Speech by Liberal M.P. Greg Fergus
We are disturbed and alarmed by the protests of the past days in Ottawa and Gatineau. The “Freedom Convoy'' protest became an opportunity for White supremacists and others with extreme and disturbing views to parade their odious views in public. Some protestors brought symbols such as the swastika or the Confederate flag onto Parliament Hill and into neighbourhoods in the national capital region. Indigenous culture was caricatured and appropriated, monuments to Canadian heroes were desecrated, and businesses, employees, and volunteers were harassed and intimidated. This is unacceptable. These displays of hatred and violence offend Canadians and have no place in our country.
We strongly support the right of Canadians to protest. Regrettably, we believe that this protest became a venue for extremist elements to intimidate Members of Parliament, Senators, and the residents of Ottawa and Gatineau. We believe this because of the reported links between senior leaders of this protest and extremist organizations, as well as their stated objectives to use this protest to overthrow Canada’s democratically elected federal government through undemocratic means.
In light of these circumstances, the Parliamentary Black Caucus calls upon its parliamentary colleagues to proceed with the following:
We believe these symbols have no place in our public spaces and must be banned from public display. Both symbols represent two of the most devastatingly evil and violent eras in human history. There is no reasonable purpose for the display of such symbols in the public square, where they are used to intimidate those for whom they serve as a reminder of oppression, torture, and death. Canada and its people must continually reject these symbols. We ask for the Government of Canada’s leadership in ending the use of hateful symbols in public.
Money laundering and financial terrorisms are threats to Canada’s security and the well-being of its communities. We are concerned that many of the sites used for fundraising activities lack sufficient oversight and could be venues to divert monies for illegal purposes. This protest raised significant sums online with neither transparency nor accountability. The Parliamentary Black Caucus is concerned that these funds could be used to support illicit activities, including domestic White supremacist terrorism. We propose that the Government of Canada strengthen the oversight of these websites by bringing forward changes to the rules governing FINTRAC and financial institutions in order to heighten the safety and security of all Canadians.
3. Conduct a joint parliamentary study and review of the events surrounding the “Freedom Convoy”.
Parliament must conduct a fulsome examination of the events of the past week, including the role of the various police and intelligence services. We believe Parliament would benefit from examining these issues and understanding the changes that are needed for future events to ensure safety around the parliamentary precinct and to uphold the privilege of Parliamentarians at all times.
It is our hope that these protests conclude soon, or continue in a respectful, peaceful, and lawful manner. We thank our security forces and we stand in solidarity with those in the national capital region who face harassment, violence, and unwarranted disruptions to their everyday lives. We call on the Government of Canada to iM.P.lement our recommendations immediately and we urge all parliamentarians to unequivocally, actively, and specifically denounce hatred and violence in all its forms.
This statement is signed by the following core members of the Parliamentary Black Caucus and their allies in Parliament.
The Honourable Wanda Thomas Bernard, Senator
The Honourable Bernadette Clement, Senator
Michael Coteau, M.P.
The Honourable Greg Fergus, P.C., M.P., Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Black Caucus
The Honourable Hedy Fry, P.C., M.P.
The Honourable Amina Gerba, Senator
Matthew Green, M.P.
The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, P.C., M.P.
The Honourable Marci Ien, P.C., M.P.
Arielle Kayabaga, M.P.
The Honourable Marie-Françoise Mégie, Senator
The Honourable Rosemary Moodie, Senator, Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Black Caucus
Shafqat Ali, M.P
Gary Anandasangaree, M.P.
The Honourable David Arnot, Senator
Chandra Arya, M.P.
Niki Ashton, M.P.
The Honourable Michèle Audette, Senator
Vance Badawey, M.P.
Yvan Baker, M.P.
Lisa Marie Barron, M.P.
Jaime Battiste, M.P.
Rachel Bendayan, M.P.
The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, P.C., M.P.
Daniel Blaikie, M.P.
Rachel Blaney, M.P.
Kody Blois, M.P.
The Honourable Peter M. Boehm, Senator
Alexandre Boulerice, M.P.
The Honourable Patricia Bovey, Senator
The Honourable Yvonne Boyer, Senator
Élisabeth Brière, M.P.
The Honourable Jim Carr, P.C., M.P.
The Honourable Bardish Chagger, P.C., M.P.
Sophie Chatel, M.P.
Shaun Chen, M.P.
Paul Chiang, M.P.
Laurel Collins, M.P.
The Honourable Jane Cordy, Senator
The Honourable Brent Cotter, Senator
The Honourable Mary Coyle, Senator
Julie Dabrusin, M.P.
The Honourable Pierre J. Dalphond, Senator
Pam Damoff, M.P.
The Honourable Donna Dasko, Senator
The Honourable Colin Deacon, Senator
The Honourable Marty Deacon, Senator
The Honourable Tony Dean, Senator
Blake Desjarlais, M.P.
Sukh Dhaliwal, M.P.
Anju Dhillon, M.P.
Lena Metlege Diab, M.P.
Han Dong, M.P.
The Honourable Percy Downe, Senator
Francis Drouin, M.P.
Terry Duguid, M.P.
The Honourable Pat Duncan, Senator
The Honourable Renée Dupuis, Senator
Julie Dzerowicz, M.P.
Fayçal El-Khoury, M.P.
Andy Fillmore, M.P.
Darren Fisher, M.P.
The Honourable Éric Forest, Senator
Peter Fragiskatos, M.P.
The Honourable Brian Francis, Senator
The Honourable Raymonde Gagné, Senator
The Honourable Rosa Galvez, Senator
Leah Gazan, M.P.
Mark Gerretsen, M.P.
The Honourable Clément Gignac, Senator
The Honourable Marc Gold, P.C., Senator
The Honourable Diane Griffin, Senator
The Honorable Steven Guilbeault, P.C., M.P.
The Honourable Patty Hajdu, P.C., M.P.
Brendan Hanley, M.P.
The Honourable Peter Harder, P.C., Senator
The Honourable Nancy Hartling, Senator
Anthony Housefather, M.P.
Carol Hughes, M.P.
Angelo Iacono, M.P.
Lori Idlout, M.P.
Helena Jaczek, M.P.
The Honourable Mobina S.B. Jaffer, Senator
Gord Johns, M.P.
The Honourable Mélanie Joly, P.C., M.P.
Majid Jowhari, M.P.
Peter Julian, M.P.
Mike Kelloway, M.P.
Iqra Khalid, M.P.
The Honourable Kamal Khera, P.C., M.P.
The Honourable Marty Klyne, Senator
Annie Koutrakis, M.P.
Irek Kusmierczyk, M.P.
The Honourable Stan Kutcher, Senator
Jenny Kwan, M.P.
The Honourable Patti LaBoucane-Benson, Senator
Marie-France Lalonde, M.P.
Emmanuella Lambropoulos, M.P.
The Honourable Frances Lankin, P.C., Senator
Viviane Lapointe, M.P.
Patricia Lattanzio, M.P.
Stéphane Lauzon, M.P.
The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, P.C., M.P.
The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, P.C., M.P.
The Honourable Tony Loffreda, Senator
Tim Louis, M.P.
Heath MacDonald, M.P.
Alistair MacGregor, M.P.
Brian Masse, M.P.
Lindsay Mathyssen, M.P.
Bryan May, M.P.
The Honourable Mary Jane McCallum, Senator
The Honourable John McKay, P.C., M.P.
Ron McKinnon, M.P.
Michael McLeod, M.P.
The Honourable Marilou McPhedran, Senator
Heather McPherson, M.P.
Alexandra Mendès, M.P.
Wilson Miao, M.P.
The Honourable Marc Miller, P.C., M.P.
The Honourable Lucie Moncion, Senator
Robert Morrissey, M.P.
Yasir Naqvi, M.P.
Taleeb Noormohamed, M.P.
Jennifer O’Connell, M.P.
The Honourable Robert Oliphant, P.C., M.P.
The Honourable Seamus O’Regan, P.C., M.P.
The Honourable Kim Pate, Senator
The Honorable Dennis Patterson, Senator
The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, P.C., M.P.
The Honourable Carla Qualthrough, P.C., M.P.
The Honourable James Quinn, Senator
The Honourable Mohamed Ravalia, Senator
The Honourable Pierrette Ringuette, Senator
Sherry Romanado, M.P.
Ruby Sahota, M.P.
Ya’ara Saks, M.P.
Darrell Samson, M.P.
Francis Scarpaleggia, M.P.
Marc G. Serré, M.P.
The Honourable Judy A. Sgro, P.C., M.P.
Brenda Shanahan, M.P.
Terry Sheehan, M.P.
Sonia Sidu, M.P.
Jagmeet Singh, M.P.
Francesco Sorbara, M.P.
The Honourable Karen Sorensen, Senator
The Honourable Pascale St-Onge, P.C., M.P.
The Honourable Scott Tannas, Senator
Ryan Turnbull, M.P.
Rechie Valdez, M.P.
Tony Van Bynen, M.P.
Adam van Koeverden, M.P.
The Honourable Dan Vandal, P.C., M.P.
Anita Vandenbeld, M.P.
Patrick Weiler, M.P.
The Honourable Howard Wetston, Senator
The Honourable Vernon White, Senator
Jean Yip, M.P.
The Honourable Hassan Yussuf, Senator
Bonita Zarillo, M.P.
Sameer Zuberi, M.P.
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