House Hansard - 277

44th Parl. 1st Sess.

February 7, 2024 02:00PM

Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner (Calgary Nose Hill, CPC)

Feb/7/24 8:00:27 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, four months ago I was on an airplane, and my phone started going off. I knew what was happening when I saw images of women with blood between their legs, in their sweat pants. Four months ago today, an atrocity of gender-based violence was committed by Hamas against Jewish women, because they were Jewish. It was an extreme example of the use of rape and gender-based violence as a tool of war. These women were used as a tool of extremism and genocide, and the world did not care. We went through the #MeToo movement. Across the world, it does not matter what religion women are and it does not matter where they are, women's bodies are always used as tools of war and oppression, but this was an extreme example of that. After the #MeToo movement and after the world's lack of recognition of what happened to these women four months ago, I had to wonder whether it is “me too, except if I am a Jew”. Canada's response on this, the fact that the Canadian government was so slow to condemn the rape and torture of Jewish women by Hamas, is a stain on Canada's ability to speak up against gender-based violence, and that has not been addressed in this place adequately in any way, shape or form. When I asked at the time the question I am posing again today, which is whether the government would condemn, and push the United Nations to condemn, the rape of Jewish women, there was obfuscation. I am just going to say that everybody should be uncomfortable with that in this place. I stood here years ago, making the same case for Yazidi women who were raped, tortured and sold into sexual slavery at the hands of ISIS. They still have no justice to this day. In fact, some of the perpetrators and the sympathizers of the rapists and torturers were welcomed back into Canada with open arms. Do members know what happens when there is no justice for rapists? That says to do it again with impunity, and that is exactly what happened on October 7. That uncomfortable truth should make the skin of every person in this room crawl with shame. Rape and torture as a method of war should make nobody comfortable. There should be zero comfort with that, and the fact that the Canadian government took so long, equivocated and put up its finger to test where the political winds were blowing before condemning the rape and torture of women is really disgusting. Therefore, I will ask the government this: Why did it take so long for the government to condemn? I do not even think the government has done that. What is the government doing? What actions is it taking to reform the UN to ensure that the delay it took in condemning the rape of Israeli women—

494 words

Hear!
Rabble!
add
star_border
share

Context: House Hansard - 277 - Feb/7/24

Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner

Feb/7/24 8:08:18 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I believe that the head of the UN Women association that my colleague mentioned made some sort of ridiculous statement about the need for the victims of this sexual violence to do more, saying that they were not doing enough to get justice. No, the world owes these survivors justice. UN Women has done nothing, zero. Right now, the Canadian government should be condemning UN Women for its inaction and looking to reform the agency to actually get justice for the survivors of sexual violence, be it Israeli women or the women of the Yazidi community, who have seen no justice for the atrocities they have endured. What material actions is the Canadian government taking to reform UN Women? What leverage are they using to see reforms so justice for women is not platitudes and asking—

139 words

Hear!
Rabble!
add
star_border
share

SoVote

House Hansard - 277