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Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)

Feb/7/22 10:47:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would put it to the member that it is not about negotiating, but about listening. It is about listening to the fact that there are tens of thousands of people across the country who are protesting in different ways. Some of them are driving their trucks places and going home and some of them are staying put. The point is that people are concerned about losing their jobs over mandates that need to end. I want to put a specific question to the member, and it is about the discussion around foreign funding. Many members have raised this issue, saying foreigners are donating money to this rally. The Conservatives have been talking for a very long time about the need for tough new laws to address foreign interference and address foreign funding, and that is constantly dismissed by the other parties when it comes to all kinds of other causes, including election interference. Will the member's government put forward legislation to address concerns about foreign interference in our democracy across the board? We cannot complain about it in one case and then let it go in other cases. If the government is going to put forward good-faith legislation that addresses foreign dollars coming into Canadian political debates across the board, I think there would be a lot of support for that in the House. Would the member put forward that legislation?

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Mr. Kody Blois

Feb/7/22 10:48:26 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to address my colleague's first point about individuals who are choosing to protest. I have no issue with individuals who want to protest. I have an issue with people who are blockading highways in Alberta and people who are blockading the downtown of Ottawa. The member may be suggesting that governments should acquiesce to individuals who protest, and I understand governments need to listen and to take them into account. However, that does not always mean they have to agree. If the member opposite thinks a government should just acquiesce and do what individuals are suggesting is wrong, and that this is the way we should run our democracy in this country, that is a very poor view. In relation to the aspect of financing, I absolutely agree that if we are going to move on a law to address foreign interference, it should apply to all individuals and through all causes, if that is the true desire of where the government and parliamentarians want to go.

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Ms. Kristina Michaud (Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, BQ)

Feb/7/22 10:49:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech. I agree with his point that people have the right to protest, but that the methods are somewhat questionable. What I hear from him this evening is a heartfelt message asking protesters to go home. I do not think the protesters will all of a sudden agree to go home. The federal government should have sent a clear message from the beginning that it would not let the protesters settle in. It should have worked with police, the Government of Ontario and the City of Ottawa to come up with a game plan from the beginning. Now, things have gotten bad. They have gone too far. No one knows how to get out of this situation. What does my colleague suggest? How should his government put an end to all this once and for all?

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Mr. Kody Blois

Feb/7/22 10:50:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. Of course, the federal government's role with regard to policing matters is to be in favour of increasing the number of officers on the ground. I think that the role of the Government of Canada is to work with the City of Ottawa and the Province of Ontario to find solutions and help people on the ground. Ultimately, it is up to the Ottawa Police Service or the RCMP to find the best way to intervene in order to stop the protesters.

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Ms. Bonita Zarrillo (Port Moody—Coquitlam, NDP)

Feb/7/22 10:51:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to speak to a point the member for Burnaby South brought up at the beginning of this debate, that is, the emergency rescue for the health care system, and want to ask the member about our health care system. Does the member agree that this starts with funding it properly? Will the government answer the calls of the premiers to increase health care transfers to the provinces?

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Mr. Kody Blois

Feb/7/22 10:51:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think important investments need to be made in our health care system. However, I do not know if I necessarily agree that they should be transfers without strings from the Government of Canada to ensure that outcomes are being delivered. I do not speak for the Government of Canada. I am a member of Parliament who happens to be in the governing caucus, so I will let our cabinet speak on that issue. What I will say is that there are opportunities for private delivery, still under a single-payer model and the public model, to deliver outcomes. It is not just about money. It is about how we can have better management in health care systems as well.

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Mr. Francesco Sorbara (Vaughan—Woodbridge, Lib.)

