44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 21, 2022 02:00PM
- Sep/21/22 2:39:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government's tax increases are causing a national unity crisis, and those tax hikes will target those who can least afford to pay. The Prime Minister knows that more carbon tax increases will divide our country further and make life even less affordable, but the Prime Minister has taken the same approach all along: to raise taxes on working people, put basic necessities like transportation and food out of reach and then try to politically exploit the division that results.
Will the government change course and cancel its planned tax increases on Canadians' paycheques?
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- Sep/21/22 2:40:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, is this real life? I ask because that answer was pure fantasy. We have inflation landslides and no escape from poverty. When will the Prime Minister open up his eyes and see? He is not a poor boy, but he should have some sympathy. For too many Canadians, opportunity had just begun and now the government is going to throw it all away.
Money is not easy come, easy go in this economy, so when will the government cancel its planned tax increases on gas, home heating and groceries and spare us from this inflation monstrosity?
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- Sep/21/22 3:48:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the second petition that I am tabling has a number of asks with respect to the ongoing, illegal, genocidal invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
The petitioners begin by noting the various facts surrounding the invasion, including the fact that Ukraine was initially invaded by Russia back in 2014 and that what we have seen this year is a further invasion that really builds on and is consistent with the long-running, violent behaviour of the Putin regime.
The petitioners want to see the Government of Canada stand with the people of Ukraine against the threat faced in terms of their sovereignty and territorial integrity, and work with the international community to take decisive action, including banning Russia from various international organizations. They want to see sanctions swiftly imposed and applied to Russia, no doubt without the kinds of exemptions that we have seen this government introduce. They want to see a complete boycott on Russian oil and gas imports into Canada and Europe and secure energy supply agreements with western partners, with Canada fuelling our partners instead of having them rely on Russia.
Also, the petitioners ask the government, as it relates to calls from the Ukrainian government just recently, to increase the supply of military equipment to protect the territory and human rights of the Ukrainian people, to provide humanitarian assistance, to provide vital assistance to refugees impacted by the conflict in Ukraine and to allow Canadians with family members in Ukraine to urgently bring family members to Canada for as long as this conflict persists.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions to table today.
First of all, I stand in solidarity with my many colleagues who are tabling petitions in support of Bill S-223. For those who do not know, this is a bill that seeks to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking. This bill has actually passed the Senate twice and the House once in its current form, but it is currently stalled before the foreign affairs committee, and petitioners hope that it will be passed soon.
The families of victims of forced organ harvesting and trafficking have now waited almost 15 years for Canada to pass this legislation. Let us end the delays, and let us work to get this done. I will commit to colleagues that the petitions will stop when the bill is passed, but not all of the petitions, just the ones on that particular topic. There will be others, no doubt.
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- Sep/21/22 3:48:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the third petition that I am tabling highlights the ongoing detention of Mr. Huseyin Celil, who is a Canadian citizen in China.
The petitioners note that they are pleased to see the release of the two Michaels, but they want to see this government advocate for Mr. Celil and other detained Canadian citizens with the same level of intensity that was applied in terms of advocacy for the release of the two Michaels.
In particular, the asks of this petition are, first, that the Government of Canada demand that the Chinese government recognize Huseyin Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services in accordance with international law; second, that it formally state that the release of Huseyin Celil from Chinese detainment and his return to Canada is a priority of the Canadian government of equal concern to the unjust detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor; and third, that the government appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Huseyin Celil's release. The petitioners also want the government to seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies around the world in obtaining Mr. Celil's release, again similar to the practice used in the case of the two Michaels.
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- Sep/21/22 3:48:47 p.m.
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The next petition highlights concerns about minority rights in Pakistan. It notes that the 2021 report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom stated that Pakistan's blasphemy law has contributed egregiously to human rights abuses and fostered an overall atmosphere of intolerance for religious minorities, often leading to violence and discrimination.
The petitioners particularly note the case of Notan Lal, the owner and principal of a private school in Ghotki, Pakistan, who was detained and charged under the blasphemy law after being falsely accused by a student. In 2020, 20% of those accused of blasphemy were Ahmadi Muslims, and 5% were Hindus and Christians. The arrest of Mr. Lal lead to riots and the ransacking of a local Hindu temple.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has also noted the abduction and forced marriage of women and underage girls from minority communities, in particular Hindu girls from the Sindh region of Pakistan.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to call upon the Government of Pakistan to combat the abduction and forced marriages of women and girls in minority communities, to condemn the imprisonment of Notan Lal and demand his release, and to condemn Pakistan's blasphemy laws in general, which disproportionately target minority communities.
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- Sep/21/22 3:54:44 p.m.
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The last petition that I will table today then relates to an Order Paper question that I put on notice yesterday about the situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Some of the specific acts in this petition are somewhat dated, although we have seen the resumption of conflict, so it is relevant again.
Petitioners want to see and are calling for an immediate end to violence and for restraint on all parties involved in the conflict in Tigray, immediate humanitarian access to the region, and independent monitoring being allowed. They want the Government of Canada to engage directly and consistently with the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments on this conflict, and to call for immediate international investigations into credible reports of war crimes and gross violations of human rights law.
With that I commend all of these petitions to the consideration of my colleagues.
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