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Hon. John McKay (Scarborough—Guildwood, Lib.)

Feb/1/22 1:09:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member mentioned at the beginning of his very thoughtful speech the issue of cryptocurrency. Like him, I too have a son, and we have conversations about cryptocurrency, which I barely understand. However, my son, and I dare say his son, actually do understand. I would be interested in his thoughts about what the Government of Canada's role, particularly the Department of Finance's role, should be in the regulation and taxation of exchanges in cryptocurrency.

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Mr. Chandra Arya

Feb/1/22 1:10:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the crypto economy is new. It is just starting. As my colleague emphasized, it is very important that we bring in regulations to have an orderly market. Right now, it is the wild west in the crypto economy around the world, so the governments of different countries need to sit together and make uniform rules and regulations to manage this.

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Mr. Marc Serré (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Official Languages, Lib.)

Feb/1/22 1:11:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent the people of Nickel Belt for a third time. I am also honoured to speak today on the Speech from the Throne. The parliamentary session resumed yesterday. I am grateful to be in Ottawa to represent the residents of Nickel Belt, and will continue to advocate for their priorities and strive to deliver solutions. Although these uncertain times have created challenges, there are so many opportunities afoot to move forward in a progressive and positive way. I am looking forward to the debates in the House and also in my riding. The actions over the last few days and the weekend by some of the protesters in our nation's capital raise serious public safety concerns and undermine our right to a safe democratic process. There is no place for symbols of hate, for disrespectful actions on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, for defacing public property or for intimidating residents, business owners or parliamentary staff. Truckers have always been important to our country’s economic prosperity. They have stepped up throughout the pandemic and remain essential. The safety of truckers continues to be our government’s priority, which is why Transport Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency have been working closely with the industry throughout this process to ensure that companies and drivers are prepared. To reiterate, both the governments of Canada and the United States have made being vaccinated a requirement to cross the border. Our path forward post-pandemic and beyond needs to be built on a foundation of respect and on mitigating the spread of misinformation. Social media reporting of some of the events emboldens extreme behaviours and leaves little room for positive, impactful and real action. We must denounce further division based on fear. I encourage all of us here, and all of our constituents, to connect with members of the community on how to truly advance change. One way to do that is to be deeply engaged in the democratic process, which means showing up to vote, consuming credible information and holding our elected officials accountable at election time and during campaigns. MPs are the people's voice, and I am as committed as ever to each of my residents in Nickel Belt. I have kept a grassroots approach when engaging with Nickel Belt residents, and I will continue to meet with individuals who have varying opinions on topics while seeking to preserve the safety and development of the region. The right to protest is fundamental, but when we see a movement propped up with hate, racism and intimidation, which happened to my home and family, we have to ask ourselves what we are truly supporting. I wish my colleagues, the residents of Ottawa and all involved parties a safe and peaceful resolution to this convoy initiative happening today. Disagreements should not incite violence and threats. We are Canadian. Let us get back to today's debate and my desire to build a resilient economy and a cleaner, healthier future for our children. That is my top priority for people of Nickel Belt. After 19 months of dealing with the kind of pandemic that only comes along once every 100 years, Canadians made a choice in September to continue with our Liberal plan. They gave us a clear mandate to put COVID-19 behind us and find real solutions to build a better future for Canadians. Today we laid out our Liberal plan, which will finish our fight against COVID-19, take tough action on climate change, make life more affordable, move forward together on the path to reconciliation, help Canadians become homeowners, and create jobs while growing the middle class. The people of Nickel Belt expect all parliamentarians to focus on the important issues that matter and work together to deliver results. If we want to build a better future, we must first get the pandemic under control and continue our vaccination efforts. That is why I want to congratulate Nickel Belt residents for their high vaccination rates. We will continue to encourage eligible Canadians to get vaccinated against COVID-19. We will take steps to address surgical delays brought on by COVID-19, improve long-term care, and provide easier access to mental health and substance abuse treatment. Now, Parliament must come together to move forward on what matters most to the people in our ridings. We must put the pandemic behind us. We will truly rebuild an economy for everyone while tackling the rising cost of living, housing affordability and child care. We have signed agreements with the provinces for hundreds of thousands of new spaces across the country in the early learning and child care system. As we strive to build a resilient economy, create jobs and grow the middle class, it is also important to cap and cut our emissions, invest in public transit and mandate the sale of zero-emission vehicles. I am proud of the work that Nickel Belt residents are doing to create a green economy and green jobs. Together, we need to go further, faster on implementing climate action, not only to protect our environment, but also to grow our economy by getting all workers involved. Northern Ontario has experience in creating a green economy and green jobs in the mining and forestry industries. It is important to continue to build on that work. We have to move faster on the path of reconciliation. Canadians were horrified by the discovery of unmarked graves and burial sites located near former residential schools. As a country and as a government, we must continue to tell the truths of these tragedies. We will continue to support indigenous peoples and their communities by investing in distinctions-based mental health and wellness strategies, and we will ensure fair and equitable compensation for those harmed by the first nations child and family services program. I want to thank the three first nations communities in Nickel Belt: Atikameksheng Anishinawbek, Wahnapitae and Mattagami first nations play a proactive role in each other's communities. We have a Liberal team that will continue to work to keep all Canadians safe and help them get ahead, regardless of their gender, who they love, or their background, language, faith or skin colour. We will also stand up for the LGBTQ+ community by banning conversion therapy. As the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Official Languages, I am also looking forward to the tabling of a bill on our two official languages. We will continue to promote French across Canada, particularly in northern Ontario. The Official Languages Act is very important to me and my constituents in Nickel Belt. I will continue to work closely with them to find solutions to grow our economy and create jobs in northern Ontario.

