BREAKING: Conservative leader calls for end of mandates, protestors to ‘take down the barricades, stop disruptive action’

"Conservatives believe it is time to follow the science and the evidence. We believe the government must present a plan to quickly end the lockdowns and restrictions," she said to the House on Thursday.

"The prime minister has used the pandemic to wedge, divide, and stigmatize Canadians," continued Bergen, who called for the Liberals to move Canada to a "post-COVID society as quickly as possible."

She then addressed the protest directly, where she applauded their spirit, but called for an end to protests.

"I want to speak directly to Canadians who are demonstrating here in Ottawa and across the country. Your protest began with truckers, and you've grown into an international phenomenon," she said, referring to protests that have spawned in Europe and elsewhere.

"To all of you that are taking place in the protest, I believe the time has come for you to take down the barricades, stop the disruptive action, and come together. The economy you want to see reopen is hurting. Farmers manufacturers, small businesses, and families are suffering. I believe this is not what you want to do," she said, likely referring not just to the main Ottawa protest, but the much more economically impactful Ambassador Bridge protest in Windsor, Ontario, where hundreds of millions of dollars of trade between the US and Canada pass each day.

"You're protesting because you love your country, and you want your freedom back. To the protestors here in Ottawa, you came bringing a message. That message 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.

"Today though, I'm asking you to take down the blockades. Protest peacefully and legally. But it's time to remove the barricades and the trucks for the sake of the economy, and because it's the right thing to do," she concluded.