Feb/7/22 10:52:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, before I begin my formal remarks, I would like to comment on the way I look at the situation we are facing in this wonderful, blessed country that we all call home and that we, as 338 parliamentarians, have the privilege to serve through each of those residents who live in our ridings. We come here to do our best and put forward what I would call reasonable leadership to debate the issues and reasonable leadership to do what is right for our constituents, to do what is right in recommendations for public safety and public health, and to do what is right to exit this pandemic so that we can all return to what I would call a new normal but a normal that we would want to see. We are in winter now, but spring and summer will come. The days are getting longer, hopefully soon it will be getting warmer and we will want to be at a barbeque with our friends, travelling and enjoying all of what Canada has to offer, and we can do that in a number of ways. For the last two years, Canadians, including the most wonderful residents in my riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge, have been resilient, but they are tired. We are all tired of COVID-19 and we are all tired of talking about it. However, when I think about the best way to exit this pandemic, it is through vaccinations. It is through Canadians doing the right thing, and they have and they are. We ask them to continue to do that. We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel but we have to be patient. That is one aspect of what Canadians are going through. They are getting back to work. Kids in the province of Ontario are back in school physically. Universities are opening up for in-person classes. It is great to see. Our manufacturing businesses continue to run. Our frontline workers continue to do the great job they do, day in and day out, and they have my utmost respect. At the same time, we still have work to do and we need to remain focused on the ball. We have this occupation and this protest that is going on here in the city of Ottawa, our nation's capital. As I said last week on a panel with some of my colleagues, it needs to come to an end. It is disruptive. It is disrupting people's lives, preventing them from earning a living for all those businesses along Sparks Street and the downtown core. It has made people feel very unsafe and it is not about a trucking mandate. Ninety-five per cent of truckers in Canada are vaccinated. The same rule applies in the United States for going into the United States as coming into Canada. People need to be vaccinated. There is no disagreement there. We know that vaccines save lives. My colleagues on the other side are saying that truckers are by themselves. No, truckers go home to family members and see their friends, and we need them to get vaccinated. They have, in overwhelming numbers, but there are Canadians out here whom I have the utmost respect for, a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian, who would disagree and not want to be vaccinated. They do not believe in that collective responsibility that we all need to have. As citizens of this beautiful country, we have a collective responsibility to exit COVID-19. We need to work together, and Canadians in an overwhelming majority have. In the province of Ontario, the lockdowns that many of these folks outside are protesting against, are provincial lockdowns, provincial measures, which are now being lifted. Today, I read that in the city of Toronto this summer Luminato and Caribana will be in-person events, so we are returning to seeing some normalcy. We are starting to get that back, but it is coming incrementally. I walked through the protest, as many of my colleagues have, and looked at some of the signs and stuff. It is a hodgepodge of a lot of different issues. They want to overthrow a democratically elected government. Would members sit down with someone who wants to overthrow a democratically elected government? Is that who we are supposed to speak to? I do not think so. That is not reasonable leadership at all. For many of my colleagues on the opposite side and on my own side, I am not a partisan MP. I want to debate the issues. I want to do what is right for the residents of my riding to make sure that we have a prosperous future. We have recovered more than 100% of our jobs. Our economy is bigger than it was prepandemic. We have done the right things. We have shown reasonable leadership, and we continue to show reasonable leadership. Canadians do not expect perfection from all 338 MPs. They expect us to do our best. They expect us to do what is right. Meeting with protesters who want to overthrow a democratically elected government is not what is right. I know many of the opposition members in the loyal opposition agree with that. Many have commented on their Twitter and social media platforms that the occupation must end. If people want to protest up and down the sidewalks and hold placards and hand out information pamphlets, God bless them. That is their right. That is their sacred right. I believe in civil liberties, but I also believe very much in collective responsibility for doing what is right for one's neighbour, just like Canadians in an overwhelming majority across this country in every province, in every city, rural or urban, have done. Thirty-four thousand Canadians have died because of COVID. The government has had the backs of Canadians for two years. It has invested $500 billion to support Canadian businesses, families and workers and to buy rapid tests and secure vaccines. The Conservatives at one time said we would not get vaccines until 2025 or 2028. They are here in abundance, and we are actually helping out the rest of the world now. That is what Canada is about. When I think of the protesters, although I have the utmost respect for them, they need to go home. They need to bring this to an end. The citizens of Ottawa deserve that respect. They deserve to have their lives back. The shopkeepers who invest their heart and soul into their businesses that are now shut down deserve that. There is no one to talk to because that is just not the right thing to do, plain and simple. When I think about reasonable leadership, I say this: The blockades must end. That is reasonable leadership. We must continue to do what is right. I agree that we need to continue this. I believe in science; absolutely. I think all of our 338 MPs should believe in science. I have faith in it. It may not be perfect, but if the science says we need to transition, we transition, but let us do it prudently. Let us do it judiciously. Let us do it in a safe manner that gets us there. Let us not see what happened in Ontario, where we opened up, filled the stadiums full of people, and then had to shut down because our hospitals were over capacity again, and then we had to cancel tens of thousands of surgeries. We have people waiting literally months to years for the surgeries they need. That is not responsible leadership. We, as the government, are showing responsible leadership. I plead to my colleagues. I listened to some of the debate earlier on. Being respectful is who we are as a people—not polite, respectful. That is, we can debate and we can scream, but we need to be respectful. I hope to see that all the time when I come into the House of Commons, into this cradle of democracy, if we want to call it that. We need to do that. I did have some formal notes. I will read some of them, but what I really want to reiterate is that this occupation and these protests need to come to an end. This is not about trucking mandates. It is not about that. We need to exit COVID-19. That is our focus, not anything else. We need to keep Canadians safe. That is what we should all be doing, not meeting with protesters who hold up awful placards that we all know about and we do not need to discuss again, who do not respect the rule of law, who do not respect the need of the citizens of Ottawa to get a good night's sleep or their need for their families to be safe and feel safe. The protests against vaccine mandates are gripping the city of Ottawa as well as other parts of this country. All the members know that the COVID-19 pandemic has cost us dearly, with a loss of life and livelihood. Not one of us has been untouched. It goes without saying that this period has been long and extremely challenging for all Canadians. The provinces and territories have legislative authority to implement and execute the pandemic response actions that are appropriate for their jurisdiction, including implementing and easing public health restrictions. I will be the first one who really wants to go to a big wedding or my daughter's communion in a couple of months and invite all of our relatives. Madam Speaker is asking me to wrap it up, so I will stop there and just say it is nice to see everyone this evening. I hope they and their families are keeping safe. I cannot wait to see all of my colleagues in this place together, hopefully soon.

