44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 21, 2022 07:00AM
- Feb/21/22 2:33:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, back home in Quebec City we had protests over two weekends. We did not need the Emergencies Act. Instead, we saw the government and the police show leadership, the kind of leadership that has been sorely lacking in Ottawa in recent weeks.
Seven Canadian premiers, including the Premier of Quebec, want nothing to do with this act, but the government still wants to impose this extreme piece of legislation, which has never been used before this weekend.
Why is the government so insistent on doing this, given that the provincial premiers do not want it and neither do Canadians?
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- Feb/21/22 2:34:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I assure my colleague and all members in this House that any measures taken under the Emergencies Act have been taken in concert with all provincial and municipal authorities.
We will continue to work closely with the provinces and territories. Law enforcement is telling us that the act is a necessary tool, but we will withdraw these measures as soon as possible.
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- Feb/21/22 2:34:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, has the government received a legal opinion from either the Attorney General or the Department of Justice as to whether the emergency powers granted under the Emergencies Act, particularly the power to freeze financial accounts, are consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? If so, will the government release the legal opinion to the House before this evening's vote?
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- Feb/21/22 2:35:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am confident as Attorney General that we have met the standard to apply the Emergencies Act. As we have stated on many occasions, we are required as a government that any measures we take will conform with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including section 8 rights of search and seizure.
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- Feb/21/22 2:36:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will say at the beginning that the RCMP has clarified that at no time did it provide any list of donors to banks for enforcement under the Emergencies Act.
With regard to those financial controls that are being exercised under the act, as we have said many times, those powers are being exercised in a manner that is consistent with the charter, including due process rights, as well as the right to be protected against any unreasonable search and seizure.
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- Feb/21/22 2:36:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the occupation of Ottawa is over. There is not a single truck left in the streets, and the protesters have been dispersed. The police are in control of the situation and life is getting back to normal.
However, the House will vote tonight on invoking the Emergencies Act to address what the government is wrongly calling a “national crisis”.
Not only was there never a national crisis, there was no crisis at all. Will the Prime Minister immediately revoke his declaration about a state of emergency?
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- Feb/21/22 2:37:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, although we have seen the progress made against the illegal blockades, threats remain.
The Emergencies Act will continue to play a critical role in ending the illegal blockades. We will follow the advice of the police and of other experts, who are telling us that the act is still necessary.
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- Feb/21/22 2:37:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is completely absurd. The Prime Minister wants us to vote in favour of special legislation when there are no trucks and no protesters in the streets of Ottawa to get rid of.
The Prime Minister has turned this into a no-confidence vote, so if we oppose it, it will trigger a second useless election in six months.
Even worse, what the Prime Minister is demanding means that, for the first time in history, the House of Commons will vote in favour of the use of the Emergencies Act to solve a problem that no longer exists.
Does the Prime Minister realize how low he is setting the bar and that he is creating a shameful precedent?
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- Feb/21/22 2:38:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to my colleague, there are still risks, despite all the progress that has been made.
There are risks outside the House of Commons, in the streets of Ottawa, and at our borders. Efforts are being made to bring back the illegal blockades.
That is why, according to law enforcement, we still need the Emergencies Act. We will use this measure in a very responsible way, in compliance with the charter.
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- Feb/21/22 2:39:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, let us continue with this theatre of the absurd. Dozens of truckers who have left Ottawa have threatened to return as soon as possible.
How long does the Prime Minister plan to maintain the emergency measures? Will he keep them in place forever, even if there is no longer a crisis, just in case the truckers come back?
Seriously, what will it take for the government to realize that it was not the Emergencies Act that solved the crisis, but rather a coordinated police response, which is what we have been calling for since day one?
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- Feb/21/22 2:39:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is important to understand how the act works. All the measures in the Emergencies Act, which were brought in by the declaration, are temporary, targeted and used in a way that is consistent with the charter.
We will withdraw the legislation as soon as possible. However, at the same time, we must follow the advice of the police.
