44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 10, 2022 10:00AM
- Feb/10/22 6:02:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise this evening to speak in support of today's Conservative opposition day motion to end the lockdowns and restrictions and to have a clear path forward so Canadians can have faith in our parliamentary system again. The Prime Minister has placed many hardships on Canadians over the last two-plus years, and it is time that Canadians see some hope. It is a time they see a plan on how we can move forward and build trust again in this parliamentary system.
All of us in the House have experienced the outcry of so many Canadians across this country calling for a return to normal. Some are here in Ottawa and some are at the blockades along the border, but so many more are at home, desperate to live their lives and asking for the Prime Minister and his government to end their campaign of fear and division. I hear it all the time from my constituents. My constituents are some of the hardest hit by the Liberal government's failed policies. They want to go back to their lives and livelihoods without being vilified by the Liberal government.
I also want to take this opportunity to echo what our Conservative leader said this morning. My colleagues and I have heard the message that the protesters in Ottawa came here to bring, so we will not stop calling on the government to listen and we will never stop standing up for Canadians. That is our duty here. Now is the time to end the blockades at Coutts and the Ambassador Bridge, for the sake of businesses and the people. They do not deserve to suffer financially any longer. All Canadians deserve to have this economic pain come to an end.
However, while the Liberals continue their fearmongering and divisive politics, we know the cost of living has gone up. People are facing extraordinary house prices and inflation not seen in the last 30 years. Today's motion is an opportunity to extend an olive branch to Canadians. Let us end these mandates, let Canadians get back to a normal life and end the economic turmoil that is hurting everyday people.
As my colleagues and I have been saying all along, we condemn the use of hate symbols and do not tolerate the desecration of our national monuments. What also needs to be made clear is that the people who did those things—
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- Feb/10/22 6:05:22 p.m.
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I will ask the hon. member to remove the device he has.
He may proceed.
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- Feb/10/22 6:05:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, what also needs to be made clear is that the people who did those things do not represent the vast majority of the people who are concerned about these lockdowns and want these mandates to end. Those calling for an end to the mandates are ordinary Canadians. They came from across Canada, with diverse backgrounds and supporting different political parties. They are simply asking for a clear path forward out of this pandemic so they can get on with their lives.
However, if we listen to the Prime Minister's rhetoric, we would think there are hoards of angry people storming Ottawa and trying to overthrow the government. How would he know what is going on when he is hiding at the cottage with his MacBook? More importantly, how would he know the true intention of Canadians when he refuses to listen? He opens his mouth, pits everyone against each other for political gain and ignores the voices of the masses when they ask him to stop.
True leadership unites people, no matter their views. Still, the Prime Minister demonizes anyone who disagrees with his ideology. He would rather call people racist and misogynist than sit at a table with people of different views to help unite this country. My colleagues and I from Alberta know all too well that it is “get on board or get out of the way” with the current Prime Minister. Why can he not stop politicizing the pandemic and start listening to Canadians who have suffered enough?
We have seen first-hand in Alberta how protesters on both sides of this issue have taken it upon themselves to act on the fear and division stoked by the current Liberal government. Last Canada Day, the then Minister of Health for Alberta was harassed by protesters who went after him in front of his kids and wife. This is not what Canada is about. This is not how we want to be seen on the world stage. However, when it was time for the Prime Minister to unite Canadians throughout the pandemic, throughout the fires in B.C. and the fall of Afghanistan, he called a selfish $630-million election to capitalize on the fear and division he had created. What kind of leader thinks that is okay?
We have reached a point in this country where we need to look at the current government's and Prime Minister's actions and not just his empty rhetoric. We need to ask whether we will let them continue to divide us and make us live in fear. We all believe in science and facts, but we also believe in defending our country and what we stand for.
The chief medical officers of health across Canada are calling for an end to restrictions. Dr. Tam, Dr. Henry, Dr. Moore, Dr. Hinshaw and Dr. Shahab say that it is time for Canada to get back to normal. If we as a country of the true north, strong and free, believe in that principle, then it is time to listen to the science, to listen to the evidence, to listen to the people. We must end the lockdowns and restrictions.
Ninety per cent of Canadians are vaccinated. Most provinces are providing rapid tests for the public, and case counts are going down. Countries worldwide, such as Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Israel, the Czech Republic, the U.K., Spain and Denmark, are removing their COVID measures, including the vaccine passport, as are many U.S. states, as well as Alberta and Saskatchewan. Our allies are listening to science and, most importantly, the people. Why is the Prime Minister not?
