QUESTION PERIOD — Public Safety
Demonstrations
October 22, 2024
All the senators have received safety warnings about walking on Parliament Hill, as though it has become dangerous to walk through the streets of Ottawa.
To my astonishment, I saw images on social media of masked pro-Palestinian protesters preventing RCMP vehicles from travelling along Wellington Street. When I was a police officer, we called that obstruction and it was a crime.
Rather than stop them, the police turned around. These images went around the world. It’s not very encouraging.
Then there are all the other acts of defiance and mischief in Vancouver and Montreal, where the police failed to act. With the implicit approval of your government, are we becoming a country where the safety of our citizens takes a back seat to the right these groups have to protest? They are promoting hatred against the Jewish people.
As I’ve mentioned a few times, I find some of these protests appalling, especially when their participants express hate for the Jewish community. However, dear colleague, and very respectfully, as a former member of the Sûreté du Québec, you’re well aware that the federal government doesn’t give orders to the police forces in Ottawa or Montreal.
What’s happening is appalling, but it doesn’t fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Even if it wanted to, the government can’t choose between the protected right to protest and acts of an inappropriate and unauthorized, or even outright criminal, nature. The police, along with provincial and territorial prosecutors, are the ones who decide.
We’re talking about public safety and order here. Was the Criminal Code changed to address this kind of politically motivated obstruction or mischief? Were the police given direct or indirect political orders not to intervene? Are the police not taking it upon themselves to intervene because they’re afraid your Prime Minister won’t support them?
There are a lot of insinuations in your question. The government doesn’t run municipal or provincial police forces. The Criminal Code contains everything we need to protect ourselves and strike a balance between the right to speak and protest and protection from crime, including the expression of hatred.
