44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 22, 2022 10:00AM
- Sep/22/22 10:05:31 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of Canadians. The plight of the Yazidi community is well known around the world, with the genocide that happened and the unfortunate situation Yazidis are in today. Eight years after that, they still live in fear, they are still in unlivable conditions and they are still in IDP camps.
This petition calls on the government to, one, cancel the refugee status document requirement for G5 and community sponsors under PSR, at least for Iraqi and Syrian religious minorities; two, using ministerial discretion and/or public policy, designate Iraqi religious minorities for refugee resettlement under the various sponsorship programs; three, allow private sponsors to name Iraqi religious minorities for inclusion under the BVOR and JAS programs; four, facilitate the private sponsorship of Yazidis and deem these applications above SAHs' allocations; and five, speed up the processing of in-Canada and overseas PSR applications at ROC-O for Iraqi religious minorities.
The petitioners are essentially calling on the government to have a better and more efficient way to get people who are being persecuted into Canada.
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- Sep/22/22 7:00:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in support of the motion on Hindu heritage month. Like my colleague from St. Albert—Edmonton, I want to also congratulate and thank our hon. colleague from Nepean. He has worked tirelessly in pursuit of cultural recognition and I want to publicly thank him. Understanding, tolerance and acceptance are what this motion is all about.
Before I get into the crux of my address, I want to begin by mentioning my Ukrainian intern Yuliia Hrabenko. Yuliia, who started with us last May and stayed until the end of the session, was responsible for researching this motion. I know Yuliia is watching from home tonight, and if you will indulge me for a moment, Mr. Speaker, I want to say a few words to her.
I cannot tell members how impactful Yuliia was. It is one thing to see the horror of what is going on in Ukraine on TV, but to speak with someone living it each and ever day, there are no words to express that. She is an incredibly strong woman. I want her to know we are thinking of her. We are thinking of her family. We are praying they are all safe, and we are praying for an immediate end to this Russian aggression.
Yuliia was a valued member of our team. Aside from her daily duties around our office, she offered us a real-time perspective on the war and what was going on back at home. She opened our eyes daily to the atrocities her family, her friends and her country are facing at the bloodstained hands of Vladimir Putin.
I asked Yuliia to help research this motion and I am extremely proud of her efforts and the work she performed. I am extremely proud of the work that she did with us and her work on this motion. I am extremely proud of her. Yuliia is a remarkable young woman.
Acceptance and tolerance in a world torn by conflict is something that we should all strive for. The motion before us, in my mind, embodies what it is to be tolerant. We do not lose ourselves or our traditions when we recognize and celebrate the values and traditions of others.
In a world that has seemed to have lost its way, we need more understanding, we need more education and we need more acceptance. We fear what we do not know. There is so much intolerance. We cannot turn on the news without seeing acts of violence in Ukraine, acts of violence in Iran, acts of violence against the Yazidis and the list goes on.
This violence, while seemingly more prevalent today, is not unique or exclusive to this time. Recent discoveries of mass graves at residential schools across Canada have shown us this. Atrocities committed against the young and defenceless have filled newsfeeds for the last two years. This is unacceptable. There are many Canadians who are just waking up to the fact that residential schools were there to drive the Indian out of those children. Tens of thousands of them went to those schools and many never came home.
How do we ensure that this generation and generations to come understand and know their heritage? My own children are indigenous, but they know very little about their culture. They know very little about their language. They know very little about their history. That is a shame, because the greatest connection to one's heritage should be through one's family.
I have always said, “You'll never know where you're going if you don't understand where you are from.” One of the main reasons we see these daily atrocities is the lack of knowledge, the unwillingness to accept each other's perspectives. This leads to unfathomable forms of intolerance between people. This prejudice lets us believe that our actions have no consequences.
History is rife with examples of intolerance, instances where we have looked the other way because we believe those who are not like us do not matter. The beauty of Canada is our multicultural background. I value the ethnic patchwork that makes our country whole, but we have room to grow. The motion before us today is a perfect example of this.
