Debates of Feb. 7th, 2022

COVID-19 Protests

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the member says he does not take his marching orders from the United States. With the convoy, what we are understanding is that there is a lot of money coming from the United States.

Does he agree that should be stopped? In fact, this is going to be brought up at committee as an issue from the NDP. Would he agree that funding from the United States should not be going to the convoy and that it should be stopped?

[Scot Davidson, Conservative, York—Simcoe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that this is being studied at this time and being looked at.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heightened awareness of just how divided Canadians have become.

This emergency debate is predicated on that very reality. A lot of people are angry right now. On any given day, I hear from people who think that we have too many restrictions, and I also hear from those who want further restrictions imposed. In all my years in politics, I have never seen such heated debates. They have caused a lot of tension in families and in communities throughout Canada.

To clear up any misunderstanding, I am vaccinated. I believe vaccines are safe and have helped to reduce hospitalizations. I believe they have saved lives, particularly of those who are older and those who have underlying health conditions. I have also encouraged others to get vaccinated.

However, I want to be able to question the Liberal government's COVID policies without being labelled anti-science and anti-vaccination, and without being discredited because I have the audacity to criticize government policies. For too long we have been given a false choice that either we acquiesce to every government measure or we are only lending credibility to those who spread false information. The one thing I know for sure is that the political environment we now find ourselves in is directly related to this mindset. Without a doubt, COVID-19 has been hard on all of us. Families have lost loved ones, and many individuals have suffered or are suffering illness.

Families in my constituency have been prevented from driving across the border to be with loved ones. University students have been unable to set foot in a real classroom to take advantage of a full educational experience. Health care staff, in particular, have been pressing on for two years to care for those with COVID and all other health care concerns. They provide an essential service, and we are grateful for their commitment and sacrifices on behalf of their fellow Canadians.

To those who think that protesting in front of hospitals is a good idea, I can assure them it is not. The doctors and nurses working in those hospitals are busy saving lives, not setting government policy. The last thing they should have to deal with, when coming off a long shift, is the sight of angry placards or shouting protesters.

Grocery store staff immediately come to mind, as do all those involved in our supply chain, including truckers. It may seem thankless to work in these positions during a time like this, but I hope every single one of them knows how critical they have been.

It was on this understanding that governments made a point of underscoring which workers were essential at various times throughout the pandemic. We all understand that we owe a debt of gratitude to these workers. We all want them to know how their contributions have helped all of us through this time, yet here we are today.

After two years of truckers being deemed essential workers, the Liberals decided they no longer were. After two years of praising their efforts of doing what they do best, delivering the goods we rely on, the Liberals decided truckers were really not essential after all. The obvious question is: Why? What changed? I get the fact that many do not understand why a certain percentage of truckers do not want to get vaccinated. I get the argument that the vast majority of other Canadians have gotten vaccinated, so why would the others not?

Regardless of the frustration with those who would not get vaccinated, we all must have compassion and try to understand that no matter the mandate imposed upon them, they simply will not. At this stage of the pandemic, we must ask ourselves what reasonable benefit society and our economy could attain from the trucker mandate. The Liberals have failed to give any rationale whatsoever for the decision. If they are holding on to data indicating that the truckers have been responsible for COVID outbreaks, they have never shared it with Canadians. This lack of transparency is unfortunate.

Canadians deserve to know whether the mandate on truckers is justified. They deserve to know whether the benefit of taking truckers off the road outweighs the impact to our economy. Worse yet, the government either has no framework for lifting mandates, or if it does, it sure has a funny way of communicating it to the public.

We can all appreciate that this situation is fluid, but the government should be able to explain what metrics it is using to determine the scope and speed for removing mandates. On what basis is it making its decisions? There is nothing strange about Canadians wanting transparency from their government.

In fact, had the government been more open with us with its federal response, perhaps we would not have seen the same levels of angst among Canadians. Perhaps we would not have seen the same levels of frustration from millions of Canadians who were eagerly awaiting an end to lockdowns and restrictions.

It should go without saying at this point, but people are tired. People are frustrated. After two years of personal sacrifices, many are looking to the government to explain the path forward, but to date it seems like they are waiting in vain.

Many Canadian public health officials are signalling they want to make a shift in policy. B.C.'s chief medical officer has indicated that the province's COVID response is transitioning to become “much more like how we manage influenza”. She stated:

We cannot eliminate all risk.... And I think that's something that we need to understand and accept. As this virus has changed, it's become part of what we will be living with for years to come.

