Emergencies Act  I have been worried about frightened children unable to sleep or attend school, about people who needed an ambulance or other emergency services, about pedestrians harassed on the street for simply wearing a mask and about frontline workers who do not have a paycheque because their places of employment have been forced to close. Like so many Canadians, I was deeply disturbed to see the war memorial and the Terry Fox statue disrespected and to witness numerous symbols of hate openly displayed in our nation's capital. I want to be clear that there is a distinction between those who oppose public health measures with respect to COVID-19 and those who are responsible for the hostile occupation of our nation's capital.

Emergencies Act  There has also been an incident of someone jumping up and down on the National War Memorial. There has been another incident of someone putting an upside-down flag on the Terry Fox statue. There have also been reports of local residents being intimidated and harassed. I certainly condemn all these activities, but none of this justifies invoking the emergency measures act.

COVID-19 Protests  Speaker, I am disappointed to hear a member from the Bloc Québécois suggest that we should try to open up dialogue with individuals who have been associated with people who are spreading hate, people who are waving flags with swastikas on them, people who are raiding soup kitchens to feed themselves because somehow they are entitled to that food, people who have been desecrating a war memorial statue, people who have been dressing up Terry Fox's statue. It is not one bad apple but a whole host of problems, and here we have a member from the Bloc Québécois asking why we are not sitting down and talking to these people.

COVID-19 Protests  A number of incidents occurred, such as a protester carrying a German Nazi flag, others with Confederate flags, motorists parking on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and other protesters urinating on it. Some protesters put their signs on the Terry Fox statue and on other statues. Others also went looking for meals at a local homeless shelter. The incessant noise from the protesters and the inconvenience caused by the fact that many streets are blocked has caused a lot of friction with residents.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Look at any Black Lives Matter event, and we will see a few troublemakers. In Canada, we have seen troublemakers knock the head off the Queen Victoria statue in Manitoba, tear down the Sir John A. statue in Montreal and put flags on the Terry Fox statue here, and we in this room condemn all of that. Of course, I condemn anyone promoting hate speech or hate symbols in this protest.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier  I visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier this morning, not just to remember, and not just to give thanks, but also to beg for forgiveness for any time that we as Canadians have forgotten that freedom was not free. I thank those who laid flowers at the tomb and at the Terry Fox statue, and I say shame on those who desecrated sacred places this weekend.

Emergencies Act  It is tragically ironic that the soldier inside the tomb was once a person who knew well what fighting for freedom was all about. The same applies to the statue of a remarkable young man. Terry Fox raised more money than anyone in this country for those fighting an insidious disease, including those who are immunocompromised. The monument and the statue are precious symbols of the best of who we are as a country.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  We saw people harassing journalists, urinating on and disrespecting the National War Memorial, intimidating and stealing from a food bank, and desecrating a statue of our national hero, Terry Fox. While there may be truckers as part of this crowd, they are certainly not sanctioned by the organization that speaks for truckers, and the prevailing voice of the past four days is one of a much more sinister crowd and outlook.

Lauren Small-Pennefather  Madam Speaker, Lauren Small‑Pennefather, one of my constituents, has been volunteering for the Terry Fox Foundation for a decade. Lauren has organized the Montreal West Terry Fox Run for the past 10 years and has not missed a run in 24 years. Lauren lost both of her parents to cancer.

Finance committee  This notice was an echo of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, which studied division 32. This committee was unanimous in saying that what is in division 32 is not satisfactory and must be thoroughly amended. My amendments to division 32 were an effort to improve the bill.

William Dwyer  Despite all this, Will never stopped fighting for a cure for cancer. Will spent over four decades tirelessly fundraising for The Terry Fox Foundation. Whether he was on foot, using a walker or wheelchair, or having his son drive him door to door, he never gave up on his goal to raise over $1 million for the foundation.

COVID-19 Protest  Speaker, of course we all condemn hateful and destructive acts by a few at any protest. Whether it is beheading the statue of Queen Victoria in Manitoba, tearing down the statue of Sir John A. in Montreal or putting flags on Terry Fox, whether it is burning churches or wearing blackface, whether it is Hezbollah flags or Nazi flags, we all condemn it, but I am not talking about that.

Finance committee  I'm going to start by making a comment to committee members in connection with Mr. Laliberté's testimony. I will then have a question for Terry Beech in his role as parliamentary secretary, and so as a representative of the government. Thank you for being here, Mr. Laliberté. Your points are extremely clear. I agree with you.

Finance committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you to all members for their comments. I certainly have been working diligently with all members in various phone calls over time to take into account all the needs, wants and desires, including trying to get more study time than we've had on average over the previous five years.

Canada Revenue Agency  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to clarify the government's position for my opposition colleague for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. I also heard him inquiring about Bill S-216 during the budget debate today, and I am very happy to have this opportunity to address the issue directly.