SoVote

Feb/20/22 9:50:14 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague mentioned at the end that she is worried that this may set the bar low and that the precedent has now been set for when the Emergencies Act can be invoked. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is taking the federal government to court, stating, “the thresholds set out in the Emergencies Act, the legal requirements put in place to safeguard our democratic processes, have not been met.” That is the non-partisan Civil Liberties Association. It has been very clear, in taking the federal government to court, that the legal processes have not been met. If the member is worried about a future government and whether we have set the bar too low, why would she support the Emergencies Act? Clearly, the critical points have not been met. She is worried about future governments taking advantage of this precedent being set today.

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Context: House Hansard - 35 - Feb/20/22

Ms. Heather McPherson

Feb/20/22 9:51:14 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as the NDP, we are very excited to see the Civil Liberties Association bring this forward because we want there to be as much oversight as possible. This is an excellent way for us to get some answers to that question. However, we are in a moment in time when we have some very dangerous things happening in our country that we need to act upon. Do I like that we are in this situation? No, I do not. Do I think that it is necessary? I do. Do I think that we need to do a lot of work as parliamentarians to ensure that we are protecting ourselves in the future? I absolutely do.

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Context: House Hansard - 35 - Feb/20/22

Mr. Warren Steinley

Feb/20/22 11:53:02 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, that is a tough but fair question. I do think the NDP are going to look back on this and have some reservations about giving unbridled power to the Liberal government. My hope is that through conversations and through talking with their constituents over the next couple of days that they will have a bit of a “come to Jesus” moment and realize that they should be on the side of freedom, they should be on the side of protecting Canadians' civil liberties. If they go back and look at a few speeches from Tommy Douglas or at a column by Erin Weir, my predecessor, in the National Post about why they should not be supporting these measures, maybe a few of them will make sure they do the right thing on Monday and vote against the Emergencies Act.

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Context: House Hansard - 35 - Feb/20/22

Ms. Lori Idlout (Nunavut, NDP)

Feb/20/22 1:10:15 p.m.
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Uqaqtittiji, many Canadians are struggling to get beyond the party politics, because it is mainly party politics that are being debated throughout this House. It is in part due to the effectiveness of the extremist ideologies that have infiltrated their minds, causing them to fear the Emergencies Act. Can the member explain to Canadians how their civil liberties are not being violated in this Emergencies Act and why they do not need to fear it?

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Context: House Hansard - 35 - Feb/20/22

Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Senate), Lib.)

Feb/20/22 5:36:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am certainly not one to wade into how the politics in Quebec work, but I am pretty sure that there is not a single member in this House who ever thought the Bloc Québécois would vote in favour of this, just given its position, generally speaking, when it comes to national legislation like this. Having said that, this member's attempt to conflate the War Measures Act with the Emergencies Act, just like the Conservatives have done, is disingenuous at best and an attempt to completely misinform the Canadian public at worst. This member should know full well that the War Measures Act actually removed civil liberties that were afforded to Canadians. This piece of legislation specifically states in it that the Charter of Rights must be upheld, which is the defining feature between this and the War Measures Act. How can this member continue to perpetuate this misinformation?

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