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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 12

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 7, 2021 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 12 - Dec/7/21
Mr. René Villemure (Trois-Rivières, BQ)
  • Dec/7/21 10:58:43 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, when you look at the situation in Afghanistan as a whole, it is evident that Canada does not have a clear foreign policy. Canada has welcomed 4,000 refugees even though it promised to bring in 40,000. Quite frankly, we still have a long way to go, and the government appears to be making things up as it goes. This past spring, France started evacuating interpreters and others who had worked with the French army, and these evacuations went as planned. The government here was busy thinking about calling an election. Things were not going well. There is one woman who writes to me every day. She was in Afghanistan and is now in Turkey. She must return to Afghanistan because she was told that she was supposed to fill in a form on a Canadian website from within Afghanistan in order to be considered a refugee. Last week she was shot in the leg, which makes it difficult for her to get around. Clearly, now is the time for diplomacy. Unfortunately, the Minister of Foreign Affairs is at the beginning of her term and is likely not at maximum efficiency. This worries me, because this situation demands urgent action now, not later.
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Context: House Hansard - 12 - Dec/7/21
Mr. René Villemure (Trois-Rivières, BQ)
  • Dec/7/21 12:50:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in recent years, Canada has shown that it is not a power with influence on the world stage. Right now, we are following the example of other countries who are miles ahead of us. Canada has had multiple foreign affairs ministers since 2015. It takes stability to score points on the world stage. In its deliberations, could the committee consider whether it would be a good idea to have some permanency at the Department of Foreign Affairs? If not, Canada will continue to be considered a minor player.
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