SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 38

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 1, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 38 - Mar/1/22
Mr. Eric Duncan (Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, CPC)
  • Mar/1/22 6:34:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to participate in the adjournment proceedings tonight. I will start with a candid comment that I have said to several constituents over the course of the last few weeks when we have debated the many issues facing the city of Ottawa specifically and our country: I cannot wait until we can come to the floor of the House of Commons and not talk about COVID or convoys. However, I want to follow up on the supplemental question I asked in question period a few weeks ago about a reopening plan from this government. As I said before, this should be a happy time for our country. We are seeing a drop in severity with the latest COVID-19 variant, and we have seen the surge begin to eliminate itself. We have seen public health data and public health experts say that we are now in a phase of this pandemic, thankfully, where we do not have to live in fear and where we can learn to live with COVID and adjust our public health measures to do so. A few weeks ago in our opposition day motion, we simply asked for a plan. The motion was voted down down by the government and the NDP, not because of science but because of politics. It was reasonable at this point in the game, and it was not unrealistic. Several provinces, provincial premiers and leaders around the world in similar situations to what Canada has faced during this pandemic have given their citizens hope to say that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, here is the plan, here are the metrics, here are the benchmarks to know that we are finally getting to the end of this pandemic, and here is when we can see some closure and some advancement on getting back to normal. I had to laugh because the motion was voted down and two days later an NDP member stood up in question period and said, “We need a plan”. The NDP just voted against it three days before. Nevertheless, we are still here, unfortunately, in a situation where, yes, things have certainly been tense in our country over the past few weeks and months. A lot of my constituents say, and rightly so, that there is a difference between the federal restrictions and measures that have been put in place and the provincial ones. A lot of provincial premiers and leaders have shown plans and timelines and made progress, but at the federal level we do not see that same leadership. We have asked the government numerous times to provide the science and data that shows the reason for mandates and some of the measures it is responsible for, but these things are still in place and we have gotten silence back. However, others are speaking up in this country. I think of the many border communities in the province of Ontario, where home is to me, such as the city of Cornwall, the port of entry there and SD&G. Local mayors and tourism businesses are wanting to see the restrictive measures at land borders finally and rightfully lifted. There have been leaders as well. For example, I will quote an article where Mayor Drew Dilkens from the City of Windsor said this: “So I think what we need to do is trust Canadians to make smart decisions. We've asked people to get vaccinated, that is the high water mark here of the pandemic. But having a requirement for a test is really an optical illusion for safety. It really is providing no real protection.” Dilkens and his counterparts said the science doesn't support testing of this kind and it remains a barrier for those looking to cross land borders between the U.S. and Canada. We also still have on the table from the government the idea of an interprovincial mandate for truck drivers, which would be extremely inappropriate considering the data, public health advice and the direction of provincial leaders and many countries around the world. My supplemental question to the government is this: What are the metrics? What are the time frames? Where is the hope to get back to a semblance of normalcy and to get back to normal? Canadians have been more than patient. They have done their part. There is no reason why at this point in the game they cannot have a detailed plan.
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Context: House Hansard - 38 - Mar/1/22
Mr. Eric Duncan
  • Mar/1/22 6:42:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I apologize for any hiccups, but it was relatively relevant to the topic. The Emergencies Act is an example of something that we were confronted with as Parliament in the past few weeks. I will just say this to my hon. colleague. We are now into year three of the pandemic. The light at the end of the tunnel is here. It is not politicians that are saying that out of turn. We are hearing more public health leaders and experts saying this. We are at a time when we could start to end federal mandates. People could start to get back to work and get their livelihoods back, and do so safely. We could have federal public service workers return to downtown Ottawa to get our economy going again in the city of Ottawa and in eastern Ontario. We are at a spot now where we could rule out the need for interprovincial truck mandates. We could look for travel and tourism at our land borders, which is very important to the city of Cornwall in my region. I would just say, for travel and tourism, time is of the essence. A plan, metrics, and light, hope and optimism are needed for the many people who rely on American visitors coming up and using our land borders each year. I would encourage the government, once again, to please get a plan, get back open, end mandates and get back to normal.
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