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Ms. Niki Ashton (Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, NDP)

Feb/1/22 1:20:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, because he shared his reflections on the disturbing demonstrations we have seen over the few days coming out of the nation's capital, I want to ask my colleague to share his views on how unacceptable it is that members of the Conservative Party, and the Conservative Leader himself, have shown support for these demonstrations. They have provided caveats in the last 24 hours, but should we not, as leaders, be standing up unequivocally against the hateful, racist, discriminatory displays we have seen over the last few days? Should we not also be calling for leadership in the sense of asking these demonstrators to leave Ottawa, and finding ways to stand against hate in our communities and build safer, healthier communities for all?

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Mr. Marc Serré

Feb/1/22 1:21:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the question. It is important that we reach out to individual Canadians. They need to be heard and we need to find solutions, and all parties in the House of Commons need to do this. It is so important. Yes, we call out the hate and the violence, but more importantly, we need to find a solution together to make sure we understand why certain individuals are not getting vaccinated. We need to understand why there are threats and why there is misinformation. Together, we need to find a way to make sure that we support our health care workers, our nurses and doctors, because hospitalization rates are really high, and we have a lot that is being cancelled. We need to be there to listen to the protest, but we also need to get some resolution and move forward. The protesters have made their point. Now let us move forward.

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Mrs. Julie Vignola (Beauport—Limoilou, BQ)

Feb/1/22 1:22:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when I read the throne speech, I did not see much in there that was new since the last Parliament. The main message I got, and this is something we hear a lot, was the word “continuity”. We continue on. I am very happy that my constituents re-elected me, but the election cost $620 million. If the government is just going to continue doing what it was doing, why spend that much money? Where should that money have been spent instead to serve our society?

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Mr. Marc Serré

Feb/1/22 1:23:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. Since the start of the pandemic, the federal government has spent $8 of every $10 in aid to provinces, municipalities, individuals and businesses. We were there to support the provinces. We need to keep playing that role, but we also have to look at how we can stimulate economic recovery and make jobs greener. The people exercised their democratic right last fall. Canadians have spoken. The people of my riding, Nickel Belt, tell me they want the Parliament of Canada and political parties here in Ottawa to work together and find solutions that will move us forward.

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Ms. Marilyn Gladu (Sarnia—Lambton, CPC)

Feb/1/22 1:24:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite talked a lot about democracy, rights and freedoms in his speech. The Conservatives on this side of the aisle will always stand for the rights and freedoms of Canadians, and we will always call out bad and unacceptable behaviour like violence and desecration. When is the party on the other side of the aisle going to start standing up for the Charter of Rights that is being trampled right now? I think I would also agree with the former member who spoke who said that we should not have hate and racist comments, especially not from the Prime Minister. Could the member opposite respond?

