supplies we needed. It is also important to note, as has been mentioned here today, that more than 90% of truckers are vaccinated and delivering goods across the continent as I speak. Thanks to the fishers who went out with their crews with so much uncertainty in their markets and thanks to the Canadian Coast Guard that is always there to answer the call and patrol our coasts.

I thank the pilots and flight crews who went to other countries to bring our fellow Canadians home, bring us PPE when we needed it and for taking supplies to countries as we worked together to end this global pandemic. Thanks to the Canadian Armed Forces that helped across this country in countless roles, from vaccinations to staffing long-term care facilities. Thanks to those in our financial sector, banks, credit unions and many others, who supported where they could, adapting to new government programs at record speed to help their customers and clients.

I thank the local arts and culture sector that has been hit hard and continues to find innovative ways to use their talents to keep us entertained. Mental health is as critically important as physical health and for this we certainly need our culture and arts sector. To those in the oil and gas and mining sectors, I thank them for making sure we have oil to heat our homes, gas to put in our vehicles and minerals as the raw materials for so much of our manufacturing.

I thank those working in our telecommunications sector, those who help with the purchasing of cell phones in-store, and those installing and repairing towers and lines to keep us online, and everything they do to help keep us connected.

I also thank the Nova Scotia Power employees, who ensure that they keep the power on and who repair the lines in some of the worst conditions imaginable. Finally, I thank seniors and seniors groups such as the Reserve Mines Seniors and Pensioners Club and the Pensioners Association, which are there to ensure seniors receive the help when they need it.

I realize there are so many more people to thank in so many essential jobs, but I hope this helps people realize how intertwined our society is. One thing this pandemic has taught us, or it has certainly taught me, is that we could not do the job we do and could not live a life with some trace of normalcy without everyone else doing their job.

We cannot allow a small minority to cause us to forget our hard work over the last two years and the impact it has made. There have been millions of Canadians who have selflessly gone to work every day knowing they play a role in protecting their communities. In my opinion, that is what it means to be Canadian.

We all need to do our part, which is why I ask everyone to please get vaccinated. We are all living, everyone in the House and every Canadian, with COVID fatigue. We are tired of restrictions and the negativity associated with this pandemic. We are all concerned about the impacts on mental health.

We all want this to be over, and this is the way to get there, but I will tell members how we do not get there. We do not get there by threats, conspiracy theories and violence toward others. We get there by following public health guidelines, getting vaccinated, listening to the science and doing our part to keep our communities safe and healthy.

When I look at what has happened in Ottawa over the past several weeks, I am disappointed and disheartened. When I think of the intimidation tactics that have been used against parliamentarians and their staff, civil servants, hotel staff, those working in places like food banks, and all the citizens of Ottawa, I am disappointed and disheartened. When I see hate, disrespect and misinformation being spread from coast to coast to coast, I get angry, and quite frankly, I am sad about that.

We have seen examples of these attacks on our democracy and what they can do. We are past the point of whataboutisms or that it will blow over. It is here. It is outside these doors, and we need to call out this behaviour as we see it.

I really believe this is about democracy. We have been looking at this all wrong. It is not about traditional left, right and centre ideologies. We are talking about democracy and obstructionism. We are talking about democracy and intimidation, democracy and the viewpoint that the rule of law should not apply. That starts off small, and we have seen this play out in the United States, but it is growing. We have seen how it grew here in the last three weeks.

When there are some people in positions of authority going out and giving a wink-wink, nudge-nudge to people who are protesting unlawfully, it is a significant problem. Again, it happened south of the border, and it cannot happen here. I want to call that behaviour out clearly.

It is times like this I think about my dad. My father was in charge of mine rescue, and he would always say that, in times of struggle, crisis reveals character. Let me be very clear that we will not allow these demonstrations on Parliament Hill to intimidate our democratic and legislative process.

Despite what has been happening just outside the walls of the chamber, each of us has continued to do the work we were sent here to do. We have been here in Ottawa working hard for our constituents, whether those are my constituents in Cape Breton—Canso or those across the country.

For seniors who have been staying at home following public health guidelines, for the folks whose mental health has been impacted by the pandemic, for the businesses, not-for-profits and community organizations that have adapted to the pandemic, for the seasonal industries that have been hit the hardest, and for young people in particular, who have missed out on so much time for sports, school and with their friends, we are here in this House, in Canada’s House of Commons, doing the work for them. That will not stop.

