Juno News - January 31, 2022


Poilievre defends #TruckersForFreedom protesters


Episode Stats

Length

6 minutes

Words per Minute

159.51671

Word Count

1,087

Sentence Count

71

Misogynist Sentences

1


Summary

Learn English with Honourable Minister of the Prime Minister and Speaker of the House of Commons John Baird. Speaker John Baird speaks on the lockdown in the city of Toronto and calls on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take responsibility for the situation.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Just because the Prime Minister dressed up in racist costumes so many times he can't remember them all
00:00:08.880 doesn't mean every single Liberal is a racist.
00:00:12.680 Just because the Prime Minister tried to help a corporation avoid prosecution after it stole from some of Africa's poorest people
00:00:20.180 doesn't mean all Liberals are racist.
00:00:23.380 Just because about a half dozen Liberal MPs who are racial minorities have complained about his treatment of them
00:00:28.700 does not mean that all Liberals are racist.
00:00:32.400 That is guilt by association.
00:00:34.700 Why doesn't the Prime Minister opt instead for personal responsibility?
00:00:40.340 The Honourable Government House Leader.
00:00:45.320 Mr. Speaker, I hope that I've been clear in all of my comments that I respect the Honourable colleagues on the other side
00:00:51.660 just as I believe they respect the colleagues that are on this side and the work that we do and the people that we are.
00:00:56.540 There are times in our political discourse where we see things that are abhorrent
00:01:00.220 and all I would ask is that we equally call it out.
00:01:02.860 When I saw swastikas on the street, when I saw what had happened, it's time to move on.
00:01:09.020 And what I would ask is instead of trying to inflame the situation, let us de-escalate the situation,
00:01:15.200 let us work together to find a way to stop the lockdown that is happening of this city
00:01:20.060 so that citizens can move forward with their lives and any legitimate grievances can be fairly heard.
00:01:25.740 The Honourable Member for Carlton.
00:01:29.780 Well, Mr. Speaker, I agree.
00:01:31.520 We should always call out evil symbols and the individuals who are individually responsible for putting them up.
00:01:38.700 I remember a January 18th, January 2018 event where the Prime Minister stared straight at a swastika
00:01:46.040 and instead of condemning it, said, thank you for coming, sir.
00:01:50.000 We on this side condemn evil symbols whenever they are used.
00:01:54.880 I do respect that member.
00:01:56.480 I just wish his government would respect the thousands of people who are fighting for their livelihoods right now
00:02:03.300 who are trying to do the best to get this country back on track.
00:02:10.640 The Honourable Government House Leader.
00:02:13.260 We are in a time of global crisis, a time when so many are being adversely affected by this pandemic
00:02:19.780 and our hearts go out to every one of them.
00:02:21.820 The way in which we have discourse for each other will define this moment for all of us.
00:02:26.140 And to those that are peacefully protesting, I would ask that their point has been made.
00:02:30.800 It's time to go home and do it a different way.
00:02:32.700 That continuing to lock down this city and continuing to do what's happening,
00:02:37.040 it is deeply disturbing for Canadians to see the way that this city and our symbols are being treated.
00:02:42.240 And I would ask the Conservatives to also join with us, to ask that they go home.
00:02:46.560 And let's do this responsibly.
00:02:48.180 Let's have responsible dialogue.
00:02:49.920 I respect the member opposite.
00:02:51.440 Let's do this the right way.
00:02:53.040 The Honourable Member for Carlton.
00:02:55.920 The problem is they've shown no respect for the people.
00:02:59.300 This country right now is like a raw nerve.
00:03:04.000 And the Prime Minister is jumping up and down on it again and again with his inflammatory rhetoric.
00:03:11.360 We're talking about people who have 14-year-old kids that are suicidal after two years of lockdowns.
00:03:16.640 I just spoke to a waitress whose business was wiped out by lockdowns.
00:03:21.840 I'm talking to truckers who have been serving food on our plates throughout this.
00:03:27.040 And these are the very people, honest, hard-working, shirt-off-your-back type of people that this Prime Minister keeps attacking.
00:03:33.260 Mr. Speaker, again, I encourage the member to just think about, as he's talking about de-escalating and having civil discourse, his tone and how he's approaching this issue.
00:03:57.000 This is a time that is incredibly delicate.
00:03:59.500 We are in a moment where there is a raw nerve that is being touched.
00:04:02.700 How we talk to each other, Mr. Speaker.
00:04:05.460 How we deal with one another.
00:04:07.100 I'm going to interrupt the Honourable Government House Leader and just wait until everything calms down a moment.
00:04:11.640 And then I'll let him start from the top because, I'm sorry, I didn't have a chance to hear it all.
00:04:15.340 And I'm sure the Honourable Member from Carlton asked a question that he wanted an answer to.
00:04:19.300 And he wants to hear it.
00:04:20.880 And we're just not hearing anything because of the noise.
00:04:24.220 The Honourable Government House Leader, please proceed.
00:04:25.980 I have an instinct, and that instinct is that Canadians expect us today, when they're seeing what's happened over this weekend, to watch the dialogue in this chamber be as respectful as possible for us to dial down our rhetoric and our language, for us to engage in one another and find an off-ramp from the escalation that has occurred.
00:04:45.820 Because this is not healthy.
00:04:47.980 In a healthy democracy, we have respectful debates that don't involve some of the things that we've seen.
00:04:53.280 And all I'm asking for is for us to engage in a constructive way.
00:04:57.520 So if we could attempt in this place, in this hour, to be equal to that, I hope that we can move forward on that basis.
00:05:03.380 Well, I couldn't agree more.
00:05:06.880 And, Mr. Speaker, I was out on an overpass as the truckers went by.
00:05:10.640 And what I saw were cheerful, patriotic, optimistic Canadians who want their freedom back and want their livelihoods back.
00:05:19.880 And they're standing up for their fellow Canadians, the 60% of families who fear they can't feed themselves.
00:05:26.300 The 28-year-old kid living in mom's basement because he can't afford a home.
00:05:31.260 The small businessmen wiped out by endless lockdowns, by incompetent politicians.
00:05:36.520 These are the people that are standing up and fighting for their livelihoods and their freedom.
00:05:40.960 Why won't the government finally stand with them?
00:05:48.980 Mr. Speaker, I have a fundamental difference.
00:05:51.660 Mr. Speaker, I have a fundamental difference, and that is that I don't believe that my enemy is across the aisle.
00:05:56.260 I believe that our enemy is this pandemic, and that our enemy is ending this pandemic,
00:06:01.580 and getting everybody to get vaccinated and to move forward in a way where the concerns that he's talking about,
00:06:07.660 being affected by a global crisis, means that they are supported.
00:06:11.260 This is a time of collective trauma.
00:06:13.100 It requires us to be compassionate, to work with another,
00:06:16.180 and understand that our common enemy is the virus and not one another.
00:06:19.540 So you'll be brave enough to move forward.