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Mr. Marc Serré

Feb/1/22 1:24:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member and I have sat on several committees together working to find common solutions, but the tone of her question is a bit disappointing. Both the official opposition and the government are there to support the freedom and rights of individuals. We have to continue to do that. We have to respect the charter, but we also have to look at how we get out of this pandemic. It is a health crisis around the world, and we have to find ways to get people vaccinated and get the economy up and running again.

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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan (Calgary Forest Lawn, CPC)

Feb/1/22 1:25:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to say happy new year to all my colleagues and to just say how great it is to be physically back here in the House with everybody. Last November's throne speech brought us the standard empty words with no real plan to solve any of the numerous problems Canadians are facing today: home affordability, inflation, rising home heating costs, a supply chain disaster and the labour shortage crisis that we see in this country. Everyday Canadians who do not have access to a trust fund like the Prime Minister does are hurting the most, yet the government would paint a happy picture and say, “Nothing to see here. All is good.” The people of Calgary Forest Lawn are some of the hardest hit by the out-of-touch Prime Minister's failing policies. He is out there virtue signalling and dividing Canadians, while my constituents live pay cheque to pay cheque. Some of them are worried about where their next meal will come from or how they will pay rent, let alone an even more expensive carbon tax. I really should not be shocked. This is the same Prime Minister who does not think about monetary policy or how his massive money-printing operation will effect Canadians. It is Justinflation. Instead of focusing on growing the economy, empowering entrepreneurs and attracting investors, the Prime Minister sells Canadian companies to China without any national security review. He ignores the untapped potential of Alberta's oil and gas sector, and instead imports oil from countries like Russia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. While he might be making the green left happy with his “leave it in the ground” mentality, Canadians suffer the most with his ridiculous policies. Our energy industry's environmental, social and governance standards are the highest in the world, and supporting this sector creates good-paying, Canadian jobs. This mismanagement does not just stop with the economy. We have seen the government's failure to stand up for Canadian interests abroad. The Prime Minister and his cabinet would rather get close with the Communist Party of China than the people in Hong Kong who are standing up for democracy and freedom. Our global commitment to our allies is weak at best. In Ukraine, the Canadian government would rather give a loan and some non-lethal equipment than the defensive weapons that Ukraine needs. Other NATO countries, like the U.S. and the U.K., are supplying Ukraine with weapons, and European countries have committed ships and fighter jets to the defence of our ally. After what we saw in Afghanistan, we cannot be surprised that the government would rather deliver flowery statements than roll up its sleeves and get to work defending our friends. Much like what happened in Afghanistan, this is a pure failure on the government's part. Around 10,000 Afghan interpreters and their families remain stranded. Those people who served the Canadian government alongside our brave Canadian Armed Forces are now forgotten by the Liberal government. They are hunted by Taliban fighters looking for retribution while the government stands idly by. The Prime Minister pats himself on the back for a job well failed, while saying it is too hard to help the people on the ground. My office has received dozens of emails from Afghan refugees stuck in Afghanistan. They have applied for the special immigration programs, but still IRCC has ignored them. The government only sends auto-replies or leaves people unread. The stories these refugees are sharing with my office are heartbreaking. Families have had their homes taken by the Taliban, parents and siblings shot and children left to starve. The humanitarian situation is so bad that parents are now selling their children and organs to try to earn money to feed starving family members. Of the 40,000 promised Afghan refugees, there have been about 7,000 who have made it to Canada. Only 4,300 of those 7,000 were refugees who applied under the special immigration program for people who assisted the Government of Canada. Instead of working with veterans and NGOs to get the most vulnerable out of Afghanistan, or even the private sponsors willing to assist in resettling refugees in Canada, IRCC has shut everyone out. To say the situation in Afghanistan is dire would be an understatement, yet IRCC, Global Affairs, National Defence and the Prime Minister continue to be uncoordinated. There is no plan, and there seems to be no hope for our allies left behind in Afghanistan. A lack of a plan seems to be standard with the Liberal government. At IRCC, things are worse, as thousands of immigrants remain stuck in the government's massive backlogs. Liberals say that they will continue increasing immigration levels while also reducing wait times, yet IRCC has not released a proper plan. As of December, over 1.8 million immigration applications were stuck in the Liberal-made backlog, and it is growing. There are so many newcomers stuck, waiting months or years for applications to be processed. These are families who remain separated and businesses that are looking to fill jobs. This is hurting our economy and hurting families. There are several ongoing cases in my office that have not moved since even before the pandemic. Earlier this month, I wrote a letter to the Minister of Immigration asking him to finally deliver a plan to clear the Liberal-made backlog. I have not received a response, and 1.8 million people are still waiting for theirs. Newcomers to Canada deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. That honestly starts by developing a reliable, transparent and effective immigration system. Our country cannot afford to shut out hard-working immigrants, entrepreneurs and investors looking to come to Canada to live the Canadian dream. Temporary foreign workers and Canadian employers cannot wait years to get LMIAs processed and their applications approved. Our economy cannot handle the growing labour shortage crisis. The economic impact of this historic and increasing backlog has cost billions to our economy and cost Canadian businesses their future. It seems Liberals are focused on immigration for political gain instead of helping people looking to come to Canada. As it stands now, children, spouses and grandparents are left separated from their loved ones. Parents have missed the birth of their children, first steps and even graduations. Families cannot say goodbye to their loved ones or attend funerals. This is all due to the Liberal-made backlog in immigration. No one should be punished with family separation in this country simply because they want to start a new life here. The Liberals' mismanagement of the immigration system is absolutely unacceptable. Now is the time to have a real, concrete plan. The clock is ticking and immigrants and Canadians deserve to know how long it will take to clear this historic backlog. Now is not the time for more empty promises and flashy announcements that lead nowhere. There are so many people waiting for answers and hoping to call Canada home. Canadians are tired of the division and arrogance showed by the government. As we begin a new session of Parliament, let us address the concerns of everyday Canadians. The government must clear the backlogs at IRCC and get our allies in Afghanistan out of harm's way. We must stand up to the regimes in China, Russia and Afghanistan. We must show the world that Canada still has the guts to be a peacekeeper, a defender of democracy and an advocate for freedom. At home, the Liberal Prime Minister must reduce inflation and improve Canada's cost of living. As an Albertan, I will never stop fighting for Canada's energy industry, even when Ottawa gives in to to special interests and foreign influences. My colleagues and I in the Conservative caucus will continue to give a voice to all Canadians, especially those left behind by the Liberal government. Canada is at a crossroad, and choosing the status quo is a recipe for disaster.

