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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 290

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
March 18, 2024 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24
Mrs. Salma Zahid
  • Mar/18/24 5:37:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his work and standing up for justice and humanity. The week of January 13, I had the honour of joining the hon. member in visiting the West Bank, Israel and Jordan. I had heard about illegal settlements for a very long time, but I saw the scope of the illegal settlements and the dehumanization that Palestinians face in their lives every day. I was in Bethlehem at the Aida refugee camp, where I spoke directly with families. I heard from them that, every night, they sleep with the fear that someone might raid their houses. Men tell their wives and daughters not to take their hijabs off because someone might enter. They are facing dehumanization every second, so it is very important that Canada recognize those settlements as illegal. We need to make sure that we take action. Netanyahu's government has expanded and encouraged illegal settlers. It is important to take that into account and make sure that we put an end to the illegal settlements.
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Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24
Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner
  • Mar/18/24 7:24:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, amendment (m) reads, “reaffirm that settlements are illegal under international law and that settlements and settler violence are serious obstacles”. These are all major substantive amendments to the scope of the original motion. As I argued, and as said on page 541 of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, this materially “introduces a new proposition which should properly be the subject of a separate substantive motion”. Given that it is major public policy for Canada, peer nations are going to be watching this debate, watching this table drop at seven o'clock—
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Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24
Mr. Scott Reid
  • Mar/18/24 7:26:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the key thing here is that we cannot expand the scope to take in more subject matter than was in the original motion. We see that one of the amendments proposed by the government would expand to deal with settlements on the West Bank. This is not a motion about the West Bank. It is about Gaza. Indulging in a discussion about aspects of Israeli policy that deal with some other area, with Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Syria and the occupation of the Golan, is outside the original scope. It is very nice that the government would like to add the settlements on the West Bank. Perhaps they should have been in the original motion, but they are not. They are part of a separate topic. The government cannot now violate parliamentary practices based on the fact that its members think they should have been included. The government should have debated this before introducing the motion and not change it now at the end of debate. That is well beyond the scope of the original motion.
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