SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 220 - Sep/19/23

Sep/19/23 10:21:08 p.m.
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Madam Chair, when we first learned about this incident back in June, there was a real pain the community. It is a place of prayer, a place of worship and a place of community coming together. Gurdwaras have free langar, a place where people can eat. It is a place of sanctuary, like many other places of prayer. To have a leader of the community at a place of prayer and sanctuary be murdered in that way was shocking and painful. What has made that pain even worse now is the allegation that this was tied to the Indian government or the Indian state. This has only reopened those wounds and made them even more painful. That is why it is offensive that instead of showing solidarity, we have a party in this chamber, the Conservatives, not standing in solidarity in a moment where there should be unity, where we should be sending a clear message that this is wrong, we all denounce it and we all stand together in the pursuit of justice in ensuring all the weight of Canadian jurisprudence and legal system is used to hold those accountable.

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Ms. Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, NDP)

Sep/19/23 10:22:30 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to thank my leader, the leader of the NDP, for pointing out the work that needs to be done. I deeply appreciate the letter that has been sent to the commissioner to ensure the inquiry includes India. The Conservatives have been silent in this debate tonight. It is such a false pretense when they advance the notion that they believe in freedom and democracy everywhere, when they say they stand for human rights everywhere. A Canadian has been targeted and whose life has been lost, and we need more than ever for every member of this House to stand together united with one voice to send a clear message to the Indian government or any actors who threaten our sovereignty and the lives of Canadians in this way that we will not tolerate it. We need to be true to that calling of standing for freedom for everyone everywhere. When the Conservatives are absent in this, what message does the member think they are sending to the immigrant community, particularly to the Indo-Canadian community, who are now fearful of the situation and who fear their activism in the community and their fight for justice will be threatened?

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Mr. Jagmeet Singh

Sep/19/23 10:24:28 p.m.
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Madam Chair, my colleague said it so well and so clearly. This is a moment to defend freedom, freedom of expression, freedom to exist in safety and security, and that has been threatened. When any one of us is threatened in this way, we should be able to put partisanship aside and say this is a matter of our national unity, this is a matter of sovereignty, this is a matter of a Canadian on Canadian soil being killed by a foreign government. That is a direct attack on our sovereignty that requires a unified response to denounce it, to demand justice and to demand a full inquiry and an investigation into anyone implicated in this matter, and that is what New Democrats are going to do. That is what we are going to continue to push for, with the concrete steps we laid out. That is what all of us should be doing. It is very disappointing to see the deafening silence of the Conservatives on this matter.

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Ms. Bonita Zarrillo (Port Moody—Coquitlam, NDP)

Sep/19/23 10:25:33 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I send my condolences to the family of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. This is a tragedy and must spur serious action from the government on these allegations of foreign interference wherever they arise. It is the duty of the federal government to pursue the facts and justice for Mr. Nijjar and future protection of every Canadian at risk of foreign surveillance, harassment and intimidation. We must come together across party lines to protect Canadians. As Conservatives choose to be silent tonight in this important debate, it sends a message to all Canadians living in fear of foreign governments in countries they fled that the Conservatives will not stand up to protect them in difficult times. Many Canadians need our protection. I am thinking about the Iranian community. I joined them this weekend in Vancouver as they commemorated the one-year anniversary of the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini. This weekend, communities across this country came together to stand for human rights, dignity and democracy. They stood together against violations of human rights. My constituents from Port Moody—Coquitlam, Anmore and Belcarra want action on violations of human rights in countries across the world, and they want the same thing here in Canada. Here in Canada, they want accountability. They want to make sure that they are safe and that every Canadian is safe. They have shared concerns with me. I know they have shared concerns with many members of Parliament in this community where they do not feel safe. They need a space where they can share their experience, where they can share their feelings and where they feel that they are being heard. Protection of Canadians' safety and upholding human rights and justice are a fundamental foundation of a stable and thriving democracy, and we must, especially the 338 of us here, stand for that every day. To do this, the government must do more to ensure that there is RCMP protection for people who may be at risk. The NDP is asking for diplomatic sanctions, a review of all the Indian diplomats in Canada and the inclusion of India in the foreign interference inquiry. I will close with the thought that it is time for this government to take foreign interference seriously and it is also time for the official opposition, the Conservatives in this country, to come together and unite for Canadians in Canada.