On Monday, I will be voting in favour of the Prime Minister’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act. What we are seeing here in Ottawa, what we saw in Coutts and what we continue to see in Windsor, and even at my constituency office in Nova Scotia, shows that the health and safety of Canadians is at risk. Frankly, I believe our democracy is at risk.

Before I finish, I would like to express my great—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Unfortunately, the hon. member has finished. He has run out of time, but I am sure he will be able to add more during the time for questions and comments.

The hon. member for Kelowna—Lake Country.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Madam Speaker, the member was a member of Parliament in 2020, when there were protests across the country that shut down our rail system. This included both passengers and goods moving across the country. There was damage as well. In addition to that, at the time, there were more than a thousand people who were laid off. Even BC Ferries was shut down.

Looking at that, which was a national issue across the entire country that stopped all of our goods and services from moving across the country at the time, did he advocate then to invoke the Emergencies Act?

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Madam Speaker, in fact, no, I did not look to the Emergencies Act for that particular issue and the challenge that Canadians faced.

However, when we look at this particular challenge, the fact that it is coast to coast to coast and that it is, quite frankly, heavily invested in by American interest groups, we understand that the threat to democracy is imminent, whether it is in Ottawa, Coutts or Windsor. Situations dictate very timely responses.

That is what we are doing, and that is what we are going to continue to do.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I want to remind the hon. members from the opposition that they just had a question. If they have more questions, hold on, rather than heckling across the way.

The hon. member for Nunavut.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Qujannamiik, Uqaqtittiji.

Madam Speaker, this morning, I was relieved to see how the physical entrenchment of the extremists' acts were dismantled in Ottawa, though I was dismayed to see the extremists' ideologies expand to Surrey, British Columbia, as we were shown in the news this morning that protests against important public health measures were going on.

Even with the physical entrenchment that was allowed to happen removed because of the Emergencies Act, are there continuing threats to our democracy and to the everyday lives of Canadians?

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Again, I want to remind hon. members that when somebody has the floor, to please hold their tongues until it is time for questions and comments.

The hon. parliamentary secretary.

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Madam Speaker, this hits home with the part of my speech where I talked about how there is something happening in Canada right now. It is not what the media is talking about, per se, with the ideologies that are traditionally left, right and centre. There is a whole new ideology that is being born about being obstructionist and where the rule of law does not apply.

If we do not take this seriously, what are we going to take seriously? We need to ensure the safety of Canadians, as Mr. MacKay and the senator on the Conservative bench have said, and we will continue to do that.

Leadership has been talked about a lot lately in the House. Fundamentally, leadership is looking after those for whom you are responsible. We will continue to do the right things, whether it was two years ago with our pandemic response, or now in keeping Canadians safe.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Madam Speaker, the member had a very passionate speech.

Throughout the past couple of days, I have heard members from the opposition benches say that they do not feel threatened walking through the convoy. They do not feel that their security and safety are at risk. However, we have seen young women being attacked. We have had police reports filed by young women who have had hot coffee thrown at them.

The member prior said that there was not a lot of violence—

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

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The member has to back up statements with facts, as a requirement of giving a speech—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

That is debate.

The hon. member for Mississauga—Erin Mills will have to wrap up her question. That will give the parliamentary secretary enough time to respond.

[Iqra Khalid, Liberal, Mississauga—Erin Mills, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would love for all members in the House to back up their statements with facts. That would be wonderful.

I will ask a brief question for the parliamentary secretary. Why is it so important for us to protect the rule of law? What value does bringing the totality of lived experiences have for Parliament? Why is that so important for us here in Canada?

[Mike Kelloway, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Madam Speaker, I do truly believe in facts as well. Certain members in this House have not experienced a lot of push-back as a result of the blockade, but I have talked to many people, and I encourage members here to talk to people. I have talked to those who are working in hotels and who are immensely stressed out. They are stressed out and traumatized by seeing Confederate flags and Nazi symbols in the hotel. It is so important that we continue to focus on the rule of law, because that is the very essence of who we are as Canadians. The values we share are enshrined in the laws we have, and we must uphold them.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Again, I know this is a very passionate and important debate. I would just ask members to please be respectful when others have the floor. I am sure they would appreciate that courtesy as well when it is their opportunity to speak.

We will resume debate. The hon. member for Steveston—Richmond East.