44th Parl. 1st Sess.
January 31, 2023 10:00AM
- Jan/31/23 10:13:47 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have a number of petitions I want to present to the House today.
The first petition deals with the ongoing national unity crisis. It is a particular concern for my constituents in Alberta. The petitioners note that the government, through rhetoric, policy, action and inaction, has caused a national unity crisis. They call on the government to take responsibility for the national unity crisis it has created and, as one important remedial measure, to ensure there are no bureaucratic or legislative roadblocks for provinces that wish to exercise their constitutionally allowed measures of autonomy.
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- Jan/31/23 10:16:46 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am tabling speaks to the ongoing detention of Huseyin Celil, a Canadian of Uighur origin and human rights activist who is detained currently in China, and has been for well over a decade, for his action in support of the political and religious rights of Uighurs. Mr. Celil is a Canadian citizen who was taken from Uzbekistan into China, and he has been detained since. He has never had an opportunity to meet his youngest son, who is now well into his teenage years.
The petitioners note that evidence now makes clear that the Chinese government's treatment of the Uighurs meets most, if not all, of the criteria for genocide, as outlined in the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The petitioners call on the Government of Canada to take the following actions: to demand that the Chinese government recognize Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal services in accordance with international law; to 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 as the unjust past detentions of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor; to appoint a special envoy to work on securing Mr. Celil's release; and to seek the assistance of the Biden administration and other allies around the world in obtaining Mr. Celil's release, similar to what happened with the case of the two Michaels.
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- Jan/31/23 10:16:46 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the third petition I am tabling is similar to a petition tabled by a number of my colleagues. It relates to a proposal made by Louis Roy of the Collège des médecins du Québec recommending the expansion of euthanasia to “babies from birth to one year of age”.
This proposal from such an association is deeply disturbing to Canadians. Canadians generally recognize that killing children is always wrong, and the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada call on the Government of Canada to be clear in its opposition to this proposal and block any attempt to allow the legalized killing of children in this country.
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- Jan/31/23 10:16:47 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, next I am tabling a petition from people who are concerned about a Liberal proposal in the Liberals Party's last election platform to politicize the charitable status determination.
The Liberal proposal was to withdraw charitable status from organizations where the people involved had views on abortion that the Liberal Party disagreed with. This proposal would jeopardize, the petitioners say, the charitable status of hospitals, houses of worship, schools, homeless shelters and other charitable organizations that happen to have a difference of opinion from the Liberal Party on these issues. It would hurt the many Canadians who depend on the work of these charitable organizations.
The petitioners say the government has previously used a values test to discriminate against worthy applicants to the Canada summer jobs program, denying any funding to organizations that were not willing to check a box endorsing the political positions of the governing party. The petitioners say that charities and other non-profit organizations should not be discriminated against on the basis of their political views or religious values and should not be subject to a politicized values test.
Therefore, the petitioners call on the Government of Canada to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules on a politically and ideologically neutral basis without discrimination on the basis of those values and without the imposition of another values test. The petitioners also call on the government to affirm the right of Canadians to freedom of expression.
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- Jan/31/23 10:18:18 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next two petitions that I will be tabling deal with the human rights situation of minorities inside Afghanistan.
The first one specifically deals with the situation of the Hazaras. The petitioners note a history, going back to the 19th century, of the Hazara people being subject to genocide. They note that these waves of genocidal violence have continued, and they continue up to the present day.
Canada made a significant investment in Afghanistan, with $3.6 billion in assistance to Afghanistan over the years as well as over 150 brave women and men in uniform who died in that conflict, that underlines the connection that Canadians have to the Afghan people. The petitioners therefore ask the House to continue to advocate and to stand up for the rights of the Hazara people in Afghanistan, to formally recognize past acts of violence as genocide and to designate September 25 as the Hazara genocide memorial day.
The next petition deals with the challenges faced by another minority community in Afghanistan, which is Afghanistan's historic Sikh and Hindu communities. The petitioners want to see the government take steps to support these minorities and to welcome refugees from these minority communities to come to Canada.
These minority communities faced severe violence and pressure even prior to the Taliban takeover. Things for minority communities, as well as Afghans in general, have gotten much worse since that takeover. The petitioners want us to remain seized with the human rights situation in Afghanistan in the midst of those ongoing challenges.
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- Jan/31/23 10:19:21 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition highlights the plight of Falun Gong practitioners in China and the human rights abuses they face. This persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China has now been going on for decades.
The petitioners note a number of actions that could be taken, including measures to combat forced organ harvesting and trafficking. The House passed legislation on that already at the end of last year. However, the petitioners want to see continuing action by the House and by the government responding to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and to continue to hold those responsible for that persecution accountable.
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- Jan/31/23 10:20:06 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the final petition I am tabling today highlights the conflict that occurred in Ethiopia. The petition was submitted prior to the signing of the latest peace deal.
The petitioners want to see the Canadian Parliament and the government remain seized with those ongoing challenges. No doubt, they hope for the effective implementation of a peace deal that allows people to live together in peace and harmony, as well as to provide support and amelioration of circumstances for those who were suffering as a result of the violence that occurred during that conflict.
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- Jan/31/23 2:44:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is one more sleep until the Prime Minister's good friend Dominic Barton appears before the government operations committee.
The Prime Minister has called Dominic Barton an “exceptional individual”. Dominic Barton's company fuelled the opioid crisis, advised Saudi autocrats on dissident crackdowns and helped Chinese state-owned companies build militarized islands in the South China Sea.
Yes, Dominic Barton certainly is “exceptional”, but why does the Prime Minister do so much for his ethically deficient friends and so little for struggling Canadians?
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- Jan/31/23 2:45:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we continue to hear complete non-responses from the government.
The Globe and Mail has reported that federal government contracts accounted for 10% of McKinsey gross revenues. I think McKinsey puts the gross into gross revenue. When Dominic Barton led McKinsey, they developed a plan to supercharge the opioid crisis that included rewarding pharmacists for overdose deaths. That is despicable.
Why did the Prime Minister funnel over $100 million into this disgusting company?
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