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Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24

Mar/18/24 12:36:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is good to hear that the Bloc will be supporting the motion. I think it is very important. I certainly hope many members across the House choose to support this motion, which does align with international law and with Canadian policy and human rights. In terms of the piece of this legislation that calls for a recognition of the state of Palestine, I will say, once again, that 139 United Nations member states have already taken this step. This is something Canada should have done some time ago. I will also say that the U.S. has signalled that it is ready for this conversation. The United Kingdom has signalled that it is ready for this conversation and, as I mentioned in my speech, the Spanish Prime Minister has already asked Parliament to recognize the state of Palestine. This is something that is already happening around the world. It has always been, for me, a very difficult thing that we talk about a two-state solution and the need for a two-state solution, and that this is the path by which we find peace for Israelis and Palestinians, yet we do not recognize the existence of two states. It does not make sense. We need to have that recognition so the conversations that lead to a more peaceful future in the Middle East can happen.

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Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24

Ms. Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona, NDP)

Mar/18/24 12:55:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are in this situation where over 13,000 children have been killed and over 30,000 civilians have lost their lives. I know the minister speaks to her colleagues in other countries and to allies in the United States and in the United Kingdom. I have two questions for the minister at this pivotal moment when all Canadians are very much hoping the Liberal government will have the moral courage to do what Canadians across the country have been asking for. Has the minister reached out to leaders within the United States to push them, to urge them to do more to make sure that peace can happen in the Middle East? Will she be supporting our motion today?

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Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24

Hon. Michael Chong (Wellington—Halton Hills, CPC)

Mar/18/24 12:58:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs speaks for Canada, but I did not hear the minister clearly state the Government of Canada's position on this motion. I think the Government of Canada has often, in the last several months, been unclear about its position on the conflict that has emerged between Israel and Hamas, so I will give the Minister of Foreign Affairs an opportunity to clearly state whether the government will be supporting or opposing the motion.

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Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24

Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP)

Mar/18/24 1:02:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank all my colleagues and friends in the House. I thank my colleague from Edmonton Strathcona, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, my colleague and friend. I am rather distressed. How can the government members vote against this motion? Canadians want to see us, as elected people, reflect the conscience of this country, the heartbreak across this country and the cries to stand up and to not be on the wrong side of history as innocent civilians continue to be slaughtered. I could tweak the words of the motion before us; we all could. However, I do not see how we can fail to be united, as Canadians would like to see and as Greens will be, in supporting the motion. I beg the minister to consider how important a signal it would be to the world that we vote together in support of peace, of humanitarian values, of the release and the freedom of the hostages and of all the individual elements of this excellent motion.

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Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24

Hon. Chrystia Freeland (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Mar/18/24 2:22:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we will take no lessons from the Conservatives when it comes to supporting the least vulnerable in our country. That is the party that wants to cut the Canada child benefit. That is the party that wants to cut support to our seniors. That is the party that wants to cut early learning and child care, which supports so many families. It is opposed to dental care. It is opposed to pharmacare.

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Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24

Hon. Chrystia Freeland (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Lib.)

Mar/18/24 2:35:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if the member opposite really believes her rhetoric about supporting Canadian families, why does she think that cutting support for them would help? Why does she not support early learning and child care? Why does she not support the Canada child benefit, which has helped to lift more than 2.3 million Canadians, particularly children, out of poverty? Why does she not support dental care, which is helping the poorest Canadians be able to take care of their health and their teeth? That is Conservative hypocrisy.

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Context: House Hansard - 290 - Mar/18/24

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

Mar/18/24 6:40:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my concern with the motion is the complete lack of accountability that it asks Canadian Parliament to deliver to Hamas. What I did not hear my colleague talk about was the fact that Hamas is a listed terrorist organization in Canada. He did not reaffirm that. He did not condemn the acts, the brutal rape and murder of over 1,000 Israelis on October 7, 2023. He did not call for the unilateral release of hostages and the unilateral surrender of Hamas right now. Instead, he is making the argument to Parliament that we should reward the behaviour of Hamas by supporting the motion. Why is he?

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