Juno News - Candice Bergen's first appearance in Question Period as the Interim Leader of the Opposition

00:00:00.000 The Honourable Leader of the Opposition.

00:00:05.800 Thank you. That's very, very kind, and I appreciate that support.

00:00:26.880 Mr. Speaker, the protesters, and I guess we should be more accurate, the trucks have

00:00:33.180 been parked outside in Ottawa for almost a week now, and instead of presenting a plan,

00:00:39.420 which is what I think a lot of people in this country would like to see, instead of presenting

00:00:43.620 a plan to work with the people who are out there to help them feel that they've been

00:00:48.540 listened to, the Prime Minister is threatening Canadians with more vaccine mandates for

00:00:53.700 interprovincial trade and travel. This is not helpful. So can the Prime Minister please

00:00:59.300 tell Canadians what role he feels the government can play and what they can do to help solve

00:01:05.320 the impasse. Thank you.

00:01:10.320 Mr. Speaker, allow me to first congratulate the member for Portage-Lisgar on her election.

00:01:17.320 As interim leader of her party, it is great to see another strong Western woman leading the

00:01:26.860 official opposition. And allow me to thank the member for Durham and his family for their

00:01:32.460 public service.

00:01:33.200 I got to know him during his time as the official opposition's critic for foreign affairs, and

00:01:43.700 I know he is a strong advocate for his community and for Canada. When it comes to the ongoing

00:01:48.660 protests, I and all of our government clearly condemn the desecration of national monuments

00:01:53.140 and the display of hateful symbols that this protest has tolerated.

00:01:56.400 Honourable Leader of the Opposition.

00:01:59.700 Thank you. And I appreciate the Deputy Minister's kind words. And maybe all the horns have affected

00:02:04.600 her hearing because I don't know she heard my question. So I'm going to ask it again.

00:02:09.340 Where is the olive branch? Because Canadians are looking for an olive branch. And I appreciate

00:02:14.020 the olive branch she just extended to me right now. And I think that's what Canadians are looking

00:02:18.520 for. The government doesn't have to agree. They don't have to even like the protesters and

00:02:23.740 the trucks that are parked outside. But they need to provide a solution. So could they please tell

00:02:28.720 Canadians what the solution is to get past this impasse?

00:02:34.040 Honourable Deputy Prime Minister.

00:02:38.260 Mr. Speaker, my hearing is just fine. And yesterday, I heard very clearly my colleague from Hall Elmer,

00:02:45.980 who explained what it means for a black Canadian to see swastikas and the Confederate

00:02:53.480 flag displayed at a protest in our nation's capital. He told us how that horrible emblem makes black 0.97

00:03:02.300 Canadians question who else among us would infringe on their equality and freedom. His words are a

00:03:11.540 powerful reminder that every member of this House has a responsibility to speak out against a movement

00:03:16.960 that tolerates such sympathy.

00:03:18.140 The Honourable Leader of the Opposition.

00:03:21.000 Mr. Speaker, that, I'm afraid, is classic gaslighting. And it's very disappointing to see the Deputy

00:03:26.780 Leader do that when we are in the middle of what's going on on the streets right now in Ottawa.

00:03:33.140 There's nobody in this House that tolerates racism. There's nobody in this House that accepts

00:03:39.440 that we're wearing a black face, etc. We do not need to go through the litany of racist things

00:03:47.820 that have been done by people who clearly had very poor judgment. But that isn't what we are

00:03:54.240 talking about. We are talking about an impasse on Parliament Hill. We need to have some solution.

00:04:00.840 There needs to be an olive branch. Where is that? Thank you.

00:04:03.880 Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Deputy Prime Minister.

00:04:10.040 Mr. Speaker, the member opposite has just used the bad apple excuse. She's excused the desecration

00:04:18.160 of the national monuments and the display of the swastika and the Confederate flag on the grounds that

00:04:26.100 these are just the actions of a few. Mr. Speaker, we tell our children that when they see a bully,

00:04:32.800 even if that bully is their friend, their job is to speak out. It is our job, Mr. Speaker,

00:04:39.680 as members of this House, to speak out against these hateful actions.

00:04:44.800 Honourable Leader of the Opposition.

00:04:47.920 Disappointing answer, Mr. Speaker.

00:04:50.000 Speaker, the Prime Minister's policy is causing the price of everything to soar, but he smugly brushes

00:04:56.380 that away, just like he brushes away most every other challenge that Canadians are facing.

00:05:02.060 He looks at single moms, for example, who are struggling and seems to smugly not understand.

00:05:08.140 They're just trying to put nutritional food on their kids' plates. He looks at families who are

00:05:12.700 trying to pay the rent. Does he understand how difficult rent is to pay right now? The rent is

00:05:18.140 soaring. What's the Prime Minister's plan to stop the runaway inflation?

00:05:23.420 The Honourable Deputy Prime Minister.

00:05:27.580 Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to irresponsibly push a false economic narrative.

00:05:35.500 The truth is that Canada is resilient and our economy is strongly recovering from the COVID recession.

00:05:43.660 Our GDP grew 5.4% in the third quarter. That was stronger than the US, the UK, Japan and Australia.

00:05:52.220 We've replaced 108% of jobs lost to COVID and S&P and Moody's have reaffirmed our AAA credit rating.

Juno News - February 03, 2022

Candice Bergen's first appearance in Question Period as the Interim Leader of the Opposition

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