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Mr. Larry Maguire (Brandon—Souris, CPC)

Feb/7/22 11:02:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member, as well as his predecessor in the speech before his, indicated that they did not know who they should go and talk to in the trucking organizations or among the individuals who are out on the streets here and across Canada. First, they would have to make the offer. We know there are organizers in this cavalcade. They did not come all the way across Canada by just telephoning each other and saying they were going to move across the country and end up in Ottawa. There are organizers. The government has failed to even ask who that would be. I am sure if they put an olive branch out to those people, they would get a meeting in an hour. Our interim leader indicated to the Prime Minister that he should do that and sit down with all of the leaders of the parties in the House to come up with a common solution to end this blockade.

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Mr. Francesco Sorbara

Feb/7/22 11:03:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, our government put in place a measure to help protect Canadians, including, in this instance, truckers. I spoke with a president of a trucking company in the region I represent, with 1,300 employees and 3,000 trailers, and 95% of his truckers are vaccinated. He operates in York Region and in the Midwest, in Chicago. He said to me, “Francesco, it is the right thing to do. All my employees who cross that border are vaccinated.” That is what I believe in. We gave the industry a long runway to prepare for this measure. We spoke with the Canadian Trucking Alliance and they support us. They support this stance. That is what we need to do.

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Mr. Jean-Denis Garon (Mirabel, BQ)

Feb/7/22 11:04:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the theme of my colleague's speech today was responsible leadership. However, in order for the leadership to be responsible, there has to be some leadership in the first place. Today, I would like us to talk about perceptions. In a country that is greatly divided, people seem to be unanimous in agreeing that the government was irresponsible, did not show leadership and did not do its job, and that led to the current crisis. This evening, it seems like the government just keeps repeating that the truckers need to leave, in hopes that that will suddenly make them decide to get up and go. Can my colleague explain to me why all those who think there is a serious lack of leadership in this government are wrong and where that perception came from?

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Mr. Francesco Sorbara

Feb/7/22 11:05:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like my Bloc Québécois colleague to know that leadership is very important for us. We have shown leadership in working with the Ottawa Police Service and the City of Ottawa, in collaborating with them and sending them resources from the beginning of the convoy up to date. We have shown leadership in providing the resources they require. Again, I wish to reiterate, how can we go and negotiate with individuals who want to overthrow the democratically elected government that Canadians voted for in the last election? To me, that is preposterous and it is wrong. We cannot go and negotiate with entities that want everything for themselves and have no desire to co-operate, and, in fact, are not following public health guidelines so that we could finally exit this pandemic.

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Ms. Lori Idlout (Nunavut, NDP)

Feb/7/22 11:06:27 p.m.
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Qujannamiik, Uqaqtittiji. I want to thank the member for his comments. I just need to express that I disagree that a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. The extremist activities have shown that this is not the fact and this is not the case. Law enforcement has reacted very differently to this extremist activity compared to how law enforcement reacts to first nations, Métis and Inuit who have defended their lands. Having said that, I do want to ask the member a question because he was talking about responsible leadership. Does he not agree that it is important that the Prime Minister meets immediately with municipal leaders as a way to begin moving forward towards ending the pandemic?

