44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 23, 2023 11:00AM
Mr. Speaker, we have a situation with the government where international relations are a mess. Our relationship with India is a mess. We just had the Quint, five members of the G7, write a letter condemning Hamas, without even asking Canada. Canada was not even an afterthought in the writing of that letter.
I want to ask the member, given the government's track record with respect to its relationships with other countries and its bungled negotiation of the free trade agreement with the United States, how we can trust the government to implement an agreement, in terms of free trade, with Ukraine.
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- Oct/23/23 2:12:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, imagine someone having lunch in a Jewish-owned business in downtown Toronto, only to be shouted at because they are Jewish. Imagine someone being harassed outside their children's school, where they have been told they would be safe, as they are escorted in by uniformed police officers. Imagine someone being told they should not come to the office on a Monday morning, or maybe that it would be wise to take the religious identifier that was meant to signify their faith off their front door because it would make them a target.
We do not have to imagine it. It is all happening here, and it is being further fuelled by the irresponsible statements pushed by the Prime Minister, who, six days after repeating Hamas's talking points, still has not corrected the record.
Imagine someone being terrified in their own community and having a Prime Minister who has not said a word about it. It is quite the opposite: He took the word of a terrorist organization over the words of his own military and our allies and still has not retracted his statement.
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- Oct/23/23 2:30:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Hamas terrorist attacks continue. Rockets are being deliberately fired at civilians. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is worsening. More and more innocent Israelis and Palestinians are losing their lives in this horrific war.
When will the government get serious about protecting the innocent and call for a ceasefire?
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Madam Speaker, I just want to go back to when the member actually posed the question of the government. The Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs specifically addressed the member's question as follows: “As my colleague knows, decisions around listing terrorist entities are based on the advice of our security professionals.” I want to underline the words “security professionals.” The quote continues, “I have obviously asked them to update this advice for the government and we will take all necessary decisions as soon as it is appropriate.” I think it is fair to say that there are some exceptionally intelligent individuals out there to support Canadians through Parliament and provide sound advice to the minister and the minister is seeking to get that updated. The member knows that full well.
On the issue of what has been taking place, the Prime Minister said not that long ago, “Hamas is a terrorist organization that ... [slaughtered] and brutalized innocent people.” He went on to say, “Hamas continues to commit unspeakable ... [atrocities] and are trying to instigate further acts of violence against Jewish people....”
Let me be clear about Hamas. Its members “are not freedom fighters, they are not resistance fighters: they are terrorists.”
“Terrorism is always indefensible and nothing can justify Hamas' acts of terror and the killing, maiming, and abduction of...civilians.”
Let me also be extremely clear that, “Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people nor their legitimate aspirations. They do not speak for Muslim or Arab communities, and they do not represent the better futures that Palestinians and their children deserve. The only thing that they stand for is more suffering for Israeli and Palestinian civilians.”
With regard to condemning the Iranian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC, I would like to emphasize that the Government of Canada uses various legal tools and has robust and far-reaching measures in place against Iran and the IRGC. These measures were undertaken in response to Iran's gross and systematic violations of human rights, ongoing support of terrorism and regional destabilization of security.
Our government has implemented the strongest sanctions in the world, which have made over 10,000 senior officials of the Iranian regime inadmissible to Canada. As an example, back in November 2022, Canada designated the Islamic Republic of Iran under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, or IRPA, for the regime's engagement in terrorism and continuous and gross human rights violations. As a result, tens of thousands of prominent Iranian government officials, including IRGC senior officials, are now permanently inadmissible to Canada.
I am sure I will get an opportunity to add a few more comments in the follow-up question and answer.
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