Andrew Scheer

[Public Safety, February 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is once again offering concessions to those who have more resolve than he does. Now the RCMP has been ordered to leave Wet'suwet'en territory, there are major questions about whether this project will actually go ahead.

The Prime Minister has already told these radical anti-energy protesters that he will not do anything to enforce the law. Those people are breaking the law and trying to hold up this important project.

Will he at least give a 100% guarantee that Coastal GasLink will be built, yes or no?

[Public Safety, February 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, these anti-free market, anti-energy activists have nothing to do with reconciliation, and it is completely unjust for up to 1,500 people to have to go without a paycheque because some people are breaking the law.

Helen Michelle of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation said, “A lot of the protestors are not even Wet'suwet'en people. Our people said go ahead” to Coastal GasLink.

Once again, can the Prime Minister tell this House on what day these illegal blockades will come down?

[Public Safety, February 20th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, one of the many ways we can tell that the Prime Minister does not know what he is doing is when his message changes every single day. First, the Prime Minister elevated the protesters, talking about how they were defending their communities in the cold. Then he tried to make a link between radical anti-energy activists and reconciliation. Then he said that the protests were illegal, but it was not up to him to enforce the rule of law.

I have a simple question. Can the Prime Minister tell us on what day these illegal blockades will come down?

[Public Safety, February 19th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, only to the Prime Minister is standing up for the rule of law somehow aggressive behaviour from a government. It is the bare minimum that Canadians expect from their elected officials.

Yesterday there were suggestions that some of the blockades might come down if the RCMP withdrew from certain sites. When asked about this, the minister said that they were considering that.

Why is the government considering directing the RCMP not to uphold the law, but ruling out asking them to enforce the rule of law?

[Public Safety, February 19th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, they are not doing everything. They could actually be moving to take these blockades down.

The reality is that the Prime Minister is trying to make a link between reconciliation and a group of radical protesters who have nothing to do with the first nations affected by this decision. These are groups whose self-professed goals are to shut down all development in our energy sector. They are anti-free market and they are ignoring the science of these approvals.

Once again, will the Prime Minister take action and tell these out-of-work Canadians on what day they can return to work?

[Public Safety, February 19th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister still refuses to take any kind of action. These radical activists have erected these blockades because they want to shut down our resource centre. Protesters 4,000 kilometres away want to cancel billions of dollars' worth of resource projects, ones supported by the elected council of the Wet'suwet'en and even the British Columbia NDP government. This is not a way to grow the economy.

The Prime Minister is showing incredible weakness in refusing to do anything about this. Once again, can he tell people who were just laid off on what day they can get back to work?

[Public Safety, February 19th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, if it is an unacceptable situation, he should do something about it. After two weeks of the Prime Minister's inaction and weakness, CN Rail and VIA Rail have announced that they are laying off nearly 1,500 workers because of these non-stop blockades across Canada. There are 1,500 men and women who have to look their families in the eye and tell them that they were laid off. They still have bills to pay.

Can the Prime Minister tell them on what day will the blockades come down?

[Public Safety, February 19th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, “we must have coordinated action if we are going to call in police. There must be coordination with every province. A deadline must be set. I am not talking about weeks, but days. ...it is time for this to end. It has been two weeks.” Who said that? Quebec's premier, François Legault.

Did Mr. Legault disqualify himself with these comments from participating in future federal-provincial meetings?

[Indigenous Affairs, February 18th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is talking about picking and choosing who speaks for first nations communities. Let us talk about who speaks for the Wet'suwet'en First Nation: the elected band councillors, the majority of the hereditary chiefs and the people living in these communities. They realize that the only way to have the same quality of life as every other Canadian is to have these kinds of partnerships with natural resource corporations and the jobs that they create.

Once again, who does the Prime Minister think he is going to sit across the table from? Is it the people who are breaking the law and who have no representation for the people who are affected by this project?

[Indigenous Affairs, February 18th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, who is he talking about sitting down with in partnership? These people in Ontario are ignoring the demands of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation. They are using them as an excuse to protest and block projects that they have always been opposed to.

Once again, why is the Prime Minister elevating people, activists, who have no connection to the first nations that we are talking about, and elevating them on the same level as hard-working and well-meaning indigenous leaders who are actually interested in reconciliation in this country?