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 |  Subject: 'Stand with Swastikas': Canada's Emergencies Act debate turns ugly as opposition grows  Thu Feb 17, 2022 2:03 am | |
| Conservative MP calls for an apology from Prime Minister Trudeau over heated exchange on the need for Emergencies Act
Prime Minister Justin Turdeau
As opposition parties dug into their formal opposition to the Liberal government’s Emergencies Act, debates took an ugly turn in question period as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau indirectly linked a Jewish MP to Nazi supporters.
Comments directed to Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman were made during a heated exchange in which she compared his “positive, optimistic, hopeful vision of public life” in 2015 with recent negative comments made toward truck convoy supporters.
“Conservative Party members can stand with people who wave swastikas; they can stand with people who wave the Confederate flag. We will choose to stand with Canadians who deserve to be able to get to their jobs, to be able to get their lives back,” replied Trudeau.
This prompted the Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, to remind all MPs, including the prime minister, “to use words that are not inflammatory in the House.”
Lantsman took to social media to denounce the prime minister’s comments, while at the same time asking for an apology.
“I think the Prime Minister should think long and hard about his own history before singling out a Jewish Member of Parliament and falsely accusing me of standing with a Swastika. What a disgraceful statement unbecoming of anyone in public office – he owes me an apology.”
The prime minister’s office refused to offer an apology and instead directed the National Post to a statement made by Minister of Families, Children and Development, Karina Gould, who describes herself as a “proud Jewish woman who is the descendant of Holocaust survivors.”
“We all have a responsibility to use our words judiciously as elected officials”, she tweeted.
Trudeau’s comments came as Liberals are grappling to get support from opposition parties for the continuation of the Emergencies Act in order to end the truck convoys in Ottawa.
Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois confirmed on Wednesday they will be voting against it, whereas the New Democratic Party has said it was prepared to support it reluctantly. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh stressed his party would withdraw their support if need be.
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Conservatives in particular have been growing increasingly frustrated with the fact that Parliament has not yet been consulted on the justification of the act, two days after Trudeau invoked it.
“The Prime Minister announced the other day that he was enacting the Emergencies Act, and he did it in front of the media. He didn’t even have the courtesy or the respect to do it in the symbol of our democracy,” said Conservative House leader John Brassard.
“When the bombs were dropping over Britain, Winston Churchill showed respect for democracy by showing up in the House of Parliament”, he added, a reference also made by National Post’s John Ivison.
Singh said he understood the sense of urgency and the need to move quickly on the part of the Liberals. He remained hopeful that the details of the Act presented in Parliament will be faithful to the internal briefings he and his caucus have had on the matter.
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“We will look at the motion clearly when it’s presented and evaluate if there’s anything missing or anything that doesn’t match up with the briefings we received,” he said.
Government House leader Mark Holland told reporters that it will be tabled in Parliament within the seven sitting days required by law since the Act was invoked. He also said that there will be “ample opportunity for debate and for opposition parties to look at it”.
“I understand everybody is anxious to get there. I am too. But it’s essential that we get this right”, he said.
The motion was finally presented in the Commons Wednesday evening.
Holland would not say if the government would recall the House to sit next week on the matter. As it stands now, the House is set to rise on Friday and will only come back on February 28th. In between, there is a break week where MPs fly back to their constituencies.
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The Senate, on the other hand, has already been recalled to sit on Friday to examine the Emergencies Act.
Conservative Senator Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu told reporters he is hoping for more details when the motion will be presented to the Upper Chamber. He said debates on the motion could take place next week or as early as this weekend.
But already, Boisvenu seems skeptical of using the Emergencies Act to end the protests.
“I have difficulty understanding why we’re not using tools that are already in the Criminal Code if there is mischief. We’ll see if we’re using a cannon ball to kill a fly”, he said.
.https://vancouversun.com/news/politics/stand-with-swastikas-emergencies-act-debate-turns-ugly-as-opposition-grows/wcm/8d18581a-67d2-4952-8921-a640fe08e4c4?comments=&__vfz=medium%3Dstandalone_content_recirculation_with_ads
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