Thread by @Paulatics

Hello! This is a NEW THREAD - now that Marc Gold's presentation is over. We are hearing now from Raymonde Saint-Germain, the facilitator (aka leader) of the @ISGSenate is speaking now. She receives 45 minutes in total speaking and question time. #SenCa #cdnpoli

Sen. Saint-Germain begins by speaking movingly about her memories of the FLQ crisis and the impact of the War Measures Act in her province of Quebec. #SenCa #cdnpoli

Sen. Saint-Germain says the Emergencies Act is less drastic than the War Measures Act, and has a requirement for provincial consultation. But she notes that only one premier, Doug Ford of Ontario, has publicly supported its invocation.

She notes that the government of Quebec has said that it does not need or want the act, and that it has its own police power. It would be wrong, she says, for this act to be applied in Quebec when the National Assembly does not accept it.

Saint-Germain say a review of the act must be carried out with utmost seriousness. Fundamental rights should not be abridged, even in a time of national emergency, she says. #SenCa #cdnpoli

The first question, says Saint-Germain, is whether this ws necessary. Events in Ottawa, she says, had festered long enough. Protesters, she said, did not have the right to take a city hostage or threaten operation of the government. She also highlights the blockage o the airport.

Sen. Saint-Germain points out that even the debate of this act in the House and the Senate was delayed by the protests.

Sen. S-G, as I shall style her henceforth, asks what justifies the act's application for the full 30 days? "This has become the key question." Does the invocation of the act pass the Oakes Test for limiting a Charter right. #senca #cdnpoli

Here is a briefing on the Oakes test, for you keeners: constitutionalstudies.ca/2019/07/oakes-….

Sen. S-G is now detailing the ways in which she thinks the Emergencies Act invocation meets the Oakes test in this instance. "We are not out of the woods yet." #SenCa #cdnpoli

"The fact is that tensions are still running high in Ottawa." She speaks of the abuse and threats Senate staff have received, from Canadians and from people outside of Canada. She speaks of calls for the PM and other politicians to be executed.

(For those who don't know her, Sen. S-G was a deputy minister in several departments in Quebec, and later the Quebec ombudsperson. She takes human rights seriously.)

She speaks of her concern that the extraordinary powers this act gives the police might be abused. But says we also cannot ignore the extremist elements that are part of this protest.

The siuation we find ourselves in is a failure, she says, and a function of poor management by the Ottawa City Police. Why did the OPS not take timely action to manage this event? Invoking the emergencies act should never have been required, she says.

We cannot repair the damages from the 'initial ineptitude" of the local authorities, she says, pullilng no punches.

We must not give carte blanche in giving these powers to the government, says Sen. S-G. So far, there isn't evidence of abuse. But we have no guarantees for the remaining 22 days, she says.

The application of this act must respect the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, says Sen. S-G. But we must maintain freedom for the people of Ottawa, and for Ottawa businesses. We can't deprive them once again of their precious rights and freedoms, she says.

Sen. S-G said she would never, ever have voted in support of the War Measures Act. But this is not the War Measures Act. And so she says she will vote in favour of the confirmation. But she will do so with deep regret.

She says she does not want to complicit in maintaining contempt for democracy. And with that, Senator Raymonde Saint-Germain concludes her remarks. No one asked her questions. And now, Sen. Jane Cordy, the leader of the PSG rises to speak.

(Normally, the second speech would have come Don Plett, the leader of the opposition, who also has unlimited speaking time. But he has asked to speak tomorrow instead.)

Sen. Jane Cordy says she's concerned that the Emergencies Act seems to have been the first recourse in Ottawa, and that regular laws were not enforced for weeks. She says she need to know why that was the case.

Had these protestors been Black, Indigenous or homeless, says Sen. Cordy, she believes the police would have dealt with things quite differently. We need to ask why that is so, she says.

The Emergencies Act made a difference, says Sen. Cordy. It ended the Ottawa occupation.

Most of the protester's avowed complaints, notes Sen. Cordy, where about things that were under provincial jurisdiction.

Sen. Cordy now turns to the MOU - where protesters said they would not leave Ottawa until the government was dismissed and the GG and a group of Senators put in charge. "This was not simply a protest, or even civil disobedience. It was lawlessness."

Sen. Cordy said it may have seemed like a Canada Day party for some. But that's not how most Ottawa residents perceived it. There was harassment, intimidation, stalking, disturbing the peace. That wasn't peaceful protest.

Sen. Cordy takes a hard shot at Sen. Michael MacDonald. She says most people who live in Centretown are not Karens, do not earn six-figure salaries, and do not work a mere 20 hours a week. Ottawa residents don't think they are special or better.

They just wanted to life their lives, without threat of arson, without having their power and water cut, without having 911 lines overwhelmed with calls. "That, honourable senators, is a disgrace."

Thousands of minimum wage workers in Ottawa lost their jobs when malls and restaurants and shops closed, says Sen. Cordy. Downtown Ottawa is not just parliament hill. "Real people live here."

"Residents just want peace and quiet. They don't want this to happen again, here or anywhere else." Rights under the Charter come with responsibilities and consequences, says Cordy.

"I'm as tired as anyone," says Sen. Cordy. "It's been two very long years." But she says Canadians are not divided, and that the majority are perservering through adversity, doing what they must to protect their fellow Canadians.

Sen. Cordy also says she will vote to support the Emergencies Act. She also used only a fraction of her time. No questions for her. And now, Conservative Sen. Claude Carignon is speaking against the motion.

Sen. Carignon, speaking in French, says he simply cannot understand why police in Ottawa and Ontario couldn't deal with the Ottawa protestors without these special powers.

He points out many other examples - from protests in Quebec to the Vancouver Olympics - where police forces worked together to provide security.

These are fair questions. But much of this milk has been spilt. And gone sour.

Carignan concludes, by saying the police and the government have and had all the powers they need without this. Senator Gold asks him if he'll accept a question.

Carignan says yes, but he's out of time. The Senate agrees to give him an extra 5 minutes to answer Gold's question. #turnaboutisfairplaytoday

Gold asks him in French, would you agree, wouldn't the three weeks we saw in Ottawa be the proof that there was no capacity to deal with this?

Carignan wants to know why police couldn't just take the keys from people and drive their trucks away. He says the Criminal Code should have sufficed.

Gold says - in French - that Alberta's Ric McIver wrote to Ottawa that Alberta had exhausted all their capacity to deal with the Coutts blockade. Doesn't that prove the need for the Act?

Now, Senator Lucie Moncion has a question for Carignan. She's speaking very quickly, but I think she's going to run out of time!