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Mr. Gord Johns (Courtenay—Alberni, NDP)

Feb/1/22 1:35:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have concerns right now. In the Speech from the Throne, it says the government is continuing to work on the reform of policing in Canada, yet we have not seen any action. In fact, right now we are hearing from land defenders, from indigenous communities, who see a double standard happening in Canada. We have a protest right now that is keeping Ottawa under siege. Seniors and people living with disabilities cannot access medicine or food. In Alberta, the member's home province, those same types of protestors are keeping that border, not just an artery but the border, under siege right now. Goods and services are starting to get destroyed because of the waiting, and workers cannot get access to medicine and food. Does my colleague not agree there is a double standard, and what does he propose to unlock the seizure? Does he think this is acceptable behaviour?

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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan

Feb/1/22 1:36:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with regard to the Coutts border, which is what I think my hon. colleague is talking about, the Premier of Alberta made it very clear that he has asked for it to be cleared up, but I want to talk about what the underlying message of these hard-working truckers is. They just want to be heard. My colleague on the other side said that everyone needs to be listened to, yet the Prime Minister and the Liberal caucus refuse to listen to the real concerns of hard-working everyday Canadians. There is more division in this country than we have ever seen before, caused by the Prime Minister's name-calling and pitting one region against another, one industry against another and one group against another. Real leadership unites people. It brings people together. Even though we all have differing ideas and ideologies, true leadership brings people together.

