Juno News - February 03, 2022Candice Bergen's first appearance in Question Period as the Interim Leader of the Opposition
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Summary
Learn English with the Honourable Speaker of the House of Commons, Shelly Saviello. She speaks on the ongoing impasse on Parliament Hill, and calls on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to come to the table with a plan to find a solution.
Transcript
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Thank you. That's very, very kind, and I appreciate that support.
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Mr. Speaker, the protesters, and I guess we should be more accurate, the trucks have
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been parked outside in Ottawa for almost a week now, and instead of presenting a plan,
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which is what I think a lot of people in this country would like to see, instead of presenting
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a plan to work with the people who are out there to help them feel that they've been
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listened to, the Prime Minister is threatening Canadians with more vaccine mandates for
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interprovincial trade and travel. This is not helpful. So can the Prime Minister please
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tell Canadians what role he feels the government can play and what they can do to help solve
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Mr. Speaker, allow me to first congratulate the member for Portage-Lisgar on her election.
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As interim leader of her party, it is great to see another strong Western woman leading the
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official opposition. And allow me to thank the member for Durham and his family for their
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I got to know him during his time as the official opposition's critic for foreign affairs, and
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I know he is a strong advocate for his community and for Canada. When it comes to the ongoing
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protests, I and all of our government clearly condemn the desecration of national monuments
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and the display of hateful symbols that this protest has tolerated.
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Thank you. And I appreciate the Deputy Minister's kind words. And maybe all the horns have affected
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her hearing because I don't know she heard my question. So I'm going to ask it again.
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Where is the olive branch? Because Canadians are looking for an olive branch. And I appreciate
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the olive branch she just extended to me right now. And I think that's what Canadians are looking
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for. The government doesn't have to agree. They don't have to even like the protesters and
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the trucks that are parked outside. But they need to provide a solution. So could they please tell
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Canadians what the solution is to get past this impasse?
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Mr. Speaker, my hearing is just fine. And yesterday, I heard very clearly my colleague from Hall Elmer,
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who explained what it means for a black Canadian to see swastikas and the Confederate
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flag displayed at a protest in our nation's capital. He told us how that horrible emblem makes black
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Canadians question who else among us would infringe on their equality and freedom. His words are a
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powerful reminder that every member of this House has a responsibility to speak out against a movement
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Mr. Speaker, that, I'm afraid, is classic gaslighting. And it's very disappointing to see the Deputy
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Leader do that when we are in the middle of what's going on on the streets right now in Ottawa.
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There's nobody in this House that tolerates racism. There's nobody in this House that accepts
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that we're wearing a black face, etc. We do not need to go through the litany of racist things
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that have been done by people who clearly had very poor judgment. But that isn't what we are
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talking about. We are talking about an impasse on Parliament Hill. We need to have some solution.
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There needs to be an olive branch. Where is that? Thank you.
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Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Deputy Prime Minister.
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Mr. Speaker, the member opposite has just used the bad apple excuse. She's excused the desecration
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of the national monuments and the display of the swastika and the Confederate flag on the grounds that
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these are just the actions of a few. Mr. Speaker, we tell our children that when they see a bully,
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even if that bully is their friend, their job is to speak out. It is our job, Mr. Speaker,
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as members of this House, to speak out against these hateful actions.
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Speaker, the Prime Minister's policy is causing the price of everything to soar, but he smugly brushes
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that away, just like he brushes away most every other challenge that Canadians are facing.
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He looks at single moms, for example, who are struggling and seems to smugly not understand.
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They're just trying to put nutritional food on their kids' plates. He looks at families who are
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trying to pay the rent. Does he understand how difficult rent is to pay right now? The rent is
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soaring. What's the Prime Minister's plan to stop the runaway inflation?
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives continue to irresponsibly push a false economic narrative.
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The truth is that Canada is resilient and our economy is strongly recovering from the COVID recession.
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Our GDP grew 5.4% in the third quarter. That was stronger than the US, the UK, Japan and Australia.
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We've replaced 108% of jobs lost to COVID and S&P and Moody's have reaffirmed our AAA credit rating.