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House Hansard - 290

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 18, 2024 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24
Mrs. Salma Zahid (Scarborough Centre, Lib.)
  • Mar/18/24 5:27:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today in Canada's House of Commons to speak to the carnage and the tragedy continuing to happen in Gaza. Since I first rose to speak to the situation in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank during the take-note debate on October 16, 2023, more than four months ago, my message has been consistent and very clear: There must be a lasting, endurable ceasefire to end the violence and to protect innocent civilians. There must be unimpeded and unrestricted access to Gaza for badly needed humanitarian aid. All hostages and prisoners must be released and returned to their families. Since October, more than 31,000 civilians, many of them innocent children, have been confirmed killed. That number is likely an understatement. Many more bodies lie beneath the rubble. As of February 21, over 75% of the population of Gaza, up to 1.7 million men, women and children, has been displaced. Many have been forced to flee multiple times in futile attempts to find safety. Up to 1.9 million IDPs are residing either in 154 UNRWA shelters or near these shelters. While the world watches, a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions is unfolding before our eyes. Two weeks ago, after Israeli gunfire, we saw the deaths of over 100 Palestinians and the injury of more than 760 as a desperate, starved and beaten people tried to get badly needed humanitarian aid in order to stay alive another day. Will there be an investigation into this massacre? Will there be justice for those people? There must be a ceasefire, and I do not believe that Canada has yet done all within its capability to push for one. One day our grandchildren will ask us what we did as parliamentarians and as humans at this time. Let us be able to tell them that we left no stone unturned in the pursuit of peace and justice. I am glad that the government has restored Canada's funding commitment to UNRWA. In my view, it should never have been suspended. The allegations made against several fired contractors are serious. The UN is investigating, and I hope all intelligence is shared with it to facilitate the investigation. However, it is unacceptable to collectively punish the organization for the actions of a few. Really, it is the Palestinian people who suffer, because UNRWA is the only organization with the resources on the ground to effectively deliver aid to the people of Gaza. While we are rightly seized with the immediate crisis, the issue is much larger, and we must also look to the future. I recently had the opportunity to travel to the West Bank, Jordan and Israel with a group of humanitarian aid groups and parliamentarians. This included the member for Edmonton Strathcona, whom I thank for bringing the motion forward today. It was a moving and eye-opening trip. We can read about the situation in the region and we can watch news reports and videos shared on social media, but nothing can compare to seeing it with one's own eyes. We visited refugee camps in Jordan and in the West Bank. We met Palestinian families displaced from their homes for generations. I was struck by the hardships and dehumanization they are forced to endure every day in their lives: not being allowed to drive on certain roads; their shops closed; constant harassment by soldiers; people dying in ambulances at checkpoints, not allowed to cross; basic resources such as water being denied to them while illegal Israeli settlements nearby have uninterrupted access; children arrested and held indefinitely and arbitrarily. They are facing dehumanization every second of their life, yet I was also struck by the resiliency of the Palestinian people, by their optimism that one day they will be able to return and live safely and in peace in the land of their ancestors. That is what all people want: to be able to live side by side in peace and safety, to go to work, and to build a better life for the next generation. Canada's foreign policy is support for a two-state solution, and we are in opposition to illegal Israeli settlements, yet these settlements are growing exponentially, with the express intent of making a two-state solution really impossible. When will Canada do more than just wag its finger at the deliberate policy against peace being exercised by the Netanyahu government? If there are no consequences, our words are meaningless. People are tired of empty words. Illegal Israeli settlers are attacking Palestinians with impunity, using Netanyahu government-supplied weapons. The United States implemented sanctions against extremist settlers months ago and a second round in early February. Canada has sanctioned Hamas, but it has yet to follow our ally in sanctioning extremist Israeli settlers. I cannot understand why we have yet to act. I welcomed our government's program to bring extended family members of Canadians out of Gaza and the immigration minister's assurance that 1,000 people is a target and not a cap. I have written to him that Palestinian refugees fleeing the war zone should have all the same support as Ukrainian refugees fleeing their war zone. Like the minister, I am frustrated that local authorities, including those in Israel and Egypt, have not been allowing Canadians and their extended families to leave Gaza for safety. As the minister said, we are all failing the Gazans at this point. They are probably under the largest hostage-taking situation in the world. What Canadians want to know is what we are going to do about it. Will there be any consequences for the hostage-taking? When will our foreign policy change? I would like to move on to the issue of trade in military goods and technology. Canada has clear rules on the export of military arms and technology. No Canadian lethal weapons should be exported and used against innocent Palestinian civilians. The foreign affairs minister has said that no lethal weapons have been exported under her watch, and I accept her word. There have also been media reports that the government has also suspended approval of non-lethal military exports to Israel due to human rights concerns. If true, this would amount to a de facto arms embargo. Canadians are demanding clarity here. We need a clear statement from the government. The Canadians who have written to me are clear: Canadian arms cannot and must not be used against innocent civilians. We must support the prosecution of all crimes and violations of international law committed in the region. Wars have rules, and those who have violated them, be they Israeli or Hamas, must face international justice. This means supporting the work of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Finally, Canada must officially recognize the state of Palestine as a free and democratic state alongside a free and democratic State of Israel. This cannot wait for a hoped-for final settlement between these parties. We must recognize now the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and a state of their own while negotiations for a just and equitable peace between two equal peoples continue. I urge Canada to act on this immediately. It is time for Canada to stand up and be counted. Canadians are looking to us. They expect us to lead. They expect us to act. Either we stand for peace and justice, or we do not. Either we stand for human rights everywhere and for everyone, or we do not. I will be voting in favour of the motion. I urge my colleagues to do the same. However, motions themselves are not enough. Canadians are demanding action. Only the government can act. I beg our government to please act for the innocent civilians of Palestine and Israel who want to live together in peace, and to act for the Canadians who want to be proud of their country once again. Let us be able to tell our next generation we were on the right side of history.
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