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Mr. Francesco Sorbara

Feb/7/22 11:07:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the lines of communication between the federal government and the City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Police Service have been constantly open, and they have been constantly there. We are collaborating. We are assisting them with resources, from RCMP officers to intelligence gathering. Anything they need, we are obviously there. We do not direct the policy force to do anything or to undertake any sort of activity. They are independent, and there is a reason for that, of course. I would say to my hon. colleague that we are in constant contact with the City of Ottawa, their mayor and the Ottawa Police Service for the resources they require in this situation.

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Mr. Stephen Ellis (Cumberland—Colchester, CPC)

Feb/7/22 11:08:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am always honoured to rise here in the House. I want to make it clear that I will be splitting my time with my colleague from Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo. At the current time, the interim leader of Canada's opposition has reached out to Canada's Prime Minister to ensure a peaceful and urgent end to a very difficult situation, and the question that needs to be answered is this: Will the Prime Minister respond? What has become very clear in Canada is that the mood of Canadians is moving toward the beginning of the end of the pandemic. We realize that the health of Canadians is not only influenced by their physical health but also their financial, social and mental health. I can clearly recall, in the early days of the pandemic, holding the hand of someone about to die from COVID‑19 who was there without his family and the only way of communicating with them was through an iPad. Some small redemption in those early days with respect to this person was that I had known him previously and he had shared with me his journey in life as a young person, how he had documented a bicycle trip across southern England, how he had been essential to the development of a hospital in Cape Breton, how his wife had died and how he ended up living in the small town of Truro, Nova Scotia. Indeed, to watch this 90-something-year-old male die without his family will forever have a profound impact on my view of the COVID‑19 pandemic. Canadians have suffered. It is also important to reflect on the grave concern we should all now have with respect to the mental health of children and adolescents. Indeed, my own son has missed out on his high school graduation and the wonderful social times that many of us have experienced in the first two years of university. Getting our own place to live, solving our own problems, meeting new friends and learning how generally to be an adult all on our own are things that have been severely dampened by the COVID‑19 pandemic. The unfortunate part of the pandemic and the associated isolation is that many people live in their own echo chambers. We have become isolated from the views of the others who would often surround us and engage us in exciting debate and discourse, which sometimes of course led us to agree to disagree, but other times led us to truly engage in conversation that would allow us to see another point of view and perhaps indeed change our own point of view. Another example of not seeing other points of view is our inability to travel. We need to better understand other cultures, how they solve problems, how they communicate and how they live. It is important that we do these things. This leaves us with a need to question those things that are important to us and help us better understand how we need to help our fellow human beings. As we have these multitude of different experiences, they can help us grow as individuals, understand other cultures, learn new languages and be more resilient to take on our everyday lives. That is not to say that travel is an essential part of being a Canadian. It is simply to say that there are many things that can potentially make us more tolerant of others, which we have deeply missed during this pandemic. For many others, it has led to the tragic end of a business that they worked so hard for and spent their entire life savings trying to build. The travel sector of course has been particularly hard hit, as has the hospitality sector. Restaurants are essential to our communities and the socialization that happens therein has suffered under this unbearable yoke. We all know that Canadians love to have a beer or a coffee and catch up with their friends, to see their expressions, to understand their burdens, to help shoulder the load and to share a great laugh. Sadly, this too has been transformed by COVID‑19, with no customers, no socialization and all of us living in our own echo chambers. Moreover, Canadians and indeed people around the world have suffered with increased levels of anxiety. They have lost trust. They have lost hope for the future. They have lost their security. What is hope? One might define it as a feeling of expectation and a desire for a certain thing to happen. Unfortunately, there's been no certainty and the ability to plan for the future has been lost. We do know there are several things that can benefit the health of our human species, such as good sleep, meaningful employment, doing something purely for the benefit of another, important relationships and physical activity. Essentially all of those things have been disrupted by the COVID pandemic. As we are all aware, many, if not most, of the provincial medical officers of health are calling for the end of mandates. Countries such as the United Kingdom, with 64% vaccination rates, and Denmark, with 80% vaccination rates, compared with the over 86% that we have here in Canada, are removing mandates for masks, vaccines and passports. We need to begin to recognize that the time to move forward is now, and that Canadians cannot be expected to live their lives in this perpetual state of uncertainty and without hope as we go forward. To be very blunt, there are many people out there who do not have many years left. I am a 53-year-old man. Realistically, I may have perhaps 15 vigorous years left. Prior to the pandemic, it would have been 17. Do I want to continue my life not seeing the joy of smiles on faces, not being able to travel, not being able to have social events with constituents, limiting my gatherings with family on special occasions such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, and having birthdays that are drive-bys with horns honking from neighbours with signs on their lawns? This, my friends and colleagues, is not living. It is also very clear from recent studies that lockdowns are not effective. We now know how much the poor federal health care funding in Canada and the lack of surge capacity have perpetuated this pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, in my small town with 100 beds in our hospital, we perpetually worked at between 90% and 130% capacity. Our intensive care beds in Canada per 100,000 people are half of those available in the United States and one-third of those available in Germany. Now, sadly, we have an unimaginable tsunami in terms of the backlog of cases for diagnostic imaging, laboratory and specialist appointments and missed treatments. How is this perpetual underfunding ever going to allow this catch-up to happen with an overburdened infrastructure and a tired, exhausted, burned-out human health resource of physicians, nurses and other allied health care providers? How does this all end? Do we simply trudge forward, one foot in front of the next, without any hope, or is this a defining moment in humanity where those around the globe begin to realize that, unfortunately and sadly, sometimes there can be a fate worse than death? How do we begin to move forward? One great way is to look at the legendary Colin Powell's legacy, the 13 rules of leadership. General Powell was arguably one of the most influential writers on leadership in the western world in modern times. As he would suggest: 1) It ain’t as bad as you think! It will look better in the morning. 2) Get mad then get over it. 3) Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it. 4) It can be done. 5) Be careful what you choose. You may get it. 6) Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision. 7) You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours. 8) Check small things. 9) Share credit. 10) Remain calm. Be kind. 11) Have a vision. Be demanding. 12) Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers. 13) Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. These rules of leadership are not perfect. Leadership is not perfect. One of these things that we also must know about great leaders is that we must try. We must care. In the immortal words of John F. Kennedy, “We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” I implore the Prime Minister to check the ego, check the position and meet with leaders of the other parties and bring this situation to a peaceful and urgent end.