In reply to the last question asked of my colleague, Ontario's chief medical officer also said something similar when he stated:

I absolutely think we have to start to learn to live with this virus and we’ve let our lives be controlled for the last two years in a significant amount of fear.

As well, Canada's top doctor is noting the need “to be able to address the ongoing presence of COVID-19 in a more sustainable way.”

Looking around the world, we see that many countries are removing restrictions or laying out their framework to do so. In the United Kingdom, vaccine passports have been dropped. This has been mentioned in the House many times today. Sweden is removing entry restrictions and domestic rules. Denmark ended its COVID restrictions last week.

A recent Angus Reid poll showed that a majority of Canadians “now say it is time to remove restrictions and let Canadians manage their own level of risk”.

If the Prime Minister disagrees with most Canadians, then it is incumbent upon him to explain his rationale. I doubt the Prime Minister wants to unfairly label millions of Canadians as quickly as he labelled those who partook in the convoy as it made its way through Canada.

Protests are occurring in communities across the country, but none is more pronounced than what we have seen outside this very place. The Prime Minister is painting every protester with a broad brush, name-calling and dismissing even the most genuine concerns about his government's actions over the last two years.

There were literally thousands of people lined up on highways in support of the convoys. The only message they are hearing from the Prime Minister is that because they are supporting the convoy, they, too, must be beyond redemption.

Make no mistake: I denounce all symbols of hate and have zero tolerance for illegal behaviour. Anyone who participated in that manner should be ashamed of themselves. Moreover, everyone outside should immediately minimize their impact on those who live downtown here in Ottawa.

My message to both the government and to the protesters is to turn down the rhetoric. Turn down the heat. We must remember we are all citizens and will remain so after this. We cannot continue to just talk past each other. We will get nowhere if we continue this.

The leader of the official opposition has requested a meeting with the Prime Minister and other party leaders so we can come together, depoliticize the response to the pandemic and talk about where we go from here. Canadians need leadership. They need to see a plan. They need hope.

On this side of the House, we are prepared to work together to end this protest and help families and communities return to their normal lives. I hope all parties will join in this effort.

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate)]

Madam Speaker, a little over an hour ago, one of the member's Conservative colleagues, the member for Wellington—Halton Hills, gave a very passionate speech in the House. Though I did not agree with everything he said, he made it very clear that the blockade going on outside is illegal. As a matter of fact, he posted the video of his speech, and on Twitter he has already received well over a thousand retweets and likes of that.

The approach to the issue being taken by the member for Wellington—Halton Hills is very different from what we have seen from the vast majority of Conservatives. I would like to ask this member how he feels about what the member for Wellington—Halton Hills said about this blockade being illegal.

Does he agree that it is illegal?

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Madam Speaker, the fine constituents of Brandon—Souris believe that these peaceful protests are allowable, but the occupation of downtown Ottawa has been going on for some time. The reason it has been, let us face it, is because the Prime Minister will not go out and talk to the protesters.

If the member wants to bring up questions about who said what, all I will say is that it is in the Prime Minister's hands. Our interim leader today has written a letter to the Prime Minister, and in the questions to the Prime Minister here this evening asked him to come together with all political party leaders to find common ground to end the situation taking place not just here on Parliament Hill and in Ottawa, but across Canada.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague from Brandon—Souris that it is our role as opposition members to criticize the government's policies. We must do that. It is also our role to convey the suffering of our constituents, who have paid a high price during this crisis.

I commend the fact that my colleague is openly saying today that protests have to be peaceful and legal. However, we are here this evening because the protests outside are neither peaceful nor legal.

I would like to ask my colleague if tolerating behaviour like this is not a way of abandoning our work as opposition members, if only implicitly, since we are here to speak for our constituents, not for those blockading the streets.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleague that there needs to be a solution to this protest that has been taking place. I have been involved in many debates on Parliament Hill, and as a lobbyist in my time as a farm leader I came to Ottawa many times to make my point, but we made it and went home.

The situation here is exactly what I said in the first paragraph of my presentation tonight. It is that I rise with a heightened awareness of just how divided Canadians have become. Why is that? It is because the Prime Minister decided to put mandates on truckers in Canada after they had been deemed to be essential for 22 months since the beginning of COVID.

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Brandon—Souris for his delineation between the real issues that are facing our country. On one hand is division, of course, and I believe we both condemn the hate speech and the hate symbolism that has been flaunted in our nation's capital and across the country.

