Senator Housakos: Or, of course, the government can just lift the remaining mandates, like everyone else is doing, and they will never come back, at least for this issue.

You are absolutely right, Senator Tannas. You and I have engaged in debate here for many years. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we disagree, but we respect each other’s opinions. You are right. I am Greek, and, of course, in the word “democracy,” “demos” is “people,” and “cratia” means “rule.” Rule of the people — that is what democracy is all about, and we should never forget that.

I appreciate your interventions and comments, and I agree with you and Senator Pate that this was a huge protest, but very tempered and very peaceful. We have to give kudos to the police and public security forces — and the protesters, because they found a way to protest, yet when the police had to do what they had to do, they backed up. They retrenched, they backed up and accepted the finale while getting their point across. While we have had, as Senator Pate said, other protests in this city — Black Lives Matter, Indigenous protests, very legitimate protests — and in my own city there was commercial violence and statues were desecrated.

My concern is that this precedent-setting event needs to have an end to it or parameters to send a message to this government and future governments that this should not be a precedent. Then every time the people rise up in frustration, and there is some measured violence or some of stretching of law and order as we know it in this country because they want to express their democratic frustration, other governments won’t use this as a precedent to do something as equally draconian to environmental groups, Indigenous groups and others who have legitimate reason to protest.

Finally, we are a great federation. As you brought up, public security is the responsibility of municipalities, provinces and governments in collaboration. Did we get any indication that provinces and municipal authorities were calling on the government to do this? It seems like at least seven out of ten provincial governments have been outraged by this measure.

Can you comment on both the precedent this sets in terms of future protests and why the government would do something when there hasn’t been a call from other levels of government to ask for this across the country?