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Mr. Sameer Zuberi (Pierrefonds—Dollard, Lib.)

Feb/7/22 11:17:44 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Cumberland—Colchester for his comments and also I want to extend my condolences for the passing of your friend. I appreciate a lot of what you said. I would like to hear from you in particular around, since we are talking about it, the protest convoy in front of the Hill right now. You did not mention it at all in your address, and I am curious about your opinions and your thoughts on this. We see, for example, swastikas. We see hate speech and illegal acts, such as arson. You did not have any comments on this. I am curious what your thoughts are on these acts, on these flags, etc.?

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Feb/7/22 11:18:36 p.m.
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I would remind the hon. member to ensure that he addresses all questions and comments through the Chair and not to the member directly. The hon. member for Cumberland—Colchester.

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Mr. Stephen Ellis

Feb/7/22 11:18:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my speech tonight was an attempt to turn the temperature down here. This is a very volatile and unfortunate situation. It is really important that we understand that members on both sides of this House have continued to say that those acts are deplorable and despicable. I find it unfortunate if my colleague opposite wants to continue to perpetuate the idea that it is something that anybody in this House would stand for. That is very, very unfortunate. It is inflammatory. It is for those exact reasons that I chose not to talk about those things in my speech but to emphasize that we need to begin to get to the end of this very volatile situation.

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Ms. Kristina Michaud (Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, BQ)

Feb/7/22 11:19:46 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his speech, which I very much enjoyed. It is true that people have become anxious and cynical and that a small minority of people, not everyone, have lost their trust in our institutions. As my colleague said, all of this comes from the fact that these people are living in their own echo chamber. I understand what he was getting at. I also liked the rules of leadership that he mentioned. Unfortunately, I find that the federal government may not have followed those rules. What my colleague and his party are proposing is a good idea, namely, that the leaders of the various parties should meet to try to find solutions to the crisis. However, does he not think it would be even more productive if the federal government met with the Ottawa Police Service, the City of Ottawa, the Government of Ontario and all of the stakeholders on the ground to find a solution to the crisis?

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Mr. Stephen Ellis

Feb/7/22 11:20:46 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think there is a time for meetings and a time for action. The government talks a lot about meetings, but the time has come to take action, to set a direction and to establish a plan for the future, not only for the occupation, but for our country, Canada.

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Ms. Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, NDP)

Feb/7/22 11:21:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to start by acknowledging what the member said in his intervention: that people are suffering, that COVID-19 has been terrible, that people have died, that people have lost so much and that it has been very difficult. He talked today to my colleague from the other party about turning the temperature down. Last week, I had to ask my staff person not to come to work. She is a young Muslim woman, and I was afraid for her safety. I have another colleague working in my office who is taking a sick day because she has not been able to sleep and she is deeply traumatized. How can members of the Conservative Party of Canada continue to create a public relations campaign out of the occupation of our national capital by posing with protesters, posting messages of support and fuelling further divisions with their own party and across this nation?

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