44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 29, 2022 10:00AM
- Mar/29/22 10:29:29 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, yesterday, during question period, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship talked about everything the government had set up for Ukrainians arriving in Canada. She talked about all the services that have been made more accessible and all the assistance put in place to ease their arrival and make it as comfortable as possible.
As my colleague pointed out and as our colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean has been requesting for weeks now, there is still no airlift to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine or to bring out the hundreds of thousands or even millions of Ukrainians looking for a safe place to stay until the war is over.
I would like my colleague to provide his thoughts on the matter. What is the logic behind preparing things here in Canada when nothing is being done to pick up the Ukrainians and the foreign nationals and bring them to Canada?
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- Mar/29/22 10:30:39 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank the Bloc for supporting our motion and the member for Lac-Saint-Jean for his advocacy for the Ukrainians. We had been asking before the invasion took place for all sorts of help, including humanitarian aid. As with every other issue, the Liberals keep dragging their feet. Opposition parties have been working together for the benefit of Ukrainians, but we do not see any help or support coming from the Liberal side, whether it is visa-free travel or more supports.
It is a good recommendation. I hope that the Liberals take this seriously and that we get things done for the Ukrainians.
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- Mar/29/22 12:13:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for the comments around biometrics. I am hearing the same thing in my riding of Port Moody—Coquitlam. Many families cannot get appointments to get biometrics done. The NDP condemns these attacks in all measures. This is a terrible humanitarian crisis.
Does the member believe that there are sufficient resources in our immigration system to deal with this crisis without impacting other crises that are happening around the world? If not, can he provide some additional examples of how that has impacted his constituents?
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- Mar/29/22 12:32:46 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. She did a good job explaining the problems we are having, and she called for collaboration.
My constituents are asking me what is going on in Ottawa, why we cannot be more nimble and create the humanitarian capacity needed so that women, children and seniors can come to Canada. People are ready to welcome them. I get a lot of calls to that effect.
From the beginning, I have been telling them that we are working together collaboratively. However, it is no longer working.
The parliamentary secretary just said that this is a new program and that we need to give it time. However, we do not have the luxury of time. Would my colleague agree that time is running out and that refugees cannot wait any longer?
They want to come here, and we have the capacity to welcome them.
What are the limits of this collaboration, considering the government's dismal failure?
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- Mar/29/22 12:49:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have a question for my hon. colleague.
A few weeks ago, my colleague from York—Simcoe made a trip to bring humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine, and he found no Liberals there helping out. Now that there is an NDP-Liberal coalition, how will the member work with her new government to ensure we are more efficient?
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- Mar/29/22 1:15:36 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think the reason the government is hesitant to implement visa-free travel probably has to do with the fact that it does not believe it can expeditiously negotiate bilateral or multilateral information-exchanging agreements and implement those agreements quickly enough to ensure that we can weed out any bad actors who might use the cover of a humanitarian crisis to try to sneak into Canada. I suspect that is really the problem, which relates to the Government of Canada's general lack of ability to execute operationally the policies that it stands for.
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- Mar/29/22 1:18:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition I am tabling highlights the ongoing challenges, conflict and humanitarian crisis in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. The petition dates back to a very acute phase of conflict. There continue to be significant concerns about hunger, limited access to food and challenges regarding access to vital health care and other needs. The petitioners are calling on the government to be actively engaged with the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments, to conduct proper investigations into the human rights abuses that have taken place, to defend fundamental human rights in Ethiopia and to address ongoing humanitarian challenges.
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- Mar/29/22 2:06:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when Russia invaded Ukraine, Chilliwack-based Hungry For Life International sprang into action, using their local knowledge, network and team in Ukraine to provide humanitarian aid to those directly impacted by the war. The Hungry For Life team, led by Chilliwack's own Chad Martz and his wife Mary, a Ukrainian national, has already provided food and shelter to thousands of people there.
Since the invasion, they have purchased and distributed over 400 tonnes of food to those in need. Their team has made hundreds of trips into conflict zones to deliver critical aid to those who cannot escape. They partnered with local churches to provide shelter to thousands of refugees fleeing the violence. To date, Hungry For Life has raised over $1.5 million for their Ukrainian relief efforts and the need continues to grow.
On behalf of the people of Chilliwack—Hope and the entire House, to Chad and Mary and everyone at Hungry For Life, we thank them for the incredible life-saving work they are doing for the people in Ukraine.
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- Mar/29/22 7:01:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we have different departments within the government that are taking a look at the situation that is at play in Europe, and specifically Ukraine. I would suggest to members that these departments have very capable and ably-minded individuals who are very aware of the situation, and we continue to move forward. The issue of humanitarian aid is something that the Government of Canada has taken very seriously, as Canadians have taken it seriously. We have seen that in terms of monetary contributions, and we see that every day, whether it is with prayers or other forms of support that go to Ukraine from Canada. I am sure the specific issue the member has raised will work its way through in a very natural way.
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