On the other hand, the member talked about the pandemic and issues with the pandemic. I am so encouraged to hear the member encouraging members of his constituency to get vaccinated. The question for the member is this. Considering my home province of Alberta has some of the highest numbers of COVID-19, and ICUs are still in surge capacity, would he agree that provinces also have a role to play in making sure that we can handle the pandemic but also in bringing forward a plan? The member talks about freezing restrictions, but that time is not now. Would the member agree?

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Madam Speaker, the latest news that I heard over the weekend was that Alberta had 91% vaccinations, and 87% of its population was vaccinated with two vaccines. I think the member needs to catch up on the reality that it is at least tied or maybe ahead of the rest of Canada in regard to vaccinations in Alberta now.

The member has a little catching up to do, but that is not the point here. It is the fact that we need to be able to make sure that goods and services are delivered across the country, and that the Prime Minister has been dividing the country.

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Madam Speaker, it is an absolute privilege to rise virtually to give remarks in this emergency debate on a topic that I think is very important to our country and indeed to the people in Ottawa, particularly given what we have seen with the protests to date. I would be remiss if I did not mention that I will be splitting my time with my hon. colleague from Vaughan—Woodbridge.

I had the opportunity about a week ago to present in the House for 10 minutes on the reply to the Speech from the Throne. I used it as an opportunity to articulate what I was seeing vis-à-vis the protests in Ottawa. Since then, seven days have transpired, and this has given me an opportunity to refine my thoughts on what we have seen. Members have talked about MPs and the opportunity to engage. I have seen that. I have had the opportunity to walk through and engage with people on my way back and forth to my hotel. I will take this opportunity to opine on what I have seen.

Let me give a synopsis on what my remarks detailed about a week ago. I explained to my colleagues that my father was a truck driver, and that one element I think is extremely important, and perhaps a silver lining of the pandemic, has been a reflection and recognition of the important role that our essential workers play, who sometimes can be unsung heroes in their own right. As I did a week ago, I will go on record to thank all those men and women who get up and make an honest living while serving society in an invaluable way. Hopefully all Canadians are able to reflect on what they are able to bring to the table, whether it be truck drivers, nurses or other professionals on the front lines of this pandemic. They are doing important work and deserve to be recognized.

I reminded the House why some of the provincial and territorial measures are in place, including the measures that the Government of Canada has introduced. I would agree with my colleagues that yes, we are all tired, and yes, we want to be able to move away from COVID, and I take notice that other jurisdictions around the world are moving in that direction. However, the reality is that we are moving in this direction on some of the protocols we have in place because a disproportionate number of unvaccinated Canadians represent the ICU cases in Canadian hospitals from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia. I gave a statistic, and I take notice that it may shift on a daily basis, but last week, for example, 44% of ICU cases in Nova Scotia were from the 9% of Nova Scotians who are unvaccinated.

It becomes a debate, and we have heard members go through it, of individual freedoms versus collective freedoms. I will refer members back to my speech from a week ago. There was a tension. Frankly, every parliamentarian, and indeed every Canadian, is going to have a different ideological bend on where exactly that line should be. I gave the example of Mark Clarke, a dedicated volunteer in my community. Some members might have heard the S.O. 31 I gave in the House last week that was, unfortunately, about his passing. His surgery was delayed for three weeks, the open-heart surgery he needed, because there were not enough beds in the health care system in Nova Scotia to accommodate him.

We can certainly reflect back and talk about the challenges that have existed in the health care system. Our government has provided supports. The provincial and territorial governments are working hard to make sure the system does not collapse. It speaks to some of the fragility that exists, but that is the situation we are in. That is why we are imposing these measures as we try to reduce the spread. We are trying to avoid situations, like Mark Clarke's situation, where people are not able to access surgeries and they unfortunately pass away as a result. There is a spectrum there in terms of individual freedoms and protection versus harm and what the line should be. Every member in the House is going to have a perspective on that, but the reality is that this is driving decision-making at this point.

I also highlighted the fact that no Canadian in the country is required to take the vaccine. Again, we can weigh the consequences of the freedom to choose to vaccinate or not to vaccinate, and decide if the repercussions of such are fair and equitable. I think that is all fair game in the House. However, the idea that individuals do not have the freedom to choose whether they want a vaccine is a fallacy.

Frankly, I want to be mindful of the importance of colleagues in the House in the tone and measures we set. As we have heard from colleagues who have spoken on this tonight, it is important to bring down the rhetoric. I think all parliamentarians, all 338 of us, have a role, as do elected colleagues in other places of the country. It is not one individual or one side of the House. We all have a role to play, and it is important to be mindful of that in the days ahead.

