SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 184 - Apr/25/23

Apr/25/23 10:24:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the member spoke about instability in many countries around the world. I agree; we are living through a time when the world feels, and in many ways is, more unstable. There is a proliferation of conflicts. There is also a proliferation of humanitarian crises. In the midst of those challenges, we need a strong and confident Canada on the world stage. We also need to have confidence in our system and in the universal aspiration for freedom and democracy. We need to recognize that Canada can be a voice for those principles, those core ideas, those universal ideas on the world stage, and we need to work with like-minded countries to try to expand the space for those values. The best security for our freedom is the expansion of freedom. We need a foreign policy that is rooted in commitment to fundamental principles.

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Mr. Blake Desjarlais (Edmonton Griesbach, NDP)

Apr/25/23 10:25:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for walking us through many of his opinions and facts related to what is happening in Sudan. Today, someone in my community in Edmonton Griesbach came into my office asking for help. They commented on the fact that their relative was in Sudan now and they had no answers to share with them, other than the short answers that were given by the government. In particular, if we were to find a collective solution among us today, what would be, in the member's mind, the top solution in order to ensure that folks like this person's relatives can actually find safety and security elsewhere, particularly here in Canada?

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Mr. Garnett Genuis

Apr/25/23 10:26:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think we need to hear from the government tonight. That is one of the critically important aspects of this emergency debate. We do not have a lot of time, but we have time to hear from every party, including the government. We are going to hear, I hope, more detailed updates on the work the government is trying to do to assist those who are in a very challenging situation, those with connections to Canada, as well as to support the Sudanese people in general. However, certainly for those who are Canadian citizens and those with connections to Canada, we have an obligation to facilitate evacuation, where it is necessary, for the security of those people. We all agree that the government needs to take action. I want to be fair to the government in terms of saying this is probably not one of those situations where there was a long-running expectation of something happening, but, at the same time, we need to hold the government accountable to ensure that it follows through and is able to deliver quickly on the need to assist people. As I said in my comments, there is that short-term need and there are also the long-term issues.

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Mr. Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, GP)

Apr/25/23 10:27:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my thanks to your office for granting this emergency debate and to the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for his role in making sure that this happened. I would like to follow up on the question with respect to the short-term implications. Estimates from Global Affairs Canada are that there are about 1,600 Canadians in Sudan right now. Can the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan share more about what he has been doing? In my view, we should be working across party lines at times like these to find solutions together. What have he and the Conservative Party been doing to work with the governing party to find constructive solutions to get Canadians out?

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Mr. Garnett Genuis

Apr/25/23 10:28:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I definitely agree that we need to work across party lines in cases like this and other such crises. I will say that in the opposition, we do not have the levers of government at our disposal, so it is up to the government to use the tools that are available to it in terms of eyes and ears on the ground, diplomatic staff and so forth. We are keen to play the role that we can in supporting those efforts and, indeed, in hearing updates from the government and challenging them. I look forward to hearing that update from the minister. We will certainly be asking questions of the minister about what efforts are being undertaken and what more can be done.

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Mr. Kevin Vuong (Spadina—Fort York, Ind.)

Apr/25/23 10:28:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my constituents who have friends and family in Sudan right now, I want to thank my hon. colleague for requesting this important debate. With food and water dwindling, I am really curious to hear the member's thoughts on some proactive actions the government could be taking in Sudan.

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Mr. Garnett Genuis

Apr/25/23 10:29:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for raising this issue in question period yesterday and also for highlighting the water crisis. I know that an urgent part of the crisis is access to essential supplies, including water. That has been a major challenge in light of the situation. I do think the government needs to look urgently at how it can support civil society organizations that are working to provide that urgent humanitarian assistance. Of course, there is no glossing over the fact that any such humanitarian support would have to be delivered in an extremely challenging security context. In fact, the justice committee right now is debating a bill precisely on this issue, on how we can work to ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance in contexts where there are either terrorist organizations involved or the security situation makes the dynamics very difficult. The government needs to be working to provide that support that is urgently required. Water is a critical part of it. There is a very challenging context here, but we need to be doing all we can to support the people of Sudan.

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Hon. Mélanie Joly (Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lib.)

