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Mrs. Cathay Wagantall (Yorkton—Melville, CPC)

Feb/6/23 6:31:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have three petitions to present this evening. The first is from citizens and residents of Canada who wish to draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following: The Liberal government promised, in its 2021 platform, to deny the charitable status of organizations that have convictions about abortions, which the Liberal Party views as dishonest. This may jeopardize the charitable status of hospitals, houses of worship, schools, homeless shelters and other charitable organizations that do not agree with the Liberal Party on this matter for reasons of conscience. Many Canadians depend upon and benefit from the charitable work done by such organizations. The government has previously used a values test to discriminate against worthy applicants to the Canada summer jobs program, denying funding to any organization that was not willing to check a box endorsing political positions of the governing party. 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 politicized values tests. All Canadians have a right, under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to freedom of expression without discrimination. Therefore, the petitioners call upon the House of Commons to protect and preserve the application of charitable status rules on a politically and ideologically neutral basis without discrimination on the basis of political or religious values and without the imposition of another values test, and affirm the rights of Canadians to freedom of expression.

249 words

Context: House Hansard - 154 - Feb/6/23

Mrs. Cathay Wagantall (Yorkton—Melville, CPC)

Feb/6/23 6:33:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the next petition is from petitioners who point out that, although Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were recently released after 1,000 days of unjust detention in China, there are at least 115 Canadians still being detained in China, including Huseyin Celil, who has been detained for over 5,000 days. The Chinese government has refused to accept his Canadian citizenship and has denied access to lawyers, family and Canadian officials. He was coerced into signing a confession and underwent an unlawful and unfair trial. Evidence now makes clear 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, and Canada cannot remain silent in the face of the unjust suffering of a Canadian citizen. Therefore, the petitioners call on the Government of Canada to take the following actions to address the situation: One, demand the Chinese government recognize Huseyin Celil's Canadian citizenship and provide him with consular and legal service in accordance with international law. Two, formally state his release from Chinese detainment and return to Canada is a priority of the Canadian government, of equal concern as the unjust detentions of the two Michaels. Lastly, appoint a special envoy to work on securing his release and seek assistance of the Biden administration and other allies around the world in obtaining his release.

242 words

Context: House Hansard - 154 - Feb/6/23

Mrs. Cathay Wagantall (Yorkton—Melville, CPC)

Feb/6/23 6:34:57 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I respect that. Unfortunately, these are issues that I am not as familiar with, but I was asked to present them. I will do my best to shorten this particular one. The citizens of Canada draw the attention of the House of Commons to the fact that Abdul Rahman Khan, the emir of Afghanistan, was installed by the British government and received a subsidy from it. They waged a genocidal campaign against the Hazaras from 1891 to 1893. It wiped out the vast majority of this ethnic group. There were tens of thousands of Hazaras who were forcefully displaced from their lands and many other thousands were forcefully proselytized, raped and enslaved from 1891 to 1893. The petition goes on to talk about the fact that even as late as August 1998, hundreds, if not thousands, of men, women, children and elders were slaughtered in the cities of Mazar-e Sharif and Bamiyan. The Hazaras still continue to face systemic and targeted persecution in post-2001 Afghanistan. It is clearly a serious issue. Canada has spent $3.6 billion in assisting Afghanistan and we lost 158 brave men and women in uniform in the fight against the Taliban. Afghanistan remains one of the largest recipients of Canada's international financial assistance. Therefore, the undersigned call upon the Government of Canada to take action. They ask to formally recognize the 1891 to 1893 ethnic cleansing perpetrated against the Hazaras; to designate September 25 as Hazara genocide memorial day; and to support Bill C-287 to ensure that all development assistance sent from Canada to Afghanistan is contributing to the peace and security of the region for all peoples.

279 words