I want to move to the protest in question, because that is the nexus. That is what we are talking about today. Yes, I take notice that perhaps there are very well-intentioned people. In fact, as I went through some of the protests in the last week, I saw individuals who would perhaps be reflective of people who live in my riding, individuals who had certain concerns and wanted to bring them forward. I also saw a very sinister crowd. We saw Confederate flags and swastikas. We have seen windows shattered in businesses, individuals flying pride flags in Ottawa being terrorized and individuals being shoved to the ground. I could go on and on with instances.

While there may be well-intentioned individuals, and I trust there are, there are also individuals who want to do harm not just to parliamentarians or individuals, but to Canadian democracy. They are calling for the overthrow of governments and suggesting that they can go to the Governor General to dissolve Parliament. It is, frankly, insanity. Some members cannot call it what it is, but they need to do so.

This brings me to my point. If people protesting here in Ottawa or elsewhere in the country fashion themselves as well-intentioned individuals who want to exercise their right to protest under subsection 2(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, that is fine. However, they should recognize that their voices are being drowned out right now by individuals who are far more sinister and have far more sinister views. The point has been made. As other parliamentarians have said in the House, to those who are the good ones, it is time to go home. It is time to leave and let the people of Ottawa have their rights and freedoms back, their ability to go to work unhindered, their ability to go on with their lives without fireworks and horns and the whole circus that we have seen here in Ottawa.

I have to be careful with my own words, but I hope everyone senses my passion. To the good ones who are watching today, it is time to go home. Indeed, members of Parliament will stand in the House, as we have seen here tonight, to continue to debate the issues that matter to them. That is what we do in a democracy. We as members of Parliament bring information back from constituents who we hear from. We bring their messages and debate them on the floor of the House of Commons. We do not clog up streets.

I want to talk about the Wet'suwet'en protests that we saw in 2020. At that time, there were Conservative members of the House rightfully calling for an end to the blockade. It was disrupting the economic prosperity of the country. People were shutting down critical infrastructure. I have noticed that some Conservative members, particularly in the last few days, have started to break away and talk about that, but on the whole, there has been hypocrisy from the Conservative Party of Canada. It has not used the same language and same principle.

I stand here as a member of Parliament saying that regardless of how we view the issue and regardless of what our issue may be, we do not have the right to shut down critical infrastructure in this country. We do not have the right to do what people are doing. If people want to come to Parliament Hill and protest, that is their right. It is a constitutionally protected one. However, to create the disruption and harm going on right now is not right, and every single member of the House should be calling for the same thing: for individuals to go home.

Where do we go from here? Individuals have suggested the Prime Minister should negotiate or talk with protesters. Who does he negotiate with? It is mob rule right now. To the members who have suggested that here tonight, who would they suggest the Prime Minister speak to in that group? It is not clear to me who the leadership of this group is, and even those who are seemingly leading have a much more sinister view. It is time, as the ministers have indicated, for the police to use their discretion to make sure that this protest is wound down so we can carry on with the business of the nation and members of Parliament can articulate in the House what needs to be debated.

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Madam Speaker, I would put it to the member that it is not about negotiating, but about listening. It is about listening to the fact that there are tens of thousands of people across the country who are protesting in different ways. Some of them are driving their trucks places and going home and some of them are staying put. The point is that people are concerned about losing their jobs over mandates that need to end.

I want to put a specific question to the member, and it is about the discussion around foreign funding. Many members have raised this issue, saying foreigners are donating money to this rally. The Conservatives have been talking for a very long time about the need for tough new laws to address foreign interference and address foreign funding, and that is constantly dismissed by the other parties when it comes to all kinds of other causes, including election interference.

Will the member's government put forward legislation to address concerns about foreign interference in our democracy across the board? We cannot complain about it in one case and then let it go in other cases. If the government is going to put forward good-faith legislation that addresses foreign dollars coming into Canadian political debates across the board, I think there would be a lot of support for that in the House. Would the member put forward that legislation?

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Madam Speaker, I would like to address my colleague's first point about individuals who are choosing to protest. I have no issue with individuals who want to protest. I have an issue with people who are blockading highways in Alberta and people who are blockading the downtown of Ottawa. The member may be suggesting that governments should acquiesce to individuals who protest, and I understand governments need to listen and to take them into account. However, that does not always mean they have to agree. If the member opposite thinks a government should just acquiesce and do what individuals are suggesting is wrong, and that this is the way we should run our democracy in this country, that is a very poor view.

In relation to the aspect of financing, I absolutely agree that if we are going to move on a law to address foreign interference, it should apply to all individuals and through all causes, if that is the true desire of where the government and parliamentarians want to go.