I also want to mention that we, the Conservatives, are not alone in this House in calling for an end to restrictions. The Liberal members for Louis-Hébert and Marc-Aurèle-Fortin spoke out to say that enough is enough. The member for Louis-Hébert assured us that he is not the only one to have a certain discomfort on different levels with the direction the government has to take. The member for Louis-Hébert is not part of the French minority. He is not racist or a misogynist because he said these things, nor are the protesters or the people who are asking the Prime Minister to stop sowing his fear and division.
I have seen first-hand inside my own house the impact of these lockdowns and these measures. I have a daughter who suffered through such extreme anxiety that we had to pull her out of school because she could not handle all of the things that were happening all at once. It was not her fault. We understand COVID is going on, but she was going through extreme traumatic stress due to these lockdowns.
I can only imagine other households, and what is going on inside their houses. We owe it to parents and we owe it to children. We need to start living our lives and moving forward.
I think about what kind of country I want to see for my daughters. I want them to grow up without fear of having their own ideas. I want them to be proud of who they are and what they believe in. I honestly believe that all of us in the House want that, too, for future generations.
This is our opportunity to turn down the rhetoric, the fear and the division and let Canadians get back to normal life. It is time for the Prime Minister to stop politicizing the pandemic and start listening to Canadians. It is time to hear the people.
Canadians need hope, now more than ever. They need leadership and they need to be united. They need to stop being called names. They need real leadership now. They need a plan forward. They want to see the light that will help take them out of this darkness. Now is the time to stand up and keep our land united, strong and free.
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- Feb/10/22 6:11:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to correct the record. I can certainly appreciate that Dr. Tam never suggested that we get rid of all vaccine mandates or protocols, but of course that there could be a revision and a look at the current measures. I think that is important to note.
To the member opposite, today during question period, his colleague for Lambton—Kent—Middlesex essentially asked the Prime Minister why he did not get rid of vaccine mandates, as that would allow these illegal blockades, and the protesters, to go home.
The hon. member mentioned in his remarks that this was not what Canada is about. Does he suggest that Canada is about allowing mob rule and illegal protests, and that those are what should dictate government decisions, notwithstanding the fact that, yes, we are moving in a different direction on COVID? On the idea that we drop everything right now, he suggested that the government should just acquiesce and basically bend to mob rule in this country.
Is that the type of country he thinks Canada is?
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- Feb/10/22 6:12:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the PMO for that question.
What I heard in question period today was the minister of transportation saying, “I want to remind Canadians that we are still in a pandemic.” To the member asking that question, and to the transport minister, why did that not stop the Prime Minister from calling an unnecessary, selfish election? It was the most expensive election in Canada's history for a shuffle change in the Liberal cabinet.
Maybe the member can go back to the PMO and ask him that question on behalf of all Canadians, because they deserve to know that, while the fourth wave of this pandemic was raging, the Prime Minister was okay to campaign in Brampton and run around—
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- Feb/10/22 6:13:45 p.m.
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The hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou.
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- Feb/10/22 6:13:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to get back to the reopening plan. Right now, Quebec and most of the Canadian provinces are making decisions based on the fragility of their health care systems. That fragility is caused by 30 years of health cuts.
In the reopening plan, would it not be wise to increase health transfers to 35%, which is still less than what is set out in our constitutional agreements?
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- Feb/10/22 6:14:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we need to have a really serious conversation about health care in this country, because in the last six years things have not improved whatsoever. We all, as a group here, from all parties, should be working together. Instead of politicizing this pandemic, we should have been finding ways to improve things in this country.
What we are asking for is just a plan. Give us some metrics. Give us something. The Prime Minister stood up in question period today, and he keeps talking about vaccines. We are already at 90%. Tell us what the threshold is. When does this end? When can Canadians have back the confidence in the House that has been broken by the Liberal government?
Give us some metrics so we can at least give hope to Canadians—
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- Feb/10/22 6:15:14 p.m.
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The hon. member for Vancouver Kingsway.
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- Feb/10/22 6:15:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there has been a legion of policy reversals from the federal government since the beginning of the pandemic. I will itemize a few.
In January, 2020, Dr. Tam told the House of Commons health committee that asymptomatic transmission was a rare event, and that epidemics are not driven by that kind of transmission.