The addition of Hindu heritage month would only strengthen our union. It would only strengthen our tolerance. It would only strengthen our knowledge. It is an opportunity to celebrate, remember and educate future generations about Hindu Canadian contributions, about the important roles they have played in building our country and about the important roles they continue to play in building our future.
When I think of Hindu Canadians, the first name that comes to mind is my friend, and our former colleague, Deepak Obhrai. Deepak was an MP from Calgary East and then Calgary Forest Lawn, and when the Conservatives formed government, he became parliamentary secretary to the minister of international co-operation and to the minister of foreign affairs. He was the only Hindu Canadian MP running for election at that time. He was an incredible person loved by all in Parliament.
He showed me how one can respect and promote their original heritage while maintaining an incredible love for Canada. Deepak Obhrai was a proud Hindu Canadian who brought Hindu cultural celebrations to Parliament Hill.
When I was first elected in 2015, one of the very first events I visited on the Hill was the Diwali festival organized by Deepak. Diwali is a festival of lights and one of the major holidays celebrated by Hindus every fall. I fell in love with the vibrancy of the event. I was sitting in the front row and felt very proud to celebrate our diverse community and be a part of it. I felt so Canadian at that moment.
Deepak passed away, unfortunately, in 2019. He was a very good friend of mine. Every time I speak to his family, and even now, I tear up because of how kind and dedicated he was. Deepak had so little time to share his culture with us and celebrate his Hindu heritage. Yes, it was a life well lived and a legacy never to be forgotten, but alas, it was a life too brief.
After his death, I decided to take over organizing the national Diwali celebration on Parliament Hill. Since 2019, we have been holding the event on the Hill. Canadians of all ethnicities come to the national Diwali celebration on Parliament Hill because of Deepak. I am so proud to announce we will be hosting the 22nd national Diwali celebration on Parliament Hill on October 26 in the Sir John A. Macdonald Building hall. I hope I will see all my colleagues there.
Deepak showed me a great example of how a leader must invest in his community and work with different communities across the nation. He must be understanding and involved in events that are culturally significant to his constituency and Canadians, regardless of background and religion. Like Deepak, my philosophy is that it does not matter where we come from; we must care for one another. We have a responsibility to support our neighbours, regardless of their background.
Canada is home to more than half a million Hindus. Their contribution to Canada's social and economic fabric is so immense. It was about 110 years ago when the first Hindus migrated to Canada from India and settled in my own province of British Columbia. Today, there are over 2,000 Indo-Canadians who live in my riding of Cariboo—Prince George alone. Many of them represent the vibrant Hindu community of our region. I am always delighted to visit my Hindu friends and be a part of their glorious traditional celebrations.
Canada is also home to some of the largest Hindu temples located outside of India. One of the biggest is the venerable BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Toronto. The mandir is the largest of its kind in Canada and was constructed according to guidelines outlined in ancient Hindu scriptures. The grounds are spread over 18 acres and, in addition to the mandir, include a heritage museum.
The mandir was inaugurated in 2007 in the presence of then prime minister Stephen Harper. In his address that day, Prime Minister Harper said, “The [BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir] will inspire visitors to appreciate how the spiritually diverse, multi-ethnic heritage of indo-Canadians has contributed to the fields of arts, science, education and pluralism.”
Fifteen years later, I cannot agree more with the vision laid out by our then prime minister. We as Conservatives have contributed much toward the evolution of Hinduism in Canada. We are very proud of the contributions and achievements of our Hindu Canadians. It is why I will unequivocally support this motion to make the month of November Hindu heritage month.
There are so many divisions in the world. We should all stand together shoulder to shoulder to celebrate our diversity and learn from each other, because that is how we unite.
I hope all my colleagues will vote in favour of this motion put forward by the hon. member for Nepean.
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