Apr/25/23 10:30:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased, on this wonderful evening and at this late hour, to rise to speak to this issue and answer my colleagues' questions. I will be sharing my time. I want to thank my colleague, the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for his work and his interest in this issue. I thank him for having initiated this debate on the very serious and difficult situation in Sudan. It has been just a few days since the crisis began. We have been working hard since last week to support Canadians on the ground and to find a diplomatic solution with several countries. I encourage every member from every party in the House to recognize the important efforts of our diplomats to respond to this crisis. I encourage them to ensure that we can support them in the coming days and weeks. Canadians are closely following what is happening in Sudan and, of course, Canada is concerned about the armed clashes that continue despite the ceasefire that was negotiated a little earlier yesterday. The Sudanese people deserve to be safe and live in peace. As a friend and partner, Canada has long supported the Sudanese. That is why we are calling for an end to the violence and we are standing by the people of Sudan in their quest for peace. That is also why we remain determined to support the Sudanese people in their desire to build a democratic future and start a transition to a government led by civilians. Earlier this month, we still saw signs of incremental progress towards an agreement on a transition to a civilian-led democracy, We were hopeful that the framework political agreement of December 2022 would be finalized, establishing a brighter path forward. Unfortunately, this progress was interrupted by violence, against the wishes of the Sudanese people, who deserve to live in peace, security and democracy. Canada unreservedly condemns the current violence and its impact on civilians, medical facilities and civilian infrastructure. We call for accountability of those who spread violence, including sexual violence. We are also greatly concerned about the safety of more than 1,700 Canadians currently on the ground in Sudan. When the violence erupted, our Global Affairs Canada team was proactive. We called on the two warring factions to accept a ceasefire. We were greatly concerned to see the escalation of violence, which resulted in hundreds of casualties and thousands of injured people. I am also very concerned by the fact that this conflict risks creating insecurity in the entire region and could have devastating humanitarian consequences. The Sudanese people deserve civilian political leaders who will be able to get the country back on its feet and meet the aspirations of its citizens. Canada already supports these efforts, especially as a member of Friends of Sudan, a group that supports the transition to democracy. It also supports women working for peace. In addition, we have supported the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development for a very long time. These two institutions ensure the development and implementation of solutions by and for Africa in order to face the challenges on the continent. When the violence began, Canada responded immediately. At that very moment, I was in Japan with my G7 counterparts and we immediately began coordinating our response. This continued to a broadened level and eventually evolved, forming an international coordination group. Over the past several days, I have also been in contact with my counterparts in Kenya, Egypt and the U.A.E. I have also been in contact with Germany and the U.S. Earlier today, the Prime Minister spoke with the chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mr. Faki. He had also spoken to Prime Minister Abiy, from Ethiopia, two days ago. I was in touch with the executive secretary of IGAD. I will continue these important conversations tomorrow and in the days to come.

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Mr. Greg McLean (Calgary Centre, CPC)

Apr/25/23 10:40:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the minister spoke about Canadians who are in Sudan right now who require assistance. There are also permanent residents in Canada, in my riding in particular, who have family waiting to get into Canada. They have already applied. It is a 40-month wait list for a permanent resident to get their family to join them in Canada. Would she consider expediting some of those applications so people who have family in Sudan can make sure their loved ones are safe and they have a path forward to come to Canada?

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Hon. Mélanie Joly

Apr/25/23 10:41:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is a very important question. First and foremost, yesterday my colleague, the Minister of Immigration also announced very important measures regarding the Sudanese people in Canada who, of course, would not have to go back to Sudan because of what is going on right now. Of course we can provide the specifics of these measures to our colleagues. This is public information. Second, we are making sure to look at what we could do to support the Sudanese people who are affected, not only through further immigration measures that would be announced but also through humanitarian help. We will have more to say on this in the coming days. I know that my colleague, the Minister of Immigration is proactively looking at this question.

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Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ)

Apr/25/23 10:42:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, emergency debates like tonight's are important because they reassure people that the government is doing its job when a crisis arises like the one we are discussing tonight. We talked about the long term. We know that Canada is not a military or economic power. However, it can play a humanitarian role and provide international development assistance. The UN asks countries like Canada to allocate 0.7% of their GDP to international development. This government is not even at 0.3%. It is doing less than Stephen Harper's government, which was at 0.33%. I am not kidding. When it comes to international development, we are falling short of what the Conservative government did from 2011 to 2015. There is a humanitarian crisis on the horizon in Sudan, and it will be very serious. Despite that, Canada is not doing its part. Will we eventually make the monetary contribution to international development that the UN is asking for? OECD countries are sitting at 0.42%. Canada is at 0.27%. How can we be worse than Stephen Harper's government when it comes to international development?