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Mr. John Brassard (Barrie—Innisfil, CPC)

Feb/1/22 1:37:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last night the Afghanistan committee started really digging deep into the situation in Afghanistan. We are hearing horrific stories of desperation, despair and an economy that is collapsing, and that there was lack of preparation on the part of the Canadian government to really be prepared for that crisis developing. Based on what we are hearing so far and what the member has heard from his constituents, how much did the Canadian government let down not just the people of Afghanistan but Canadians who are in Afghanistan?

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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan

Feb/1/22 1:38:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague from Barrie—Innisfil for his great advocacy for the people in Afghanistan. The failure in Afghanistan started well before the Prime Minister called a very selfish election, abandoning those who served Canada and putting $650 million more debt onto Canadians. This started way before that, because there were refugees of Hazara, Sikh and Hindu faith that were stuck in Afghanistan for many years. I was personally honoured to sponsor a family from there in 2015, and what I saw through my own experience was that it took the Liberal government four years to bring a persecuted family to Canada, a family that was afraid its daughter would be kidnapped, forcefully married and raped while all she was doing was going to school every single day. It took the government that knew that four years to get that family here. This epic failure in Afghanistan is a trend by the Liberal government. It needs to step up, take the recommendations seriously and defend and stand up for those who stood up for Canada in their time of need.

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Mrs. Julie Vignola (Beauport—Limoilou, BQ)

Feb/1/22 1:39:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the situation in Afghanistan is indeed alarming, and there have been many calls for assistance. There is another, less dangerous immigration issue, namely, international students, that is causing economic problems in Quebec, in my riding and in each of the provinces. The problem particularly affects francophone students, whose applications are systematically rejected. I would like my colleague to comment on this situation and on the improvements that should be made to the immigration system.

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Mr. Jasraj Singh Hallan

Feb/1/22 1:40:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would inform my hon. colleague from Quebec that this is a study currently being done in the citizenship and immigration committee. The report that came out is very alarming regarding the systemic racism that has been taking place within the IRCC. It is not only discriminating against its own employees, but much like what my hon. colleague was talking about, there are reports of people from Africa being called “the dirty 30”. That is what Africa is being referred to. This is very concerning. I questioned the immigration minister about that the first chance I could in the last session. He was patting himself on the back for a job well failed. There is no action plan to address racism. I will say it again. What can we expect from the Minister of Immigration to address racism, when he could not even stand up to the Prime Minister's racist blackface? Until that is addressed, I do not think we can have very much confidence that the Liberal government is serious about addressing racism in the IRCC.

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Mr. Brad Redekopp (Saskatoon West, CPC)

