Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, we could go on Twitter right now and find some of the most outrageous, offensive and criminal statements across Canada. What we do not do in this country is base the passage of laws and the invocation of emergency acts upon the possibility of a threat. We must base it on a real threat.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, the member is putting words in my mouth. I am not saying this is a simple inconvenience for the people of downtown Ottawa. I am not downplaying the experiences she mentioned. I believe they are true experiences and unacceptable experiences. However, they are experiences that can be dealt with through existing laws.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, I was at the public safety committee when the deputy director of intelligence, Barry MacKillop, answered a question from one of his colleagues: Why are we not covering these crowdfunding sources? It is obviously a big loophole. The deputy director stated that the payment processors moving the money from individuals to the crowdsourcing pages report to FINTRAC, and the Canadian banks that receive the money from the crowdsourcing efforts report to the Canadian government.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, unlike the Prime Minister and ministers across the aisle, it actually gives me no pleasure to rise to speak to the matter at hand. The invocation of the Emergencies Act earlier this week, for the first time in Canadian history, is a significant moment and it is not a moment to be pleased about.

Emergencies Act  I will address the member's heckle. I am very concerned about the situation that occurred around Coutts, Alberta, where a small group of militants was arrested with firearms and with the intent to do harm. I am so thankful for law enforcement's efforts in taking down this very real threat, and I am so confident in our law enforcement because I know they had been planning this operation for weeks.

Emergencies Act  Madam Speaker, I note that the deputy director of intelligence for FINTRAC, Barry MacKillop, would disagree with the minister's suggestion that there is extremist financing of the convoy, but I will move on to my question. Back in January through March 2020, as the minister said, those people came for the throat.

Emergencies Act  Mr. Speaker, I was disappointed to see the stand that the leader of the NDP and the party have taken on an issue that deals with the fundamental civil liberties of Canadians. What has happened to the party of Tommy Douglas? What has happened to the party of Jack Layton that fought against Bill C-51 and the War Measures Act?

Emergencies Act  Mr. Speaker, the minister today, and in a news conference yesterday, has repeatedly stated that there are ideologically motivated, violent extremists and there is a small group of extremists who are willing to use violence. He says that there are ties between extremists who were apprehended in Coutts and extremists here in Ottawa.

Emergencies Act  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Public Safety and the Minister of Emergency Preparedness have repeatedly stated that there is evidence of foreign extremist financing behind this convoy. Last week at the public safety committee, the deputy director of intelligence for FINTRAC, Barry MacKillop, stated that there was no evidence that this funding in Ottawa was tied to ideologically motivated extremism.

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, I do not know how any member of the government caucus could stand by the Prime Minister when he accuses hon. members of this House of standing with a swastika. I am calling on all members of the Liberal caucus to denounce the Prime Minister. I have given him two chances to apologize.

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, I have never heard such shameful and dishonourable remarks coming from the Prime Minister. My great-grandfather flew more than 30 missions over Nazi Germany. My great-great-uncle's body lies at the bottom of the English Channel. Members of the Conservative caucus are descendants of victims of the Holocaust.

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, the lack of an apology from that Prime Minister speaks volumes. I have given the Prime Minister an opportunity to retract a shameful remark, where he would accuse any hon. member of this House to stand with a swastika. As I said before, we have colleagues who are descendants of victims of the Holocaust.

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, the invocation of the Emergencies Act for the first time in Canadian history is a damning indictment on the failure of the Prime Minister to address the situation. The Prime Minister once said, “when a government asks its citizens to give up even a small portion of their liberty...it is not [simply] enough...to say: ‘trust us.’

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, we shall see if the Prime Minister answers this one. At every opportunity he has had to de-escalate the situation in Ottawa and around Canada, he has chosen to hide, confront and escalate. His divisive conduct has been a lesson in abject failure. Blockades should come down.

Public Safety  Mr. Speaker, yesterday at the public safety committee, I asked Toronto's deputy chief of police if the Liberals' plan to spend a billion taxpayer dollars on a firearms buyback would have any effect on improving public safety. His answer, which has been echoed by law enforcement across this country, was that gun buybacks don't work.