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

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech.

I agree with his point that people have the right to protest, but that the methods are somewhat questionable.

What I hear from him this evening is a heartfelt message asking protesters to go home. I do not think the protesters will all of a sudden agree to go home.

The federal government should have sent a clear message from the beginning that it would not let the protesters settle in. It should have worked with police, the Government of Ontario and the City of Ottawa to come up with a game plan from the beginning. Now, things have gotten bad. They have gone too far. No one knows how to get out of this situation.

What does my colleague suggest? How should his government put an end to all this once and for all?

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.

Of course, the federal government's role with regard to policing matters is to be in favour of increasing the number of officers on the ground.

I think that the role of the Government of Canada is to work with the City of Ottawa and the Province of Ontario to find solutions and help people on the ground.

Ultimately, it is up to the Ottawa Police Service or the RCMP to find the best way to intervene in order to stop the protesters.

[Bonita Zarrillo, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Madam Speaker, I want to speak to a point the member for Burnaby South brought up at the beginning of this debate, that is, the emergency rescue for the health care system, and want to ask the member about our health care system. Does the member agree that this starts with funding it properly? Will the government answer the calls of the premiers to increase health care transfers to the provinces?

[Kody Blois, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Madam Speaker, I think important investments need to be made in our health care system. However, I do not know if I necessarily agree that they should be transfers without strings from the Government of Canada to ensure that outcomes are being delivered. I do not speak for the Government of Canada. I am a member of Parliament who happens to be in the governing caucus, so I will let our cabinet speak on that issue. What I will say is that there are opportunities for private delivery, still under a single-payer model and the public model, to deliver outcomes. It is not just about money. It is about how we can have better management in health care systems as well.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, before I begin my formal remarks, I would like to comment on the way I look at the situation we are facing in this wonderful, blessed country that we all call home and that we, as 338 parliamentarians, have the privilege to serve through each of those residents who live in our ridings.

We come here to do our best and put forward what I would call reasonable leadership to debate the issues and reasonable leadership to do what is right for our constituents, to do what is right in recommendations for public safety and public health, and to do what is right to exit this pandemic so that we can all return to what I would call a new normal but a normal that we would want to see. We are in winter now, but spring and summer will come. The days are getting longer, hopefully soon it will be getting warmer and we will want to be at a barbeque with our friends, travelling and enjoying all of what Canada has to offer, and we can do that in a number of ways.

For the last two years, Canadians, including the most wonderful residents in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, have been resilient, but they are tired. We are all tired of COVID-19 and we are all tired of talking about it. However, when I think about the best way to exit this pandemic, it is through vaccinations. It is through Canadians doing the right thing, and they have and they are. We ask them to continue to do that. We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel but we have to be patient.

That is one aspect of what Canadians are going through. They are getting back to work. Kids in the province of Ontario are back in school physically. Universities are opening up for in-person classes. It is great to see. Our manufacturing businesses continue to run. Our frontline workers continue to do the great job they do, day in and day out, and they have my utmost respect. At the same time, we still have work to do and we need to remain focused on the ball.

We have this occupation and this protest that is going on here in the city of Ottawa, our nation's capital. As I said last week on a panel with some of my colleagues, it needs to come to an end. It is disruptive. It is disrupting people's lives, preventing them from earning a living for all those businesses along Sparks Street and the downtown core. It has made people feel very unsafe and it is not about a trucking mandate. Ninety-five per cent of truckers in Canada are vaccinated. The same rule applies in the United States for going into the United States as coming into Canada. People need to be vaccinated. There is no disagreement there. We know that vaccines save lives.

My colleagues on the other side are saying that truckers are by themselves. No, truckers go home to family members and see their friends, and we need them to get vaccinated. They have, in overwhelming numbers, but there are Canadians out here whom I have the utmost respect for, a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian, who would disagree and not want to be vaccinated. They do not believe in that collective responsibility that we all need to have. As citizens of this beautiful country, we have a collective responsibility to exit COVID-19. We need to work together, and Canadians in an overwhelming majority have.

In the province of Ontario, the lockdowns that many of these folks outside are protesting against, are provincial lockdowns, provincial measures, which are now being lifted. Today, I read that in the city of Toronto this summer Luminato and Caribana will be in-person events, so we are returning to seeing some normalcy. We are starting to get that back, but it is coming incrementally.

I walked through the protest, as many of my colleagues have, and looked at some of the signs and stuff. It is a hodgepodge of a lot of different issues. They want to overthrow a democratically elected government. Would members sit down with someone who wants to overthrow a democratically elected government? Is that who we are supposed to speak to? I do not think so. That is not reasonable leadership at all.

