Raquel Dancho “Beast Mode” Statement

Raquel Dancho “Beast Mode” Statement

“Today I was removed from the House of Commons for telling the truth.
I was raised by very strong women who taught me never to back down from the truth — and that’s exactly what I’m doing.

The Liberal government stood up in the House and insinuated that Conservatives have been obstructionist on Bill C-21 — that we are somehow part of the problem. They referenced a ‘sneaky letter’ written by the Liberals, the Bloc, and the NDP, a letter that Conservatives were never invited to participate in.

All of this is happening after the Liberals brought forward the most underhanded amendment in the most underhanded way — the largest ban on Canadian hunting rifles in the history of this country. Millions of hunters will be impacted. They introduced it at the 11th hour, quietly, and without respect for the democratic process.

For the past week, in partnership with the Bloc, the Liberals have filibustered at the Public Safety Committee and blocked Conservatives from speaking, despite accusing us of obstruction. To hear a Liberal claim today that we are the problem — that is the most hypocritical thing I have heard in the three years I’ve been elected.

The number one complaint we hear from Canadians is that the Liberal government doesn’t answer questions and doesn’t tell the truth. Today, we’d had enough. I called them out — because they did lie. And I’ll say it again: they lied in the House of Commons.

The Liberal member who spoke about that letter knows Conservatives were not informed, not included, and not invited. It was the Bloc, the NDP, and the Liberals working together behind closed doors, without our consent or knowledge.

And the only reason they wrote that letter is because they are scrambling. They’ve heard from thousands of hunters across the country about how badly they messed this up. They know the massive impact this will have on hunters, farmers, Indigenous hunters, and wildlife conservation in every region of Canada.

Now they’re trying to backtrack — and they’re only offering two meetings for witnesses. That’s four hours to represent two million Canadian hunters from every province and territory. It’s unacceptable.

The only reason Canadians even know about this amendment is because Conservatives exposed it. The Liberals wanted all of these changes passed before Christmas. The only thing that slowed them down was the work of the people standing behind me, bringing their constituents’ concerns to the table.

And now, because it didn’t work out in their favour, they’re cutting Conservatives out entirely. They filibustered their own meetings all week so we couldn’t speak at all.

Let me be clear: Conservatives are doing everything we can to stand up for hunters in this country. This is an attack on a centuries-old Canadian tradition. There has been no dignity, no transparency, and no proper democratic process.
The Liberals circumvented it in the most underhanded way.”**