Chris Warkentin

[Emergencies Act, February 19th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, today I stand in the House to oppose the Prime Minister's unjustified, unconstitutional and unlawful imposition of the Emergencies Act. Tonight, I feel completely inadequate to convey the message that I feel burdened to give. In my mix of heartbreak, sorrow, anger and disgust at the Prime Minister's words and actions over the last two years, I struggle for words. It is made that much more difficult because I am starting to feel a contradiction of feelings.

Over the past couple of days, I have started to feel that there is maybe some reason for hope. I believe that faint hope is like a distant light on the horizon and it is going to spread and expand and be as uncontrollable by the Prime Minister as the morning sunrise. I am disgusted and angered by the things I have witnessed over the past months, and the sorrow and disgust almost broke me today as I witnessed what took place on the street just outside this building. Yes, the Prime Minister got his way. He cleared the streets. He pushed the voices of his critics far enough away that he could no longer hear them, and he did it all with pepper spray and force.

Colleagues, what are we doing here? When the Prime Minister enacted the Emergencies Act, he claimed that it was to save the economy, but the border blockades were already cleared and the protesters had started to dissipate. He then changed his story and claimed that it was all about saving our democracy. However, Parliament continued to operate, legislation continued to be debated and votes continued to happen. The Prime Minister then changed his story again and said the act was needed to remove the trucks. However, legal experts disputed that and said that authorities already existed to remove the trucks. Now, the trucks are gone and have been cleared, and he still wants these unprecedented powers.

Why does he need these powers? The borders are open, the trucks are gone and the streets are clear. What is left? It seems the Prime Minister is going to continue to suspend civil liberties and legal protections until he can be sure that he has silenced his opponents permanently and has sent the message to anyone who disagrees with him that he will do the same thing to them. He will seize bank accounts, phone records and whatever else he needs without the requirement for normal legal protections and court orders.

This did not start just a couple of weeks ago. The Prime Minister has been seeking to wedge, stigmatize and divide Canadians for his own political advantage for some time. Even members of his own party are starting to call him out for it. He said “those people”. He called them extremists who do not believe in science. They are misogynists. They are often racists. They are science deniers, a fringe minority holding unacceptable opinions. They are anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, anti-Black, homophobic and transphobic. They are a small group of the population. They are taking up space, he said. He asked whether the country needed to “tolerate these people“. The Prime Minister therefore enacted unjustified rules that were intentionally discriminatory so that those people “taking up space” would not need to be tolerated.

I will not share with the House her name, but a lady asked to meet with me in my constituency office several months ago. She sat across the boardroom table from me and told the story of losing her son to complications from a vaccination decades ago. She sobbed as she expressed her fears of getting the injection. She had fear for herself, fear for her children and fear for her grandchildren. She asked me why the Prime Minister would make her do this. Why would he not understand that she could not do it? She had already had COVID and wanted to know if she could get an exemption to the federal mandate so she could see her elderly mum, who lives a significant distance away. She needed to fly there.

I could not answer this lady's question. She is not a racist. She is not an extremist. She is not a fringe minority.

Norm and his family farmed a few miles away from the farm where I grew up. My entire life I knew he was a strong NDP supporter. I knew he had run for the party in 1988 under Ed Broadbent. Norm and his family were generous neighbours, and although our families may not have agreed when it came to politics, we always knew that if we needed help, we would help each other.

When I became an MP over 16 years ago, Norm maintained his communication with me and was always well read and informed when he would express concerns about multinational corporations or about the Harper government. More recently, he expressed a more urgent concern about the current Prime Minister and the mandates that have been imposed on all Canadians. He called it crushing citizens' rights to peaceful protest.

I want to address my NDP friends. Norm has written to many of them, and although they cannot tell from his emails, his words are sincere. He fears for his grandchildren, children and neighbours. He has begged us not to support the passage of the Emergencies Act. Norm is a good man with a good family. He is not an extremist. He believes in science. He is not a misogynist, nor is he a racist.

Chris is a city councillor for the City of Grand Prairie. Chris cares deeply about our community, especially about the vulnerable who live within our region. Chris has been a leading advocate for bringing meaningful change and reconciliation for indigenous people who live in our communities. He is a good friend of mine.

Last week, Chris was in Ottawa to protest the discriminatory policies and mandates of the federal government. Chris is not an extremist. He is not anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, anti-Black, racist, homophobic or transphobic. One person in the House who knows that as well as I do is the Prime Minister. He knows Chris because they have close mutual friends. As a matter of fact, the Prime Minister called Chris personally to ask him to run for the Liberal Party of Canada. Unfortunately, because of his stand against injustice and division, people across the country have now echoed the Prime Minister's words and accused my friend, our friend, who has two Black sisters, of being a racist and a misogynist. This has to end.

My colleagues and I have a choice. History will judge us for our decision. Will we do the right thing and reject the politics of division and hate and end this attack on freedom, or will we grant the Prime Minister this unlimited power he wants so he can attack his political adversaries?

I said at the beginning of my speech that I had reason for hope, and I do have hope. The reason is that, while 338 of us in the House may or may not do the right thing, I know Canadians have had enough of the divisions, they have had enough of the hate and they have had enough of the political divisions.

I have no faith in the Prime Minister and have no faith that he will change, but I have faith that Canadians have seen all they need to see. They know who the Prime Minister is. They have seen the pain he is willing to inflict on people who do not agree with him. I trust Canadians. I hope my colleagues in this building will do the same and give Canadians their freedoms back.

[Health, February 9th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, that is the problem. There the Prime Minister goes again refusing to answer the question. It seems he would rather wedge, divide and stigmatize fellow Canadians. The problem is Canadians are better than that. They are sick and tired of his divisive games. They have done their part and they deserve to know when Canada will follow our international allies and end our restrictions.