For many of my colleagues on the opposite side and on my own side, I am not a partisan MP. I want to debate the issues. I want to do what is right for the residents of my riding to make sure that we have a prosperous future. We have recovered more than 100% of our jobs. Our economy is bigger than it was prepandemic. We have done the right things. We have shown reasonable leadership, and we continue to show reasonable leadership. Canadians do not expect perfection from all 338 MPs. They expect us to do our best. They expect us to do what is right.

Meeting with protesters who want to overthrow a democratically elected government is not what is right. I know many of the opposition members in the loyal opposition agree with that. Many have commented on their Twitter and social media platforms that the occupation must end. If people want to protest up and down the sidewalks and hold placards and hand out information pamphlets, God bless them. That is their right. That is their sacred right. I believe in civil liberties, but I also believe very much in collective responsibility for doing what is right for one's neighbour, just like Canadians in an overwhelming majority across this country in every province, in every city, rural or urban, have done.

Thirty-four thousand Canadians have died because of COVID. The government has had the backs of Canadians for two years. It has invested $500 billion to support Canadian businesses, families and workers and to buy rapid tests and secure vaccines. The Conservatives at one time said we would not get vaccines until 2025 or 2028. They are here in abundance, and we are actually helping out the rest of the world now. That is what Canada is about.

When I think of the protesters, although I have the utmost respect for them, they need to go home. They need to bring this to an end. The citizens of Ottawa deserve that respect. They deserve to have their lives back. The shopkeepers who invest their heart and soul into their businesses that are now shut down deserve that. There is no one to talk to because that is just not the right thing to do, plain and simple.

When I think about reasonable leadership, I say this: The blockades must end. That is reasonable leadership. We must continue to do what is right. I agree that we need to continue this. I believe in science; absolutely. I think all of our 338 MPs should believe in science. I have faith in it. It may not be perfect, but if the science says we need to transition, we transition, but let us do it prudently. Let us do it judiciously. Let us do it in a safe manner that gets us there. Let us not see what happened in Ontario, where we opened up, filled the stadiums full of people, and then had to shut down because our hospitals were over capacity again, and then we had to cancel tens of thousands of surgeries. We have people waiting literally months to years for the surgeries they need. That is not responsible leadership. We, as the government, are showing responsible leadership.

I plead to my colleagues. I listened to some of the debate earlier on. Being respectful is who we are as a people—not polite, respectful. That is, we can debate and we can scream, but we need to be respectful. I hope to see that all the time when I come into the House of Commons, into this cradle of democracy, if we want to call it that. We need to do that.

I did have some formal notes. I will read some of them, but what I really want to reiterate is that this occupation and these protests need to come to an end. This is not about trucking mandates. It is not about that. We need to exit COVID-19. That is our focus, not anything else. We need to keep Canadians safe. That is what we should all be doing, not meeting with protesters who hold up awful placards that we all know about and we do not need to discuss again, who do not respect the rule of law, who do not respect the need of the citizens of Ottawa to get a good night's sleep or their need for their families to be safe and feel safe.

The protests against vaccine mandates are gripping the city of Ottawa as well as other parts of this country. All the members know that the COVID-19 pandemic has cost us dearly, with a loss of life and livelihood. Not one of us has been untouched. It goes without saying that this period has been long and extremely challenging for all Canadians. The provinces and territories have legislative authority to implement and execute the pandemic response actions that are appropriate for their jurisdiction, including implementing and easing public health restrictions. I will be the first one who really wants to go to a big wedding or my daughter's communion in a couple of months and invite all of our relatives.

Madam Speaker is asking me to wrap it up, so I will stop there and just say it is nice to see everyone this evening. I hope they and their families are keeping safe. I cannot wait to see all of my colleagues in this place together, hopefully soon.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Madam Speaker, the member, as well as his predecessor in the speech before his, indicated that they did not know who they should go and talk to in the trucking organizations or among the individuals who are out on the streets here and across Canada.

First, they would have to make the offer. We know there are organizers in this cavalcade. They did not come all the way across Canada by just telephoning each other and saying they were going to move across the country and end up in Ottawa. There are organizers. The government has failed to even ask who that would be. I am sure if they put an olive branch out to those people, they would get a meeting in an hour.

Our interim leader indicated to the Prime Minister that he should do that and sit down with all of the leaders of the parties in the House to come up with a common solution to end this blockade.

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, our government put in place a measure to help protect Canadians, including, in this instance, truckers.