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen (Kingston and the Islands, Lib.)

Sep/19/23 10:28:51 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I understand that this is the last speech, and so perhaps I will ask the member her opinion of what has gone on tonight. Never in the eight years that I have spent in this House have I seen the Conservatives so utterly silent on an issue. They have not given a single speech other than the five minutes right at the very beginning. They have not asked a single question. It is absolutely clear to me that there is an orchestrated attempt within the Conservative caucus and somebody has said that nobody is speaking on this. They have silenced the members, which is the only thing I can interpret from this, but I do not know why. I cannot understand why. It would be so easy for all of us to come together and be in solidarity on this. I wonder if the member, as the last speaker tonight, can provide her thoughts on why that might be.

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Ms. Bonita Zarrillo

Sep/19/23 10:29:50 p.m.
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Madam Chair, every time I stand in the House, I stand for the constituents of my riding of Port Moody—Coquitlam, Anmore and Belcarra, and I expect that the Conservative do the same for their ridings. They come out to rallies, they talk about human rights and they like to filibuster committees. At the end of the day, they have a responsibility to stand in the House for the constituents in their ridings. I would say, as I stand in the House today: Do not elect a Conservative. If people want to be safe from foreign interference in this country, the Conservatives will not stand up for them.

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Mr. George Chahal (Calgary Skyview, Lib.)

Sep/19/23 10:30:25 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I thank the hon. member for Port Moody—Coquitlam for her speech. The member talked about democracy. Mr. Nijjar was the president of the Sikh gurdwara in Surrey, democratically elected. I saw Conservative members stand in solidarity at the Regina Nagar Kirtan parade. I believe the Conservative House leader was with me that day. I saw the member from Sherwood Park giggling and laughing across from him, tweeting away, but not about solidarity with this tragic loss. I would ask the member how that makes her feel when she sees members from the Conservative Party pander when they want support and votes, but in a moment like this, when Canadians are hurt and want solidarity with all politicians, we hear silence.

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Ms. Bonita Zarrillo

Sep/19/23 10:31:26 p.m.
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Madam Chair, as the member was asking me that question, I was thinking of all the mothers, grandmothers and all the women who have come to my office to talk about how their voices have been silenced across the globe. We know of the human rights infractions around women. This week is Gender Equality Week, I will mention. I think about the importance of standing up for human rights and of actually protecting our communities. As a woman, I hear these stories and feel an obligation to protect our communities, and democracy is the way to do it. We do it with our votes and we do it with our pens. That is how we do it.

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Ms. Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, NDP)

Sep/19/23 10:32:24 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to thank my colleague for showing up at the one-year anniversary rally for the Iranian community. As we know, as parliamentarians, we use our words in this House to express our points of view, to bring forward the thoughts and visions of our communities and to advance the perspective of our communities in this Parliament. It is often said that words alone are not enough, and we support our words by our actions. Part of that, particularly in this take-note debate, is to show up in the House and participate in the debate. However, we have not seen the Conservatives engage in that way. The leader of the official opposition spent $3 million on a makeover, wanting Canadians to believe that he is somebody else. However, actions speak louder than words, and at this moment in time, the lack of participation by the Conservatives in this critical debate shows the true colour of who the Conservatives really are. Would the member not say this?

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Ms. Bonita Zarrillo

Sep/19/23 10:33:52 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to thank the member for Vancouver East for always standing up for constituents and Canadians. We know that in times of trouble, in times of necessity, we must come together. As the member said, it has been shown today that there is no solidarity from the Conservative Party here. I am not sure what the party's objectives are, but it certainly is not to stand up for the protection, safety, justice and democracy of Canada.

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The Assistant Deputy Chair

Sep/19/23 10:34:28 p.m.
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It being 10:34 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 53.1, the committee will rise.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Sep/19/23 10:34:56 p.m.
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Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 2 p.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1). (The House adjourned at 10:35 p.m.)

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