44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 21, 2022 07:00AM
- Feb/21/22 7:19:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Montarville said that our government should have taken action sooner.
He also said that the main reason why he was voting against the use of the act was that there was not enough consultation with the provinces, which is completely untrue. All of a sudden, my colleague is concerned about provinces other than Quebec. He is so concerned that he renamed the Emergencies Act the War Measures Act.
Would he rather our government infringe on the jurisdictions of the provinces and law enforcement agencies?
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- Feb/21/22 7:20:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am not sure I understood my colleague's question.
I am not sure what to answer, but I am wondering how the member can claim that the provincial governments were consulted when the provinces are saying they were not. Where was he? Was he hiding in the closet watching as the federal government consulted the provincial governments?
The member can say whatever he wants, but the fact is that the act was invoked without the consent of seven of the provinces. I am saying that—
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- Feb/21/22 7:21:20 p.m.
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The hon. member for Thérèse-De Blainville.
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- Feb/21/22 7:21:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. friend for his passionate, fascinating and informative speech.
Yesterday I mentioned the Maple Spring, a big social crisis that occurred in Quebec. I was wondering whether the Emergencies Act, which we will be voting on today, would have applied to Quebec. Indeed, the act states that it will be enforced throughout Canada, regardless of what the provinces and Quebec think of it.
There is a big elephant in the room. The Prime Minister made a thinly veiled threat about this being a confidence vote. Shortly after that, in the media, the NDP leader gave his unequivocal support to this motion.
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- Feb/21/22 7:22:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague raises an important question about the fact that the government decided to invoke this legislation and make it apply generally throughout Canada, when the problem was entirely localized in downtown Ottawa.
Given that some governments had already expressed their opposition to the act being enforced in their territory, I think it would have been simple for the federal government, in the spirit of co-operation, to limit the scope of the act, as I mentioned earlier. However, it chose not to do so, regardless of what the provinces had asked of it.
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- Feb/21/22 7:23:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a century ago, Viscount Haldane created the emergency doctrine of the peace, order and good government clause of the Constitution. At the time, he indicated that in peacetime, when that clause was used to create legislation, the onus was on the government to justify the use of that extraordinary power. Justice Laskin, in the Anti-Inflation Act reference case, seemed to suggest the same.
Does my hon. colleague feel that this jurisprudence applies to the CCLA court case that is currently working its way in front of the court? The Canadian Civil Liberties Association—
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- Feb/21/22 7:23:55 p.m.
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The hon. member for Montarville.
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- Feb/21/22 7:23:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question.
It is indeed a fundamental question: can we invoke legislation of this nature when we are in a peaceful situation, there is no armed conflict or state of war?
As I mentioned in my speech, I think indeed that in such a situation, the onus is on the government. In this case, the government has not succeeded at any time to demonstrate to us that the act was necessary.
If it is not necessary, we must vote against it.
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- Feb/21/22 7:24:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge the important interventions of my colleagues across all political lines throughout the weekend and today. We are all tired. Canadians are tired.
I want to make sure it is unequivocally clear that NDP members are taking the use of the Emergencies Act very seriously. We have been unequivocally clear that if we vote in favour of the government's request, as we will tonight, it is not a blank cheque. We are very reluctant here. We are not supporting it because we want to, but because of the failure of leadership from all levels of government, which led to this point. The government will have to stay within the established powers or we will withdraw our support. We have made that unequivocally clear.
I want to speak a little about the main group that organized this protest, this convoy. They came to Ottawa. They issued a memorandum of understanding, which is a pseudo-legal document. It called for the establishment of a committee with the Governor General and individuals appointed by Canada Unity, which would have had the power to override all levels of government and to dissolve the democratically elected Government of Canada if it did not follow through on the MOU.
This is unacceptable. They called on the Prime Minister to dissolve Parliament. We can all agree that this is a failure of the leadership of the convoy as well to make that declaration. It is certainly not a way to get a meeting with the Prime Minister and the government.
This is the first time the Emergencies Act has ever been used since it was created over 30 years ago. The NDP agrees that it should continue to be avoided as much as possible. It is very clear that we do not want to use this tool. This is, again, as a result of the failure of all levels of government, including our Prime Minister, to show leadership to keep Canadians safe over the past few weeks.