In February, 2020, the then health minister claimed that closing the border was not effective at all in controlling the spread of disease.
In March, 2020, Dr. Tam advised against universal masking practices. Canada has been among the slowest countries to acknowledge and act upon evidence showing airborne aerosols as a primary means of transmitting COVID-19.
In January, 2021, the Prime Minister said he was opposed to the idea of mandating vaccine passports, saying it would have divisive impacts on the community.
Finally, in May, 2021, Dr. Tam suggested that if 75% of Canadians had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 20% had two doses, provinces could begin safely easing restrictions.
With that degree of change and flux in policy, does my hon. colleague think that we can come up with a plan, given the variability of omicron and the developments in this disease?
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- Feb/10/22 6:16:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, what my colleague is highlighting is what I have been talking about in my speech, about trust. I think Canadians lost a lot of trust because of all the failed policies and back and forth that they kept seeing from the Liberal government. This is the same government that the Prime Minister said last year would not call an election. We passed a motion in the House, and he turned on that—
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- Feb/10/22 6:16:58 p.m.
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The hon. Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement.
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- Feb/10/22 6:17:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I very much appreciate the opportunity to speak today to my constituents and to Canadians on this issue and to share my thoughts. This is an important issue and worthy of serious, substantive debate. There has been far too much partisanship on this issue, including today, on all sides.
Like most issues before us, this is a grey issue. It is not black and it is not white. There are Canadians who feel very strongly that all mandates and all restrictions should be dropped, and there are many other Canadians who completely disagree with that premise.
I had the opportunity to speak in the emergency debate, and while a lot has been said today about the protests and the blockades, I want to say this. Peaceful assembly is a constitutional right. Blockades disrupting trade, businesses and people's lives are not. To those blockading, please go home. I call on all levels of government to provide police the support and resources needed to immediately end these illegal blockades. The rule of law still needs to exist in Canada.
With respect to the issue before us today, a pandemic is an unusual situation. This is the first one we have seen in our entire lifetime. Governments have done their best over the last two years. When I say “governments”, I mean all governments: international ones, the federal government and the provincial governments. They have to listen to science and then make decisions. The virus has evolved and things have changed. Governments always need to adapt and communicate. They do their best, even though we do not always agree with their decisions.
One of the reasons that Canada has a much lower death rate than the United States is we have a slightly different conception of freedom. We know that freedom and liberty are important, but they also come with responsibility. When one's freedom clashes with someone else's, it sometimes needs to be limited. Someone absolutely has the right to remain unvaccinated if that is what they choose, but do they retain the right to work with the frail and elderly? These decisions are not easy ones to make. It is up to elected governments to make them.
Canadians throughout this pandemic have at various times been unhappy with measures taken by their federal and provincial governments. I, myself, at the beginning of this pandemic, protested outside a long-term care centre in Quebec when the Quebec government declared that caregivers and family members were no longer able to visit their frail, elderly relatives. I knew that my dad, in that long-term care facility, would not be adequately cared for, no matter how hard the staff tried, if his family, wife and sons, his caregivers, could not be with him. The policy was a harsh one. When I finally saw my dad months later, he had not been taken out of bed for months. Before the pandemic he could walk. He could walk the length of the floor, from one side to the other. After the pandemic he could not walk.
I have heard from Canadians who have kids with mental health issues because the schools were closed. I have friends who own gyms and have a friend who owns a basketball league. Sports are so important to the mental and physical health of Canadians. How do I justify to them why these are closed when other businesses that are comparable are open? How do we explain to our churches and synagogues why they need to close when other things can remain open?
Most of these are provincial restrictions; they are not federal. However, there are federal restrictions that have greatly impacted people. People could not have their loved ones come visit them in Canada for over a year, and people have to be tested multiple times, even though they are vaccinated, when they want to cross the border.
I want everybody to understand that I really heard what demonstrators and other people have said. I understand there are people who are deeply upset, especially after living through this for a couple of years. However, I have also heard from health care workers who have been working heroically with almost no break over the last two years. We had more people in hospitals in January 2022 with COVID than we did throughout the entire course of the pandemic. They are warning us that without any restrictions to slow down transmission, our health care system could break. I also hear from many vulnerable seniors who would be afraid to go to indoor spaces if everyone is not masked and vaccinated.