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Hon. Mélanie Joly

Apr/25/23 10:43:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, regarding what is happening in Sudan, it goes without saying that we will continue to support the Sudanese people. We have done so for years. We have invested in humanitarian assistance in Sudan, but of course the situation is such that we need to step up and provide additional assistance, not only to the Sudanese people, but also to the neighbouring countries that are going to be affected. We already know, for example, that hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees are currently on the borders of Chad. It is the same in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Egypt. We know that every time there is a conflict, a civil war as is the case in Sudan, that has repercussions in other countries. In short, my colleague can rest assured that, yes, we will respond to this crisis, as we have done many times before, whether it is to help people in Afghanistan or Ukraine or to help people dealing with climate change issues. We will always step up.

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Ms. Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, NDP)

Apr/25/23 10:44:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for her comments and some of the updates that I think many Canadians want to hear. On the issue around immigration, there are many Canadians who have loved ones who are Sudanese. Some of them may have an application in to sponsor them to come to Canada for permanent resident status, and others may have an application for a temporary resident visa. However, there are many others who have not had an application initiated. The announcement from the Minister of Immigration has been completely silent about supporting Canadians who have loved ones in Sudan who have not had any process initiated to try to bring them to safety. Would the minister support an immigration measure that would allow for Canadians with loved ones in Sudan to sponsor them to come to Canada?

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Hon. Mélanie Joly

Apr/25/23 10:45:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think my colleague is referring to the fact that the Minister of Immigration announced that Sudanese nationals could apply for an extension of their status in Canada, and move between temporary streams, allowing them to continue to study, work or visit family, free of charge. I know that there is more to be done, to the member's point. In that sense, of course we are looking at different scenarios. I know my colleague, the Minister of Immigration is working on this and he has my full support.

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Mr. Ryan Turnbull (Whitby, Lib.)

Apr/25/23 10:46:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the situation in Sudan is obviously extremely worrying to all of us. I must say that my heart goes out to the people of Sudan. What they are going through is truly tragic. It is hard to watch and hear the reports coming in. The conflict that has erupted is causing untold suffering in addition to a humanitarian crisis throughout the country, particularly in the capital of Khartoum where residents have reported being trapped in their homes for days due to the violence that is raging throughout the city. Since the outbreak of fighting on April 15, there have been over 450 deaths and at least 4,000 who have been injured in Sudan, and the final figure is expected to be even higher. Compounding these challenges, at least 55 hospitals across the country have closed, which is deeply concerning to all of us as well. Humanitarian and development partners who are usually at the forefront of supporting vulnerable populations are not unaffected. UN staff have been killed, and many UN and NGO staff and their families have been evacuated. Their operations and warehouses have been looted, and their mobility has been restricted. This has led partner organizations to suspend activities in multiple areas, which means partners like the World Food Programme will not be able to deliver their planned support to 7.6 million people. This new pressure is coming on top of historically high levels of need, and conflict, political instability, natural disasters and poor economic conditions are all contributing to Sudan's complex humanitarian crisis with 15.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2023. Humanitarian needs are only expected to rise and displacement will grow if humanitarian organizations are not able to access populations in need. We are seeing over 20,000 internally displaced people within Sudan already, with reports of previously displaced persons having to move to other camps to find refuge. We are also seeing people flee across borders. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other UN agencies are already reporting flows of refugees crossing the border into Chad and South Sudan, some of whom are returning to countries that they previously left as refugees. Chad alone is reporting more than 42,000 new arrivals in addition to the 407,000 existing refugees. While a full assessment of needs resulting from the conflict remains impossible given ongoing hostilities, we know that the needs will be significant not only in Sudan but in the whole region. Global Affairs Canada remains in contact with international partners, and I know the minister has spoken to her counterparts at the G7 and is working with countries like Egypt, Ethiopia, the African Union and the Netherlands to assess the full impact on their operations and the scenarios that they need to be planning for. We are actively engaging and working with humanitarian partners and like-minded stakeholders to support a coordinated response when the situation permits. In addition, Canada has allocated over $30 million in humanitarian assistance to Sudan this year. This flexible funding will allow UN, the Red Cross and NGO partners to respond to the evolving needs. We are confident that our flexible humanitarian funding will also allow partners to respond to needs in the region. In 2023, we have allocated over $100 million to support the humanitarian response in neighbouring countries, including the Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia and South Sudan. This afternoon, the Minister of International Development spoke with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and later this week, he will be speaking with other humanitarian leaders to ascertain how Canada can better respond to the conditions on the ground. This is part of a wide range of engagement undertaken by the Government of Canada, including the Prime Minister, with partners who have the same objective, which is, of course, a peaceful Sudan. In addition to humanitarian assistance, Canada also provides development assistance, which helps to improve access to education, strengthen sexual and reproductive health and rights, support women's economic empowerment and reinforce the resilience of the poorest and most marginalized. In 2021 and 2022, Canada's development assistance to Sudan totalled approximately $16 million. Furthermore, yesterday the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced the Government of Canada will introduce new immigration measures to support Sudanese temporary residents who are currently in Canada and may be unable to return home due to the rapidly deteriorating situation in their country. This includes an extension of their status in Canada and the ability to move within the temporary streams. This means they can continue studying, working and visiting family, and it allows them the flexibility to stay in Canada. Canada will also waive passport and permanent resident travel document fees for citizens and permanent residents of Canada in Sudan who wish to leave. We are also prioritizing the processing of completed permanent residency applications and temporary resident visas, including visitor visas for eligible immediate family members. A real truce is needed to allow innocent people to evacuate from areas where fighting is taking place. We took note of the 72-hour ceasefire announced by Secretary Blinken, call for it to be fully respected and hope that calm can be extended further. Under challenging conditions, our teams and Canada's partners are preparing for various scenarios. Canada is working with these partners and like-minded stakeholders to support a coordinated and effective response. Our flexible humanitarian funding is fit for purpose, as it will allow partners to respond to changing needs in Sudan and the region. Our partners are well positioned to support a rapid scale-up of operations, if and when needed. Together, we will continue to act. I thank everyone for their attention, and I look forward to any questions.

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Mr. Denis Trudel (Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, BQ)

Apr/25/23 10:53:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are here this evening, and it is indeed a rather sad evening. We certainly did not need another conflict in the world at this time. We just left the Tigray region and we are not yet sure that the conflict has ended. There is Haiti, where there is widespread violence. There is obviously Ukraine, Afghanistan and many other countries around the world. We are talking about helping people. The first thing that comes to my mind is that in war-torn countries women and children are the first to suffer. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and my colleague just spoke about the flow of refugees to the border with Chad. We know that rape often occurs in refugee camps. There are these types of dangers. My colleague spoke a bit about it, but what measures is Canada taking to prevent this type of crime, which is often committed in refugee camps in countries where there are conflicts like this?

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Mr. Ryan Turnbull

Apr/25/23 10:54:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think obviously the situational awareness of what is happening on the ground is quite challenging, when we are dealing with a country that is experiencing such hostilities, so I think Canada has to continue to work on a coordinated response through its various partners on the ground. Obviously, communication channels can be challenged, but I know there are quite a few stories I am aware of with people fleeing the country. I have a personal story and relationship with three members of an international development organization that contacted me just a couple of days ago. They were trying to flee the country, so I know of their journey. There are three of them from an organization called Inter Pares that was stuck in Khartoum in a hotel, and they were really looking to get out of Sudan, and they were fearful for their lives. I found the consular services, despite the fact of the changing situation, have been quite good about helping those folks get out of Sudan, so I—

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The Deputy Speaker

Apr/25/23 10:55:50 p.m.
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Questions and comments. The hon. member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan

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Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)

Apr/25/23 10:55:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to ask if the government is considering using the tool of sanctions in the present context to hold accountable those who are involved in this violence and those who are involved in atrocities against civilians. Is the government contemplating the use of that tool at the present time to try to deter further violence against civilians?

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Mr. Ryan Turnbull

Apr/25/23 10:56:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's remarks and his commitment to advocating on this issue and looking to do whatever we can. I think we share that commitment in common, to ensure that the Sudanese people are supported. Our government, as members heard from the minister this evening, is looking at every possible measure that may be a tool to help the Sudanese people in this situation. I cannot speak for the minister, obviously, but I think they are looking at all measures.

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