House Hansard - 42

44th Parl. 1st Sess.

March 21, 2022 11:00AM

Mr. Jagmeet Singh (Burnaby South, NDP)

Mar/21/22 8:00:49 p.m.
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I want to thank President Zelenskyy. We heard his words today. We want to thank him for his courage, his inspiration and his resilience. We want to thank the people of Ukraine for their courage and resilience. He asked us to imagine what it is like to wake up at four in the morning to bombing. He asked us to imagine what it is like to explain to children what is going on. Why are we being bombed? Why are we being attacked? He asked us to imagine what it would be like to lose 97 children to a war. He asked us to imagine what it would be like in our major cities and places in our country, such as Montreal, our capital city of Ottawa, or Toronto or or Vancouver if tanks rolled into these cities. He asked us to imagine what it would be like to see bombs fall on our homes, on our cities, our communities, our schools, our hospitals. He asked us to imagine that, and frankly, we cannot imagine that in a city in Canada. It is unimaginable. But we have seen the horrors unfolding in Ukraine. We have heard the words of President Zelenskyy. We have spoken with Ukrainian Canadians who share with us the pain that they are experiencing right now, not knowing if their loved ones are going to survive the night. We have heard from families that call constantly, asking if people are okay and still alive. It is unimaginable for us. He asked us to imagine what it is like, and to please help. He asked for more help. He acknowledged that so far Canada has been a strong ally, but he asked for more help, and we must answer that call. Canadians stand with Ukraine and will answer that call to provide as much help as possible in this time. Canadians want to do more. We heard from President Zelenskyy that sanctions are important, and we want to increase those. We know that is one of the most important things we can do. We know that President Putin does not care about the people and he does not care about his country, but he does care about his wealth. We know the way to attack Putin. The way to make sure that he feels the pressure of the sanctions is to target him where it counts, and that is to target the wealth that is held by his allies and oligarchs. We are on that path and we need to continue to apply the most severe of sanctions possible to specifically target President Putin and his wealth. We know that we can provide humanitarian help. Canada has done its part and needs to continue to do that. We need to welcome Ukrainians who are fleeing this crisis and seeking refuge. We need to provide humanitarian help on the ground and continue to provide that support. President Zelenskyy asked us to imagine the horrors of this war. He asked us to imagine this war happening here, in Canada. That is unimaginable. He also asked us to increase assistance to Ukraine, and we must make that happen. We must increase sanctions. We must answer the call from Ukrainians. We will do so. I think about the words that we have heard from President Zelenskyy and the speeches that he has given, and I think about the moments of courage that we have seen reported from everyday Ukrainians standing up to this violence, standing up to this flagrant aggression by President Putin, which is something that we clearly and firmly denounce. We see in those moments incredible courage, and I struggle to find the words to describe it. I think about something my mom always taught me, a phrase in Punjabi, which is chardi kala. I always misunderstood what it meant. She said that it means “rising spirits in the face of difficult odds”, and I cannot think of a more fitting phrase to describe the courage of Ukrainians and the courage of President Zelenskyy. I cannot think of a more fitting moment to describe chardi kala, rising spirits, as it defines optimism. In the face of one of the largest armies in the world, Ukrainians are saying, “We will not back down. We will not give up.” We are so incredibly inspired by them for their fight for democracy, for their fight for freedom, and we stand in full solidarity. We wish for their chardi kala, their rising spirits and their defining optimism to continue, and we will be with you every step of the way.

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House Hansard - 42