What we face right now are illegitimate protests. They have not been peaceful. There has been an illegal occupation. People in residential areas of Ottawa have been harassed. People do not feel safe in their own homes. There have been reports of attempted arson of a residential building. The convoy has given itself unlawful powers to detain people. We have seen large numbers of firearms confiscated in Coutts, Alberta. This cannot continue to escalate further. It has to stop.
I understand the concerns people have about the potential impacts of the use of emergency measures legislation. I have those concerns, too. I have seen Liberals and Conservatives abuse their power in the past. I have seen their governments attack rights of indigenous peoples and workers, as examples. That is not what we are talking about here. We are talking about an illegal occupation that has gone on for three weeks. It has had a huge impact on people.
The NDP will use all powers at its disposal to hold the government to account while the Emergencies Act remains in effect.
I did hear a Conservative member say that the NDP is the party of the working class and that it has abandoned them. That is not true. We are not abandoning the people of Ottawa. We are not abandoning the workers of Ottawa. We are not abandoning automobile workers in Windsor, Ontario, and workers across this country. We want to make sure there is a clear flow of goods and services so that businesses can continue to operate.
I heard the leader of the official opposition initially say, “I don't think we should be asking them to go home”, and that we need to turn this into the Prime Minister's problem. I had a person from my community say the same thing to me. Paul reached out to me and said, “Let the Prime Minister sink on this.” I can tell you, as a New Democrat I will never let someone be harmed for political gain. We as New Democrats will not do that. We will stand up for Canadians, for health care workers, indigenous peoples, people suffering across this country. We need to stop the division.
I know the Conservatives like to tell the story that this is not well supported. Again, I made it very clear that Peter MacKay, a former Conservative defence and justice minister under Stephen Harper, thinks that this meets the bar and that this should be supported, as does Vern White, a Conservative senator, the former chief of police of Ottawa, as does Prime Minister Harper's own senior security adviser. The Premier of Ontario is a Conservative and he supports the implementation of the Emergencies Act to relieve the citizens of Ottawa and the City of Ottawa.
How can all levels of government be ignored, including first nations? First nations in my own province, the First Nations Leadership Council in British Columbia, the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, and the B.C. Solicitor General support this.
We need to move forward. We need to end the division in our country, and stop the flow of misinformation and foreign money.
I see it is time to go to a vote.
I urge us all as Canadians to come together and drop the rhetoric. I know the Prime Minister said a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian. It is time for all of us to include each other, drop the rhetoric and try to heal as a country.
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- Feb/21/22 7:30:15 p.m.
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It being 7:30 p.m., pursuant to order made Thursday, February 17, it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of the motion now before the House.
The vote 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.
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- Feb/21/22 7:31:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would request a recorded vote.
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- Feb/21/22 7:31:15 p.m.
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Call in the members.
And the bells having rung:
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- Feb/21/22 8:04:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the eyes of the nation are upon us tonight. Earlier today, the Prime Minister signalled, as did a member of his back bench, that tonight's vote is a confidence vote. Convention requires the Prime Minister to publicly declare a confidence vote of this nature as such, following convention.
My question for the government House leader is this: Is the vote tonight a confidence vote? If the vote is lost, will the Prime Minister plunge us into an election?
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- Feb/21/22 8:04:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the debate but it is time to vote.
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- Feb/21/22 8:21:19 p.m.
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I declare the motion carried.
The hon. leader of the official opposition has a point of order.
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- Feb/21/22 8:21:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I file with you, pursuant to section 59 of the Emergencies Act, a motion to revoke the Prime Minister's emergency declaration that was proclaimed last week.
In accordance with the act, the motion is signed by more than 20 members of the Conservative Party. This motion—
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- Feb/21/22 8:21:58 p.m.
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The Leader of the Government in the House of Commons is rising on a point of order.
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- Feb/21/22 8:22:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as you are aware, there was a House order that the House would adjourn after the vote.
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- Feb/21/22 8:22:05 p.m.
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I will let the hon. member finish her point of order.
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- Feb/21/22 8:22:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will consider the matter at the next sitting week.
I say this to all Canadians: Conservatives will continue to use every tool at our disposal to end the Prime Minister's—
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