On what date will the restrictions end?

[Health, February 9th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Israel, Czech Republic, the U.K., Spain and Denmark are all removing restrictions, including vaccine mandates, even though they have lower vaccine rates than we do here in Canada. Saskatchewan and Alberta provincial governments have also announced plans to remove their restrictions.

When will the Prime Minister follow our international allies, follow the science, follow the expert advice, follow the premiers and give Canadians a plan as to when he will remove the federal travel restrictions here in Canada?

[Passionate Heart Awards, February 7th, 2022]

Mr. Speaker, our communities are made better by the selfless contributions of so many who live within our region. The Passionate Heart Awards are an opportunity to recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations that contribute to our community, enhance social services and improve the quality of life for all of us.

The Family & Community Support Services of the city and the county of Grande Prairie and the towns of Beaverlodge, Sexsmith and Wembley have made the Passionate Heart Awards an important annual tradition. Coming together as a community to recognize the commitment and the hard work of our frontline social services professionals and see their excellence honoured by their peers and colleagues is always a meaningful occasion, made even more significant by the challenges we have faced over the last couple of years.

On behalf of local residents, I would like to extend a special congratulations to this year's nominees and award winners. I thank them for their commitment to helping build a stronger and better future for all of us.

[Questions Passed as Orders for Return, January 31st, 2022]

With regard to pipeline safety and the government's reaction to David Suzuki's recent comments about pipelines blowing up: (a) does the Prime Minister denounce Mr. Suzuki's comments and, if not, why not; (b) does the Minister of Environment and Climate Change denounce Mr. Suzuki's comments and, if not, why not; (c) what is the government's policy regarding future meetings, events, or dealings with Mr. Suzuki; and (d) in light of the comments, is the government planning to add specific measures to ensure that pipelines are protected and, if so, what are they?

[Government Programs, June 22nd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has failed Canadians. My constituents in Peace Country are fed up with politicians who claim one thing to get elected and then impose an Ottawa-knows-best, one-size-fits-all fantasy solution to real-world problems.

Peace Country residents have been hit hard by the Liberals' ongoing attack on Alberta's energy sector, the tripling of the carbon tax, and they cannot afford the hyperinflation the Liberals are currently manufacturing. My constituents want representation that actually cares who they are and what they believe, and the effective solutions they have. It is time for a government that will not pit one group of Canadians against another.

Canadians are the solution; they have always been that. Canadians deserve a government that will encourage creativity, innovation, opportunity and prosperity rather than inhibit it through government control and unnecessary regulations. It is time for a government that will respect the people and will be focused on building a future for every Canadian, not just politicians and their friends.

[Committees of the House, June 17th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present today, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, in relation to its study on the protection of privacy and reputation on platforms such as Pornhub.

I would like to thank the analysts and the clerk for their diligence and support to our committee during this horrific testimony and challenging report.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

[Bill C-10, June 10th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, freedom to speak is a cornerstone of a free society. Bill C-10 will threaten that freedom and opens the door for the government to decide what is acceptable speech and what is unacceptable.

Democracy rests on the rights of a free people to speak freely, to freely debate and decide what are good ideas and what are bad ideas. I trust Canadians to engage in robust debates and wisely seek out truth without the government looking over their shoulders.

It is no wonder that it is the current government, whose entire philosophy is based on weak and faulty ideas, that is trying to ram this legislation through before an election. However, Canadians will not be silenced, and they know that Bill C-10 is simply an attempt to limit their ability to challenge those in power.

I will continue to fight against the passage of this flawed and dangerous legislation. Attempts to silence Canadians are wrong, and I will continue to fight and defend the rights of Canadians to freely challenge those in power.

[Committees of the House, June 10th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, entitled “Questions of Conflict of Interest and Lobbying in Relation to Pandemic Spending”.

The committee wishes to highlight the fact that throughout this study it faced many challenges related to the appearance of witnesses and the procurement of documents. While appearances before committee are normally done through invitation, which witnesses normally voluntarily accept, some witnesses only appeared before this committee after the summons was issued, or the threat of summons, in this case.

In addition, the committee is of the view that some of the witnesses' responses to requests for documents or written answers to questions are incomplete. Despite all the documents and written responses received, the committee believes that there are still many questions to be answered.

We would like to take note of the non-appearance of ministerial staff before committee following the motion adopted in the House of Commons on March 25, 2021. Those staff included Rick Theis, the Prime Minister's director of policy and cabinet affairs; Amitpal Singh, the Deputy Prime Minister's policy adviser; and Ben Chin, the Prime Minister's senior adviser. We would also like to note that the Prime Minister refused the invitation to testify before the committee.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.

I would also like to take this moment to thank the clerk and the analysts for their diligent work under frustrating circumstances.

[Peace Country Educators, June 7th, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, today I want to pay tribute to Peace Country educators, who have met the unprecedented challenge of this past year and deserve our thanks. These past months have been challenging for all of us, but teachers have navigated some really unique obstacles. The unexpected shutdown of in-person learning forced teachers to innovate and learn new technology skills so they could continue to teach their dispersed students at home and create ways for students to connect with one another.

Families across the Peace Country have faced the pain of financial pressure, job loss and isolation, and I know that educators and staff have helped students navigate these realities while many faced these same challenges in their own homes. These past months have been unprecedented in our lives, but Peace Country teachers, staff and administrators have met the challenges.

As we come to the end of this school year, on behalf of myself and our family and on behalf of Peace Country residents, I want to thank them for their dedication and service to our kids as we look forward to more normal days ahead.