House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2025, with 42% of the vote.
Public Safety February 21st, 2020
Mr. Speaker, given that we are talking about solutions, last Monday, 12 days after the start of the crisis, the RCMP commissioner was seen at the emergency meeting of the Prime Minister and the ministers. We can therefore assume that they discussed possible action to take down the blockades.
Did the Prime Minister give the RCMP any instructions at all?
Public Safety February 20th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, I fully understand that the minister does not have authority over E Division of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as it comes under B.C. jurisdiction. However, can the minister tell us what RCMP resources he does have control over?
There are resources available to the minister, and section 5 of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act authorizes him to issue orders and directives. Can the minister respond to that?
Public Safety February 19th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, for the information of the Prime Minister and all members of the House, the government has the power to give instructions to the RCMP.
After initially denying it, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness finally admitted it in the House yesterday.
The illegal blockades must end, but that will take leadership, a quality that the Prime Minister is sorely lacking.
When will he tell his public safety minister to put an end to this national crisis?
Relations with Indigenous Peoples February 18th, 2020
Madam Chair, the member criticized my speech. He also blamed the government, and rightfully so. He described how critical the situation is, and we agree with him on that. At the end of his speech, however, he said that all he wanted was for the pipeline project to be cancelled.
How can the Bloc Québécois tell the Government of British Columbia to cancel a pipeline project that is supported by 20 band councils and agreed on by everyone, including the province?
Relations with Indigenous Peoples February 18th, 2020
Madam Speaker, this needs to be resolved, just like any other conflict. We saw other conflicts before the holidays, particularly with Canadian National. That caused problems and there was talk of passing back-to-work legislation. When there is a labour dispute at Canada Post, we talk about back-to-work legislation.
In the situation we are discussing today, no one seems to have a solution. All we are asking for is a stronger tone.
Getting back to the Bloc Québécois's question, I want to say that there are non-indigenous individuals in the groups currently manning the blockades. Some of these individuals are even activists from the United States. We cannot allow the situation to deteriorate further.
Relations with Indigenous Peoples February 18th, 2020
Madam Speaker, I do not know which of my colleagues made that comment.
We obviously do not want to see force being used. However, we must be firm and clear, and we must have objectives. We must ask them to leave and promise to listen to them. We cannot simply wait it out.
Relations with Indigenous Peoples February 18th, 2020
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his remarks.
First of all, the Prime Minister's speech this morning said nothing. Thirteen days in, I can understand that he would be looking for a solution. However, as I said at the beginning of my speech, the end does not justify the means. Everyone is walking on eggshells and nobody wants to get their hands dirty because they are afraid of reprisals if there is an intervention. Nobody wants to relive the Oka crisis. Nobody wants a repeat of another crisis.
In light of the situation and the impact of this blockage on the Canadian economy, we cannot afford to let ourselves be threatened. We cannot live under threat. Nobody wants to threaten people and nobody wants to be threatened. It does not work that way. If the government decides to say nothing and just hope, how long will it last? It is fine if the conflict is resolved tomorrow or in 48 hours at most, but we need some kind of ultimatum to tell these people that their actions are illegal, that they are not working, and that the government will talk to them if they get out within 48 hours. There are ways of doing that, but I do not think sunshine and lollipops will get us very far.
Relations with Indigenous Peoples February 18th, 2020
Madam Speaker, we are here this evening to take part in an emergency debate.
Today, we all saw the response from the Prime Minister. It was the weakest response we have ever heard in Canada's modern history to a crisis like the one we are currently in.
The Liberals and the other opposition parties are currently talking about what may have led to this situation, but the thing that matters more to the Conservatives is the critical infrastructure, the railway and the blockade.
We can understand what pushed people, activists or certain first nations groups to do what they are doing, but as the saying goes, the end does not justify the means.
The Prime Minister forgot two key elements in his speech this morning. First, he forgot to clearly condemn the illegal actions of the radical activists. Then, he failed to present a plan of action to finally end the blockade and get our economy back on track. His statement is a full abdication of his responsibility and shows a flagrant lack of leadership.
We have to decide what Canada represents. Are we still a country that says yes to major national projects or must we kowtow to activists who are trying to put the breaks on development? Are Canadian laws really laws? Are there two classes of citizens, those who must abide by the law without protesting, and the rest? As my leader asked, will we let our economy be taken hostage by a small group that rejects the legal system that has been in place in our country for more than 150 years?
The Prime Minister claims that he is sensitive, more than any other prime minister before him, to the concerns of the first nations. However, that cannot live up to the truth.
I have a few examples of comments made by first nations members. Today, the House wants to debate Canada's indigenous problem of the past 150 years when the main issue is dismantling the blockade as quickly as possible. The economy is at risk. We can understand that there are indigenous peoples in Canada who have differences that they want to resolve and that they are looking for solutions. We all agree on that. However, the first thing that must be done is to tell people that a few dozen individuals have completely shut down Canada's rail network. That is a critical piece of infrastructure.
When it comes to critical infrastructure, billions are being spent on national defence, and hundreds of millions are being spent on public safety to protect Canadian infrastructure. This includes cyber-attacks, coastal defence and aerospace. We can put in whatever we want. Right now, a few dozen individuals, including many activists who are not indigenous, by the way, are on the tracks in Canada and are blocking Canada’s entire railway system. Do we think that this make sense? Do we think that we should be spending the entire evening until midnight talking about indigenous issues?
Could we talk about it tomorrow once we get the tracks cleared and the railway system up and running again? That is what is important. I do not understand how the coalition of the Bloc Québécois, the NDP and the Liberals could talk about indigenous issues in the broadest sense, while nothing is moving. We cannot wrap our heads around it. One day I would like to have a discussion with people from the other parties and have someone explain to businesses and the entire country how we can do this.
Let us go back to what indigenous people have already said about the current problem.
Chief Larry Nooski said that Coastal GasLink presents the Nadleh Whut'en First Nation with an unparalleled economic growth opportunity. They negotiated hard to ensure that the Nadleh people, including their young people, can benefit directly or indirectly from this project, while ensuring that the land and water will also be protected.
Hereditary chief Helen Michelle of Skin Tyee First Nation of the Wet'suwet'en has stated that most of the protesters were not even Wet’suwet’en. She added that her people gave Coastal GasLink the go-ahead, that they talked and talked to the elders, and brought them back to walk the territory where the Coastal GasLink is going. They are going to give it the go-ahead.
Hereditary chief Theresa Tait-Day of the Wet'suwet'en nation said that 85% of her people said yes to Coastal GasLink.
There is a very sensitive issue in Quebec, and I hope my Bloc friends are listening. Bill 21 is a very sensitive topic that most Quebeckers are unanimously in favour of. Some Quebeckers are against Bill 21. If those who oppose it decided to block the Louis-Hippolyte-Lafontaine bridge-tunnel and the Pierre-Laporte bridge in Quebec City because they are against Bill 21, would they be there for long? Would my Bloc colleagues be okay with them staying there and exercising their right to protest? No, they would have to leave before any discussion could happen. The same principle applies.
Is any particular cause more important than another? So important that it can be allowed to block the national economy?
If 85% of the community supports the project, that means 15% of the community does not. Should all our rail lines be blocked because 15% of the population does not agree? That makes no sense.
We must ask ourselves whether Canada can turn a blind eye to these illegal acts. We understand that they want to talk, but we need to intervene, particularly since everyone knows that the first nations in the region agreed to the project.
In Ontario, Tyendinaga Mohawk police chief Jason Brant reminded protesters that their actions were illegal and that they should leave the premises peacefully. He read a letter to protesters asking them to go home and to tell the Ontario Provincial Police that they intended to do just that. The police peacefully reminded people that they were committing an offence. The police officers did their job. They told the protesters that they could not stay there. We wanted peaceful measures and that is what happened. The police have not been aggressive. They said that they had received a letter from the court and that the protesters had to leave. They were not mean about it. It is when people fail to listen to police instructions that the problems begin.
With regard to public safety, rail systems were tampered with and the Minister of Transport is aware of that. When the blockades come down, the rail systems will have to be checked because it is dangerous for the trains. It is urgent that we put an end to the protests and get the rail system back up and running as quickly as possible.
The economic impact is huge, especially for passengers. Yes, passengers can take the bus or other forms of transportation. However, this also has an impact on the supply of products like propane and chlorine and on infrastructure.
It is not just about money. Some people will say that money is not important, since it grows on trees. That is what the Prime Minister thinks. However, businesses do not survive on the government's money; they survive on their own money. If they suffer losses, no one will compensate them, but let us not talk about that.
The municipalities need chlorine for water treatment. If there are chlorine shortages, this will become a public health issue. There are many problems like this.
Yes, negotiations related to indigenous issues are important. We have indigenous affairs spokespersons to take care of that. However, what urgently matters today is clearing the rail line to get our economy back on track. Then we can begin the necessary discussions.
Public Safety February 18th, 2020
Mr. Speaker, it took 13 days for the Prime Minister to finally seem to grasp the extent of the crisis that is rocking this country. Protesters are illegally blockading rail lines across the country, which is having disastrous safety and economic consequences.
We know that the Minister of Public Safety has the authority to ask the RCMP to take action. When is he going to do it?
Public Safety February 7th, 2020
Madam Speaker, the events at Polytechnique and the attack on the Quebec City mosque are two very strong arguments from the Liberals. I understand that these two tragedies never should have happened. However, we are talking about more than two million law-abiding Canadians who have guns for sport shooting and hunting. The debate should not always come back to these two events. In Canada, illegal arms cause hundreds of deaths in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. That is what needs to be addressed.
The government wants to settle this by passing an order in council instead of introducing a bill that would be debated in the House; why?