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- Feb/21/22 2:41:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Emergencies Act authorizes the freezing of bank accounts. Many Canadians know very little about the rules, the duration or the guidelines.
The legislation must not be trivialized. It is very troubling and, worse still, the Minister of Finance wants to introduce legislation to give more powers, without a warrant.
Will the minister commit to including a mechanism to appeal abusive decisions in order to protect honest Canadians?
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- Feb/21/22 2:42:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a financial crime expert says the Emergencies Act is a “serious [deviation] from the normal democratic processes”. A U of T finance professor says, “Banks may be inclined to overreact...to avoid running afoul of the government”. Security and finance experts say there are no suspicious activities or credible threats with protest-related donations. There is no evidence, court order or due process and no limits on what direct or indirect participation means.
It is already happening to my constituents, so when will frozen bank accounts be up and running again?
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- Feb/21/22 2:42:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the integrated command team, which is composed of the Ottawa Police Service, the OPP and the RCMP, has been clear and unequivocal. The authorities that have been provided to them under the Emergencies Act have been essential to the progress they have made in getting the situation under control. We have also heard from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, which is all the chiefs, the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and even the Canadian Police Association, representing the rank and file. All have been clear and unequivocal that these measures were essential and have been helping them restore order in this country.
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- Feb/21/22 2:44:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for highlighting one of the ongoing risks we face, which is the threat to our borders and our trade corridors. They are so critically important to keeping Canadians at work and our economy rolling. That is why we continue to listen very carefully to the advice we are getting from our police services, which say that the Emergencies Act was instrumental in addressing the blockades at ports of entry and continues to be instrumental in preventing them.
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- Feb/21/22 2:46:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the last three weeks have been extraordinarily difficult for the people of Ottawa, with major roads blocked, noise at all hours of the night and people threatened and intimidated in their own communities. Despite the severe economic impacts of the last two years, downtown businesses were forced to shut their doors yet again. This past weekend, we saw police execute a coordinated plan that finally removed demonstrators and their vehicles from Ottawa streets. This only came after the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act for the very first time in our nation's history.
Can the Minister of Emergency Preparedness explain to the House why the act was needed to bring the situation to an end?
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- Feb/21/22 2:48:38 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the member that all of the powers being used under the Emergencies Act are being used in a manner that is very proportional, measured and respectful of the charter, including protections around due process and the right to be protected from unreasonable search and seizure.
We are always reassessing the need for the Emergencies Act. We are listening very carefully to the advice we are receiving from law enforcement. I want to assure the member and all members of the chamber that we will absolutely retreat from the Emergencies Act as soon as we can.
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- Feb/21/22 2:51:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague has now heard on several occasions, the tools we are using under the Emergencies Act are very practical, very targeted and very measured. We are talking about designating secure zones. We are talking about choking off illegal funds that could be used to aid and abet the illegal blockades. We are talking about rapidly deploying the RCMP so that we can restore public safety here in Ottawa. It is all of these things.
The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has supported this. The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police has supported it. The Canadian Police Association, which is for the rank and file of police and frontline responders day in and day out, supports the Emergencies Act.
When will the party of law and order actually support the opinions of the law and order?
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- Feb/21/22 2:52:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this party does not support the Charter of Rights. It also does not seem to understand that continued use of the Emergencies Act for the Prime Minister's political purposes will only further divide Canadians. Former NDP MP Svend Robinson said that a very dangerous precedent is being set.
Why has the Prime Minister not rescinded these emergency powers today?
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- Feb/21/22 2:52:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the short answer is because we are listening to law enforcement, who have given us a very considered view that threats remain to our communities here in Ottawa and to the neighbourhoods here in Ottawa, which have for far too long been under siege. We are listening to law enforcement about the threats that remain at our borders, where trade corridors and supply chains are vital to the Canadian economy and to keeping Canadians at work. That is why we continue to use the Emergencies Act, but we are doing it in a responsible, measured way, consistent with the charter. We will sunset the Emergencies Act as soon as we can.
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