The Conservatives have taken the cause of trucker convoy protesters to the floor of the House of Commons, advancing a push for the federal government to present a plan to lift all federal COVID-19 mandates, while calling for the blockades to come to an end.
“I believe the time has come for you to take down the barricades, stop the disruptive action, and come together. The economy that you want to see reopened, is hurting,” said Interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen in the House of Commons on Thursday morning.
“I believe this is not what you want to do… You’re protesting because you love your country, you want your freedom back. To the protesters here in Ottawa, you came bringing a message, that message has been heard.”
Bergen made these remarks as she was presenting a motion from her party that will force a vote calling on the federal government to present a plan to lift all federal COVID-19 “mandates and restrictions” by the end of the month.
Through its opposition day motion on Thursday, the Official Opposition is having the chamber spend most of the day debating its proposal to see the federal government present this plan by Feb. 28, citing provinces beginning to lift COVID-19 restrictions and referencing a comment from Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam where she suggested existing measures should be “re-evaluated.”
In her opening speech presenting the motion, Bergen called the “Freedom Convoy” that has occupied the precinct around Parliament Hill and other locations in the city and has now prompted blockades at border crossings in Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario, an “international phenomenon.”
Her calls to see the protests cease come after she and other Conservative MPs spent the last two weeks supporting the convoy’s aims and meeting with truckers. Last week, Bergen suggested internally that her party should make it Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s problem to solve.
Now, Bergen is imploring colleagues from all parties to come together to play a role in ending the impasse and restoring “peace and order,” while allowing Canadians to “get back to their normal life.”