Feb/1/22 1:41:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a privilege to get up and speak in the House on behalf of the constituents of Saskatoon West. Nearly six months ago we had an election call, and the Liberal Party leader said that this was the most important election since World War II. It has taken him months to swear in his cabinet and recall Parliament. It has been 69 days since the throne speech, and MPs are still here in the House debating that very first item of business on the government's agenda. For some context, we had the election, and then Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day, Christmas and New Year's. Now it is February, and we are still talking about this. I would suggest that this government is tired. It is struggling to get anything done. Fair enough; it has been difficult with COVID for all of these months, but this is exactly when our leaders need to step up and provide that inspiring leadership. This is when we need to lead. With this in mind, there are too many things that I want to discuss today, but one is the trucker convoy protest, and the second is the situation in Ukraine. We cannot help but notice the protests that are going on outside today. If we listen to the Liberals, the NDP or the media, we would think that Ottawa was under attack by these protesters. The NDP leader said, “I am concerned by extremist elements that are spreading misinformation and attempting to turn the convoy into a Canadian version of the terrorist attacks on the US Capitol.” I think the leader of the NDP needs to be concerned about his own spreading of misinformation. The truth is that this was all started by our hard-working truckers, who are tired of COVID restrictions. If we spent any time among them, we would have seen tens of thousands of people of all races, colours, genders, sexual orientations and languages protesting vaccine mandates peacefully. We would see families, including young children who were either joining in the protest or giving encouragement. Now, we also saw a few bad seeds joining in, and this is common for any public protest these days. 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. However, I have also seen in this protest people picking up garbage, people cleaning up, people praying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. These are stories that the media fail to report. Listen, I am not saying that I agree with everything they are protesting about, not at all, but when such a large group of Canadians take time off work and spend their hard-earned money to come to Ottawa, we have to hear them out. We have to listen to what they are saying. I am calling on all of us politicians to meet with these folks and listen to what they have to say, even if we do not agree with them. They deserve to be heard. I am asking the Prime Minister to talk with these folks. Do not be afraid of them. Do not hide, but go and actually talk to them. We might be surprised with what they say. If we talk to them, we will find normal, hard-working people tired of COVID. They want an end to lockdowns, vaccine mandates and disruptions. Now, regarding the vaccine mandate for truckers specifically, what they are asking for is very similar to what Conservatives have been saying since last summer. First, we have been encouraging people to get vaccinated. Next, we have been encouraging employers to make accommodations for those people who do not want to get vaccinated. Specifically for truckers, our leader has been calling for measures to accommodate truckers since before Christmas. However, there is something deeper here, and it is what is causing tens of thousands of Canadians to honk their horns in support of the truckers and is at the root of this whole thing: People are tired of lockdowns. On this, I believe the protesters share the feelings of a great many Canadians. The question in a nutshell is this: How do we get back to normal? I have always supported and encouraged vaccinations, and a great many of these protesters are vaccinated. In fact, we know that about 90% of truckers in Canada are vaccinated, but Canadians are tired. The government actions so far have had undesired side effects. There is tremendous division in our country. Good luck to someone who is on a surgery waiting list right now. Loneliness and mental health have brought much despair to people, causing suicides to go up. In short, we are giving up on all the things that give us life, and it has been two years. We are into the umpteenth variant, and thankfully, they are getting less deadly as we move forward, but people just want to know where we are going from here. On vaccinations, Canada's stated goal is to achieve 80% of adults vaccinated for diseases like the flu, and COVID is no different. Here is the good news: We are there. Canada has greater than 80% of our population vaccinated, which is among the highest percentages in the world. Last July, the Prime Minister said that the country should be aiming to get more than 80% of the eligible population vaccinated if we're going to be safe. We are there. We have achieved our goal. Let us celebrate and start working to dismantle some of the restrictions. Let us look at Saskatchewan. We have taken a “less lockdown” approach here. We have had no restrictions on restaurants and no gathering limits for the past few months. Rather than having government restrictions, we have empowered our people to do their own rapid tests and make their own decisions about whether to gather or not. The result of this is that the COVID situation in Saskatchewan is the same as or a bit better than everywhere else in Canada. In our experience, strict government regulations and restrictions are not a factor in the results. In fact, more loosening is coming to Saskatchewan very soon. The Premier said that Saskatchewan will be ending our proof of vaccination policy in the very near future. Why is that? It is because the policy has achieved the goal it set out to reach. We have been successful at getting people vaccinated. To come back to the truckers' protest, they want to know when this is going to end. They want to know that all this sacrifice has been leading somewhere. Many scientists now agree that we need to learn to live with COVID. That is what the truckers are asking for, and most Canadians would agree. Let us find a way back to a new normal. Instead of creating a division, it is time for our leaders to step up and lead. On Ukraine, Canada's overseas foreign relations are also looking very tired. Once a trusted ally and reliable partner, Canada has been reduced by the Liberals to being a bit player with little to offer our allies. Now we are facing something we have not seen since World War II. We are moving from peace to the prospect of war in Europe. Our allies in Ukraine are asking us for help, and we are offering hollow words, gestures and hashtags when our friends and allies are asking for much more. There is a significant Ukrainian diaspora on Saskatchewan. Over 16% of Saskatoon's population is of Ukrainian origin. Canada has the third-largest ethnic Ukrainian population on the planet. I grew up in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, which has a very large Ukrainian population, and community get-togethers as a kid always involved awesome food like borscht, perogies and cabbage rolls. Of course, in Saskatchewan we are very proud of Governor General Ray Hnatyshyn, who is of Ukrainian heritage. Conservatives are fully supportive of Ukrainians throughout Canada and the democratically elected Government of Ukraine. We stand with Ukraine. In my riding of Saskatoon West, the Ukrainian community has reached out to me. On Sunday, Martin Zip, president of the All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Brotherhood, wrote to me as follows: I call on you to support: 1. Accelerating a NATO Membership Action Plan for Ukraine; 2. Increasing sanctions on Russia to deter further aggression against Ukraine; 3. Ensuring that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline never becomes operational; 4. Increasing the provision of military equipment and defensive weapons to Ukraine; 5. Extending and expanding Operation UNIFIER, Canada's military training mission in Ukraine. After our pushing the issue, the Liberals finally agreed to extend the training mission, Operation Unifier, by three years, and they also provided a $120-million loan, but this falls very short of what our friends actually asked for. What about the other requests? The Conservatives are calling for providing lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine. Ukrainians are facing a much larger, much better equipped Russian army right on their doorstep. In their hour of need, they are begging their allies for support and equipment. Other nations have answered the call. The U.S., the U.K., Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic are all there. Where is Canada? We are sending tweets. We also need to restore the RADARSAT imaging that was previously provided when we were in government. It provides key world-class intelligence information. It is a very simple thing that we can do to help our friends in their hour of need. What about their request for sanctions? Sanctions on American and European goods and services technology could do significant damage to the Russian economy. We could remove Russia from the SWIFT banking system. We could imposed Magnitsky sanctions on the individuals holding the wealth of Putin and other Russian leaders. This would freeze their assets outside of Russia. Our tired Liberal government needs to step up and help our friends in their time of need. I long for the days when Canada was a real leader on the world stage. I remember when Prime Minister Harper looked Putin in the eye and said, “Get out of Ukraine.” Today Canada is missing in action. What do Ukraine across the planet and truckers here at home have in common? It is a tired Liberal-NDP government in Ottawa that has run out of ideas. The throne speech said, “Canada must stand up on the pressing challenges of our time”. With nearly six months of pressing challenges, including truckers, Ukraine, inflation and the housing crisis, there is very little engagement and very little action. This is a tired government, intent on creating division rather than on leading. It is time for us to step up and lead. It is time for the last and final chapter of the COVID era.

