SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 206

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 5, 2023 11:00AM
Madam Speaker, minutes after midnight on December 13, 1981, the secret police arrived at my family's door and arrested my father. My father was a member of the Solidarity movement. He was arrested, detained and put in prison. Like many Solidarity activists, he was a prisoner of conscience. Afterwards, when we received letters of support internationally from people in countries like the Netherlands and elsewhere, as well as care packages, these things were really critical to maintaining my family's spirits and my father's spirits. I just want to ask the hon. member how this legislation may help mobilize global support for prisoners of conscience, and their families as well, as they go through such trials.
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Madam Speaker, what I would say to that is that this legislation actually proposes a framework for human rights reporting and with respect to prisoners of conscience. The more we can raise the awareness of the Canadian public, and I know that all of Canada is in favour of human rights, the more we can get that case to build. I might say that the NDP amendment would have been helpful with that as well.
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