Mr. Speaker, I will not be sharing time with her, but I am joined here by my daughter.
I want to propose an emergency debate today on the urgent situation facing our country as a consequence of the convoy protests, as well as the general state of the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to outline the impacts we have seen here in Ottawa, specifically on the people of Ottawa. It has been horrible.
They have been menaced on the streets. People have been harassed. There have been nights when people cannot sleep because of the honking and fireworks. It is targeting people as opposed to what normal protests do, which is target the government. They have harassed people. We have seen truck drivers in Coutts being detained or stopped, unable to cross the border for days without food, water or access to washrooms. We are now seeing something similar arising at the border crossing into Sarnia. There are protests and occupations across the country in Toronto, Quebec City, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
The situation has reached a crisis point. Yesterday, the City of Ottawa declared a state of emergency. Given the impact on people, the dire nature of the stress it has placed on people, and the fact that it is across the country and numerous people are being impacted by this, I believe this meets the bar of Standing Order 52 that the matter proposed be “a genuine emergency, calling for immediate and urgent consideration”.
Given the urgency of the situation related to the occupations here in Ottawa and the protests across the country, as well as the border blockades, I believe it is important to hold an emergency debate in Parliament today.