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Hon. John McKay (Scarborough—Guildwood, Lib.)

Feb/1/22 1:51:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member asks when it will end, and I think that is a live question for all of us, truckers and non-truckers alike. When will it end? Does the member actually think there is an answer to when COVID will end? We have had three or four waves of COVID, and maybe tomorrow there will be another wave coming. First, does the member actually think that this is an answerable question? Second, why is it that the focus of the complaints by the truckers is here? The mandates for masks, for distancing, etc., in Ontario are largely made at Queen's Park, yet I do not see any protests there, which is where, as I understand it, the bulk of the complaints are coming from. If the member could answer those questions, I would appreciate it.

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Mr. Brad Redekopp

Feb/1/22 1:52:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the protests we saw in Toronto were about denouncing Israel, and unfortunately we never saw anything about that on the news. Apparently that is not important to our media. The real question is, will this end? Is it possible to make this end? I would submit that large problems require creative solutions. If we do nothing, then the member is exactly right: This will never end. We will remain in a cycle of a variant and a lockdown and a variant and a lockdown. That is what I am calling out. That is what the truckers and all Canadians want. They want us as leaders to show some creativity, some different ways of attacking this problem. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is defined as insanity. We need to try different things. Yes, I think we can conquer this. We can find a way to live with whatever COVID looks like going into the future, normalize it, get on with our lives and start to live again.

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Mr. Martin Champoux (Drummond, BQ)

Feb/1/22 1:53:26 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, in his speech, my colleague talked about the frustration being displayed on Parliament Hill since the weekend and as this session began. Many Canadians and Quebeckers are equally frustrated with the public health measures, which are affecting our daily lives and our activities. I am well aware that many people are anxious for these measures to be lifted. However, I would like to ask my colleague if he has visited a health care facility, hospital, long‑term care home or medical facility in general to check in on the staff and see how they are doing. There is a staffing shortage. These people are burning out. They are exhausted, and they are asking for the measures to be maintained to help them get through the pandemic crisis. We are going to need our health care workers after the crisis. We need to take care of them now. I would like to hear my colleague's comments on this.

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