Today: February 10, 2022

Today: February 10, 2022

By Andrew Thomson | UPDATED 3:48pmET

Bergen calls on protesters to stop "disruptive action" as PM accuses Conservatives of encouraging, empowering blockades

Protesters should take down their barricades and stop their “disruptive action” for the sake of the Canadian economy and because "it's the right thing to do," according to Conservative interim leader Candice Bergen.

“The economy you want to see re-opened is hurting,” she told the House of Commons this morning as MPs debated a Conservative motion on a federal plan to end pandemic restrictions.

“Farmers, manufacturers, small businesses, and families are suffering. I believe this is not what you want to do. We must all work together. You are protesting because you love your country and you want your freedom back.”

Bergen said the message of those in Ottawa “has been heard.”

“Conservatives have heard you. And we will stand up for you, and all Canadians who want to get back to normal life. We will not stop until the mandates have ended.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, though, accused Bergen and the Conservatives of being the protesters "biggest champions" through encouragement, applause, and promotion of their fundraising efforts.

"I am focused on ending it," Trudeau told the House of Commons during question period.

Watch today's question period:

While protesters remain organized in Ottawa (where police are reporting a "concerted effort" to disrupt 9-1-1 and non-emergency phone lines), blockades continue at Windsor's Ambassador Bridge and traffic is backed up at the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia, Ont.

Michigan's governor wants Canadian authorities to take "all necessary and appropriate steps" to re-open traffic; the shutdown has hobbled Canada’s food and manufacturing supply chains and sent auto workers home.

Here's what Trudeau told reporters this afternoon on Parliament Hill:

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called this morning for more leadership from the prime minister:

Watch Singh's news conference:

Watch Flavio Volpe, president of the Auto Parts Manufacturing Association, who joined Peter Van Dusen today to weigh in on the negative impacts of the Ambassador Bridge blockade as the protest continues for a fourth day.

Watch today's Ottawa police update:

Meanwhile, protests continue at the border crossing at Coutts, Alta. A blockade at Emerson, Man. has forced the closure of that border crossing into the United States. 

In the House: MPs debate Conservative demand to lift federal COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates

The House of Commons is debating this Conservative motion, introduced by Bergen, that demands a federal plan by the end of February to lift all COVID-19 mandates and restrictions:

That, given that provinces are lifting COVID-19 restrictions and that Dr. Theresa Tam has said that all existing public health measures need to be "re-evaluated" so that we can "get back to some normalcy", the House call on the government to table a plan for the lifting of all federal mandates and restrictions, and to table that plan by February 28, 2022.

MPs also have a second-reading vote the bill to implement measures from the December economic and fiscal update.

C-8 includes:

  • $1.7 billion to the provinces and territories for rapid testing
  • a Small Businesses Air Quality Improvement Tax Credit for ventilation and air filtration upgrades
  • expansion of the School Supplies Tax Credit
  • a tax credit to return fuel charge proceeds to farmers in provinces subject to the federal carbon backstop
  • the Liberal pledge to impose a 1% annual tax on the value of "vacant or underused residential property directly or indirectly owned by non-resident non-Canadians."

In Committee

FINTRAC officials brief the House of Commons public safety committee on “crowdfunding platforms and extremism financing” in the wake of the continuing convoy protests across Canada and GoFundMe’s decision to shut down fundraising for the “Freedom Convoy.” 1pm ET / 10am PT

Also today:

University officials from across Canada brief the immigration committee on recruitment and acceptance rates of foreign students. 11am ET / 8am PT

Senior federal officials and the president of the Public Health Agency of Canada go before the public accounts committee for questions about the auditor general’s report on Canada’s supply of personal protective equipment and medical devices. 11am ET / 8amPT

Bill Browder, head of the Global Magnitsky Campaign, appears at the foreign affairs committee to discuss Russia and Ukraine. Also appearing: Marcus Kolga (DisinfoWatch) and Ihor Michalchyshyn (Ukrainian Canadian Congress). 3:30pm ET / 12:30pm PT

The ethics committee hears expert testimony of the government’s collection and use of mobile data; witnesses include former Ontario privacy commissioner Ann Cavoukian. 3:30pm ET / 12:30pm PT

Families, Children and Social Development Minister Karina Gould discusses her ministerial mandate with MPs on the human resources committee. 4:30pm ET / 1:30pm PT

Watch: Federal prison ombudsman discusses use of force incidents involving Black and Indigenous inmates

Ivan Zinger, Canada’s correctional investigator, holds a virtual news conference to discuss issues raised in his 2020-21 annual report, including a call for more resources for his office.

Watch Wednesday's PrimeTime Politics: Vaccine Mandates and Blockades

MPs join Peter Van Dusen to debate vaccine mandates and the federal response to blockades: Yasir Naqvi (Liberal), Melissa Lantsman (Conservative), and Taylor Bachrach (NDP). We also hear from Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens about the protest at the Ambassador Bridge, and from Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe about his province’s loosening of restrictions.

Today in Politics Podcast: Mark Sutcliffe and John Ivison

Another Liberal MP questions his party’s handling of the pandemic. Anti-vaccine mandate protests across the country threaten to disrupt cross-border trade. And the federal government pledges to work with the provinces that are facing those protests.

Here's your morning update with Mark Sutcliffe: