SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 184

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 25, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 184 - Apr/25/23
Mrs. Julie Vignola (Beauport—Limoilou, BQ)
  • Apr/25/23 10:23:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the situation in Sudan is certainly of great concern. What adds to the concern is that, right now, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security needs additional funds precisely so he can help people not only in Sudan, but in other parts of the world as well. A decade or so ago, there were about 15 countries that were problematic and where the situation was dangerous for the people. Now there are approximately 40. However, so far, Canada has been mum about supporting the Secretary General's actions around the world, and that is making the situation worse in Sudan in particular. Does my colleague have a comment on that?
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Context: House Hansard - 184 - Apr/25/23
Ms. Heather McPherson
  • Apr/25/23 11:42:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think this is a massive problem we are not addressing. We are seeing the Wagner Group and Russia infiltrate a whole bunch of countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. We are seeing China, with its belt and road initiative and other initiatives, doing the exact same thing. While they are making inroads in some of these countries, we are pulling back. I think that dynamic is very dangerous when we look at global dynamics in this multipolar world we are in. If Canada wants to be part of major discussions happening around the world, we cannot turn our backs. There is a reason we did not win the Security Council seat. It is because we made choices about which countries to ignore. We prioritized. How do people think it feels to be someone in a country in sub-Saharan Africa watching millions and millions of dollars of support go to Ukraine, when in their country people are starving to death and do not have access to clean drinking water and there are no vaccines? How do we think people feel when we hoard vaccines to the point that we have to throw them away and they cannot vaccinate people in their countries? We are backing up at the wrong time. We are backing up when we should be moving forward.
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