I say this because it is hard. Governments at all levels need to balance the freedom of individuals with caring for the vulnerable and nurturing our health care system. They must balance physical health versus mental health. We need to follow the science, but we also need to use our own judgment, listening to Canadians to determine what level of public health measures best balance those factors.
I personally agree that the Government of Canada, the same as various provincial governments, needs to come forward and explain when and under what circumstances some restrictions will be lifted. Measures such as this are exceptional, and we need to make sure that Canadians understand why they are in place and when they will be lifted.
In my view, the very first restrictions that need to be revisited are the ones that impact vaccinated Canadians. When will the travel advisory recommending against international travel be lifted? Do we really need testing at airports for vaccinated travellers who already had a COVID test before departure? I hope that we soon hear what the plans are with respect to these types of restrictions.
However, I also do not agree that each and every mandate and restriction now needs to be lifted. Vaccinations are key to getting us out of this pandemic. People who are vaccinated are less likely to infect others, and less likely to paralyze our hospitals, because there is less chance that they will get very sick, have to go to ICUs or die. There are vaccine mandates, which remain important, and there are requirements to wear masks in indoor spaces, which are important because we know that the virus is usually transmitted in poorly ventilated indoor spaces.
To simply call for ending all restrictions and all mandates all at once is not following the science. I agree that we need to move forward with easing restrictions, but we also have to understand that if there is a highly transmissible and deadly variant that emerges, measures may need to be reinstated.
What I do agree with is that every level of government needs to effectively communicate with the population what its plans are with respect to all restrictions, and needs to explain why they are there and at what point they will be removed. That is the important thing that all levels of government need to do.
I want to conclude my speech with one additional point that is important and that has been raised by many of my colleagues today, and that is surge capacity in our hospitals. One of the reasons why we have had to resort so many times to measures, such as the curfew in Quebec, that were highly unpopular and highly disruptive to the population is because we do not have the surge capacity that other jurisdictions do. Our hospitals are overwhelmed when they reach a certain number of patients, both in the regular wards and in the ICUs.
The federal government needs to show leadership. The member for Calgary Nose Hill gave a very good member's statement last week. I concur with her that the federal government needs to work with the provinces, in the same way we did to create national standards on long-term care, to create standards on surge capacity. The federal government needs to help fund the provinces to do that, because only when surge capacity increases in our health care institutions will we not have to worry about imposing so many restrictions.
I appreciate the opportunity to speak tonight.
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- Feb/10/22 6:26:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in his compassionate speech, it sounds like my colleague for Mount Royal might actually be supporting our motion on this issue. I appreciate that very much.
Recently, the member for Louis-Hébert revealed that the Liberal leadership made the decision before the last election to wedge, to divide and to stigmatize Canadians. That was for political gain, no matter what the cost. A poll taken just after the election showed that 77% of Canadians felt the country was more fractured than ever. Make no mistake: That will be the legacy of this Prime Minister and of his government.
Does my colleague for Mount Royal agree with his Quebec colleague, that the legacy of the government will be one of division and fracture?
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- Feb/10/22 6:27:07 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, no, I was trying to make a point in my speech that we should not be partisan but substantive on this issue. That was, unfortunately, a very partisan question.
Attacking the Prime Minister and making allegations about the Prime Minister seeking to divide the country and Liberal caucus is equally as egregious as what the hon. member claims to have occurred. There is no basis to believe that there is anybody in this place who wants to harm Canadians. Everybody wants to bring Canadians together. Everybody wants to do their best for this country. We have different views on how to do that.
I respect my colleague for Louis-Hébert very much, but I am not here to talk about what my colleague for Louis-Hébert said. I made a speech for 10 minutes, and the member can ask me about that.
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- Feb/10/22 6:27:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will come back to my colleague’s conclusion that things can change and that the plan could be adjusted.
A well-crafted plan does provide for adjustments and for explanations that are clearly communicated to the public.
What does my colleague think about that?
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- Feb/10/22 6:28:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I agree completely with everything my colleague said.
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- Feb/10/22 6:28:26 p.m.
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It being 6:28 p.m., it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of the business of supply.
The question is on the motion.
If a member of a recognized party present in the House wishes to request a recorded division or that the motion be adopted on division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.
The hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable.
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- Feb/10/22 6:29:21 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I request a recorded division.
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- Feb/10/22 6:29:26 p.m.
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Pursuant to an order made on Thursday, November 25, 2021, the division stands deferred until February 14, 2022, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.
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