The Conservatives have taken the cause of trucker convoy protesters to the floor of the House of Commons, advancing a push for the federal government to present a plan to lift all federal COVID-19 mandates, while calling for the blockades to come to an end.
“I believe the time has come for you to take down the barricades, stop the disruptive action, and come together. The economy that you want to see reopened, is hurting,” said Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen in the House of Commons on Thursday morning.
“I believe this is not what you want to do… You're protesting because you love your country, you want your freedom back. To the protesters here in Ottawa, you came bringing a message, that message has been heard.”
Bergen made these remarks as she was presenting a motion from her party that will force a vote calling on the federal government to present a plan to lift all federal COVID-19 “mandates and restrictions” by the end of the month.
Through its opposition day motion on Thursday, the Official Opposition is having the chamber spend most of the day debating its proposal to see the federal government present this plan by Feb. 28, citing provinces beginning to lift COVID-19 restrictions and referencing a comment from Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam where she suggested existing measures should be “re-evaluated.”
In her opening speech presenting the motion, Bergen called the “Freedom Convoy” that has occupied the precinct around Parliament Hill and other locations in the city and has now prompted blockades at border crossings in Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario, an “international phenomenon.”
Her calls to see the protests cease come after she and other Conservative MPs spent the last two weeks supporting the convoy’s aims and meeting with truckers. Last week, Bergen suggested internally that her party should make it Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s problem to solve.
Now, Bergen is imploring colleagues from all parties to come together to play a role in ending the impasse and restoring “peace and order,” while allowing Canadians to “get back to their normal life.”
Responding during question period, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau slammed the Conservatives for spending the last few weeks “endorsing and enabling these blockades across the country,” and said the consequences of this “are having dire impacts.”
Bergen had also been calling for a meeting between all party leaders, and late Thursday night Trudeau convened a virtual meeting with opposition party leaders to discuss the current situation.
“Everyone in this country is sick and tired of lockdowns and quite frankly, of COVID-19. But Canadians also know that the way through this pandemic is by listening to science is by following public health advice,” said the prime minister.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who also has been calling for a clear plan from the federal government to “safely” navigate out of the pandemic, said Thursday that any lifting of measures should be made based on the advice of public health advisers and implored Trudeau to do more to see the demonstrations dismantled.
“I have no idea how the prime minister of this country can sit back and let this happen. The prime minister of a G7 nation can't solve this? The prime minister of one of the wealthiest countries in the world can’t make sure people are safe in the nation's capital?... Can’t make sure that our borders are open?” he said to reporters during a press conference.
“And there's disputes by the prime minister and the Liberal government federally about who's responsible… Either way in a crisis, people don't want to hear the excuse of jurisdiction. People are fed up, and we need to immediately see leadership to fix this, to solve this.”
During question period, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said he wants to hear how the prime minister plans to “put out this fire.”
“There are obstructions taking place at the 911 call centre. There are also obstructions at the Ottawa airport. And things are growing increasingly difficult,” he said.
RESPONSE TO MOTION
Responding to the Conservative motion, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said that while the country is in a different place in addressing COVID-19 than it was two years ago—in part thanks to vaccinations—the pandemic has not ended.
Thousands of new COVID-19 cases are being reported daily, and the health-care system remains stretched.
“We are all tired. Health-care workers are exhausted. Businesses have struggled and closed down. Our mental health has declined, and there is no doubt that the most vulnerable among us—children and the elderly in particular—have suffered disproportionately," Duclos said.
"There are real consequences, that's why the decision by provinces and territories to impose restrictions has always been considered carefully and responsibly based on scientific evidence, and have constantly been re-evaluated."
The federal government has implemented COVID-19 vaccine mandates for air, rail and marine travel; for public servants; and in federally-regulated sectors such as cross-border trucking, though the vast majority of restrictions and other measures such as curfews and capacity limits are provincial jurisdiction.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, who is facing continued questions over what role the federal government is playing in seeing these blockades end, said he was encouraged to see that the Official Opposition leader “has finally come around” to call for the “illegal blockades” to end.
The motion is slated to come to a vote on Monday.