I spoke with a president of a trucking company in the region I represent, with 1,300 employees and 3,000 trailers, and 95% of his truckers are vaccinated. He operates in York Region and in the Midwest, in Chicago. He said to me, “Francesco, it is the right thing to do. All my employees who cross that border are vaccinated.”

That is what I believe in. We gave the industry a long runway to prepare for this measure. We spoke with the Canadian Trucking Alliance and they support us. They support this stance. That is what we need to do.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Madam Speaker, the theme of my colleague's speech today was responsible leadership. However, in order for the leadership to be responsible, there has to be some leadership in the first place.

Today, I would like us to talk about perceptions. In a country that is greatly divided, people seem to be unanimous in agreeing that the government was irresponsible, did not show leadership and did not do its job, and that led to the current crisis.

This evening, it seems like the government just keeps repeating that the truckers need to leave, in hopes that that will suddenly make them decide to get up and go.

Can my colleague explain to me why all those who think there is a serious lack of leadership in this government are wrong and where that perception came from?

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would like my Bloc Québécois colleague to know that leadership is very important for us.

We have shown leadership in working with the Ottawa Police Service and the City of Ottawa, in collaborating with them and sending them resources from the beginning of the convoy up to date. We have shown leadership in providing the resources they require.

Again, I wish to reiterate, how can we go and negotiate with individuals who want to overthrow the democratically elected government that Canadians voted for in the last election? To me, that is preposterous and it is wrong. We cannot go and negotiate with entities that want everything for themselves and have no desire to co-operate, and, in fact, are not following public health guidelines so that we could finally exit this pandemic.

[Lori Idlout, NDP, Nunavut, NU]

Qujannamiik, Uqaqtittiji. I want to thank the member for his comments. I just need to express that I disagree that a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. The extremist activities have shown that this is not the fact and this is not the case. Law enforcement has reacted very differently to this extremist activity compared to how law enforcement reacts to first nations, Métis and Inuit who have defended their lands.

Having said that, I do want to ask the member a question because he was talking about responsible leadership. Does he not agree that it is important that the Prime Minister meets immediately with municipal leaders as a way to begin moving forward towards ending the pandemic?

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Madam Speaker, the lines of communication between the federal government and the City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Police Service have been constantly open, and they have been constantly there.

We are collaborating. We are assisting them with resources, from RCMP officers to intelligence gathering. Anything they need, we are obviously there. We do not direct the policy force to do anything or to undertake any sort of activity. They are independent, and there is a reason for that, of course.

I would say to my hon. colleague that we are in constant contact with the City of Ottawa, their mayor and the Ottawa Police Service for the resources they require in this situation.

[Stephen Ellis, Conservative, Cumberland—Colchester, NS]

Madam Speaker, I am always honoured to rise here in the House. I want to make it clear that I will be splitting my time with my colleague from Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo.

At the current time, the interim leader of Canada's opposition has reached out to Canada's Prime Minister to ensure a peaceful and urgent end to a very difficult situation, and the question that needs to be answered is this: Will the Prime Minister respond?

What has become very clear in Canada is that the mood of Canadians is moving toward the beginning of the end of the pandemic. We realize that the health of Canadians is not only influenced by their physical health but also their financial, social and mental health.

I can clearly recall, in the early days of the pandemic, holding the hand of someone about to die from COVID‑19 who was there without his family and the only way of communicating with them was through an iPad. Some small redemption in those early days with respect to this person was that I had known him previously and he had shared with me his journey in life as a young person, how he had documented a bicycle trip across southern England, how he had been essential to the development of a hospital in Cape Breton, how his wife had died and how he ended up living in the small town of Truro, Nova Scotia. Indeed, to watch this 90-something-year-old male die without his family will forever have a profound impact on my view of the COVID‑19 pandemic. Canadians have suffered.

It is also important to reflect on the grave concern we should all now have with respect to the mental health of children and adolescents. Indeed, my own son has missed out on his high school graduation and the wonderful social times that many of us have experienced in the first two years of university. Getting our own place to live, solving our own problems, meeting new friends and learning how generally to be an adult all on our own are things that have been severely dampened by the COVID‑19 pandemic.

The unfortunate part of the pandemic and the associated isolation is that many people live in their own echo chambers. We have become isolated from the views of the others who would often surround us and engage us in exciting debate and discourse, which sometimes of course led us to agree to disagree, but other times led us to truly engage in conversation that would allow us to see another point of view and perhaps indeed change our own point of view.

Another example of not seeing other points of view is our inability to travel. We need to better understand other cultures, how they solve problems, how they communicate and how they live. It is important that we do these things. This leaves us with a need to question those things that are important to us and help us better understand how we need to help our fellow human beings. As we have these multitude of different experiences, they can help us grow as individuals, understand other cultures, learn new languages and be more resilient to take on our everyday lives. That is not to say that travel is an essential part of being a Canadian. It is simply to say that there are many things that can potentially make us more tolerant of others, which we have deeply missed during this pandemic.

For many others, it has led to the tragic end of a business that they worked so hard for and spent their entire life savings trying to build. The travel sector of course has been particularly hard hit, as has the hospitality sector. Restaurants are essential to our communities and the socialization that happens therein has suffered under this unbearable yoke. We all know that Canadians love to have a beer or a coffee and catch up with their friends, to see their expressions, to understand their burdens, to help shoulder the load and to share a great laugh. Sadly, this too has been transformed by COVID‑19, with no customers, no socialization and all of us living in our own echo chambers.

Moreover, Canadians and indeed people around the world have suffered with increased levels of anxiety. They have lost trust. They have lost hope for the future. They have lost their security. What is hope? One might define it as a feeling of expectation and a desire for a certain thing to happen. Unfortunately, there's been no certainty and the ability to plan for the future has been lost.

We do know there are several things that can benefit the health of our human species, such as good sleep, meaningful employment, doing something purely for the benefit of another, important relationships and physical activity. Essentially all of those things have been disrupted by the COVID pandemic.

As we are all aware, many, if not most, of the provincial medical officers of health are calling for the end of mandates. Countries such as the United Kingdom, with 64% vaccination rates, and Denmark, with 80% vaccination rates, compared with the over 86% that we have here in Canada, are removing mandates for masks, vaccines and passports.

We need to begin to recognize that the time to move forward is now, and that Canadians cannot be expected to live their lives in this perpetual state of uncertainty and without hope as we go forward. To be very blunt, there are many people out there who do not have many years left. I am a 53-year-old man. Realistically, I may have perhaps 15 vigorous years left. Prior to the pandemic, it would have been 17. Do I want to continue my life not seeing the joy of smiles on faces, not being able to travel, not being able to have social events with constituents, limiting my gatherings with family on special occasions such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, and having birthdays that are drive-bys with horns honking from neighbours with signs on their lawns? This, my friends and colleagues, is not living.

It is also very clear from recent studies that lockdowns are not effective. We now know how much the poor federal health care funding in Canada and the lack of surge capacity have perpetuated this pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, in my small town with 100 beds in our hospital, we perpetually worked at between 90% and 130% capacity. Our intensive care beds in Canada per 100,000 people are half of those available in the United States and one-third of those available in Germany.

Now, sadly, we have an unimaginable tsunami in terms of the backlog of cases for diagnostic imaging, laboratory and specialist appointments and missed treatments. How is this perpetual underfunding ever going to allow this catch-up to happen with an overburdened infrastructure and a tired, exhausted, burned-out human health resource of physicians, nurses and other allied health care providers?

How does this all end? Do we simply trudge forward, one foot in front of the next, without any hope, or is this a defining moment in humanity where those around the globe begin to realize that, unfortunately and sadly, sometimes there can be a fate worse than death?

How do we begin to move forward? One great way is to look at the legendary Colin Powell's legacy, the 13 rules of leadership. General Powell was arguably one of the most influential writers on leadership in the western world in modern times.

As he would suggest:

1) It ain’t as bad as you think! It will look better in the morning.

2) Get mad then get over it.

3) Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.

4) It can be done.

5) Be careful what you choose. You may get it.

6) Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.

7) You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours.

8) Check small things.

9) Share credit.

10) Remain calm. Be kind.

11) Have a vision. Be demanding.

12) Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.

13) Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

These rules of leadership are not perfect. Leadership is not perfect. One of these things that we also must know about great leaders is that we must try. We must care. In the immortal words of John F. Kennedy, “We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

I implore the Prime Minister to check the ego, check the position and meet with leaders of the other parties and bring this situation to a peaceful and urgent end.

[Sameer Zuberi, Liberal, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Cumberland—Colchester for his comments and also I want to extend my condolences for the passing of your friend.

I appreciate a lot of what you said. I would like to hear from you in particular around, since we are talking about it, the protest convoy in front of the Hill right now. You did not mention it at all in your address, and I am curious about your opinions and your thoughts on this.

We see, for example, swastikas. We see hate speech and illegal acts, such as arson. You did not have any comments on this. I am curious what your thoughts are on these acts, on these flags, etc.?