SoVote

Ms. Pam Damoff (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Consular Affairs), Lib.)

May/6/24 3:08:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the violence must stop. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic. As we have said from the beginning, a military operation in Rafah would be devastating for Palestinian civilians and foreign nationals. They are seeking refuge. They are mothers and children. They have nowhere else to go, and asking them to move again is unacceptable. We continue to call for a sustainable ceasefire. This cannot be one-sided. Hamas must release all hostages and lay down its weapons; humanitarian aid must get into Gaza.

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Context: House Hansard - 309 - May/6/24

Mr. Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, GP)

May/6/24 10:21:11 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, as we speak tonight, Israel is launching its long-threatened ground invasion of densely populated Rafah in southern Gaza, and 1.4 million civilians are braced for what the United Nations warned could lead to a bloodbath. Meanwhile, Netanyahu's government has rejected the terms of a ceasefire agreement, 132 hostages remain held by Hamas, and the UN World Food Programme says that northern Gaza has entered full-blown famine. Even before tonight, over 35,000 Palestinians had already been killed in Gaza over the past seven months, including more than 15,000 children. This is all happening two months after the International Court of Justice called on the State of Israel to take six immediate steps to prevent genocide. The Canadian government must press Israel and the Netanyahu government to follow the ICJ ruling and avoid further civilian loss of life. I should not have to call for this. We already did it. In mid-March, Parliament passed a motion that called on the Government of Canada to take 10 actions. The terms of the motion are the will of Canadians as represented by a large majority of MPs in the House, and the parliamentary secretary and all but three of his Liberal colleagues supported the motion. We have now given the government plenty of time to demonstrate that it deserves the trust of Canadians in following through on the critical terms of the motion One of the actions, restoring funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, was followed. Disappointingly, however, many actions seem to have been ignored, including ending arms exports to Israel and placing sanctions on extremist settlers. Another action that seems to have been ignored was supporting the work of the International Court of Justice, and to support the ICJ, the Government of Canada must press the State of Israel to follow its ruling. One of the ICJ's six provisional measures issued in late January called for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza, yet just over a month after the ruling, on February 29, we learned of the Flour Massacre, in which 118 Palestinians were killed and 760 were injured after Israeli forces opened fire on civilians seeking food from aid trucks in Gaza City. At the time, I had risen to press the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the ICJ measures to be followed, yet it got worse. Just over a month later, Israel said it mistakenly struck a World Central Kitchen convoy, killing seven aid workers, including dual Canada-U.S. citizen Jacob Flickinger. Two weeks later, a Canadian humanitarian aid organization, the International Development and Relief Foundation, IDRF, had its water truck bombed. The water truck was paid for entirely by Canadian donors, and thousands of people have been without water as a result of the bombing. No humanitarian aid worker should be killed in a conflict zone, yet according to the UN, more than 200 workers have died since October 7, 2023, in Gaza. Ensuring that humanitarian aid flows in Gaza is just one of six measures. As Greens, we continue to call for the government to press for all six measures to be followed by the State of Israel to prevent acts of genocide; for a ceasefire, as we have called for since October 8, 2023; for all hostages to be released by Hamas; for a two-way embargo on military equipment to Israel; and for sanctions on extremist settlers. The government should be doing everything possible to protect innocent civilians, including aid workers and the hostages, yet with the ground invasion of Rafah now under way, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has become all the more dire. Urgent action is needed from the Canadian government. Therefore, my question to the parliamentary secretary is this: What is his government doing in response to the invasion of Rafah, and what specifically is the government doing to call on the State of Israel to follow the ICJ ruling to prevent acts of genocide?

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Context: House Hansard - 309 - May/6/24

Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity, Lib.)

May/6/24 10:25:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it goes without saying that this is an extremely difficult topic to discuss in the House of Commons. The member opposite and I have spent some time together discussing this, and our personal views are very well aligned. I would actually say that we are not members opposite, particularly on this issue, but on many issues, we see eye to eye. Together, I know that we share an immense grief, and our hearts break for the loss of civilian life that the world has witnessed over the last more than six months now. Those impacted are at the front of our minds, including all families and communities affected by this violence, but children in particular have been disproportionately affected by the ongoing hostilities, and that is not right. The horrific attacks by Hamas against Israeli civilians still shock us all. Hamas is a terrorist organization, and we are unequivocal in our condemnation of Hamas' terrorist attacks against Israel, the appalling loss of life and the heinous acts of violence perpetrated in those attacks. Canada condemns Hamas' unacceptable treatment of hostages and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining hostages. What has been happening in Gaza since October 7 is absolutely catastrophic. The humanitarian situation in Gaza was already dire. The impacts of an expanded military operation in Rafah would be devastating for Palestinian civilians as well as for foreign nationals who are seeking refuge. They simply have nowhere else to go. As the minister has said, asking them to move again is unacceptable. I have been to Rafah. I have visited UNRWA schools in Palestine. I have been to Gaza, and I have done humanitarian aid work in those communities. When I visited eight years ago, that was the toughest part of the world that I have ever seen. I am fortunate enough to have travelled with multiple NGOs. I have seen some of the toughest, most war-affected, poorest places in the world. Gaza, eight years ago, was the toughest place I have ever seen, that I have ever witnessed. It is way worse today. Canada has been calling for an immediate, sustainable ceasefire for months now. The violence must stop. This cannot be one-sided. Hamas must release all hostages and lay down its arms. Humanitarian aid must be urgently increased and sustained. The need for humanitarian assistance in Gaza has never been greater. Rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian relief must be provided to civilians. Canada was the first G7 country to act. We led the way, and we will continue to work with partners toward ensuring the sustained access of humanitarian assistance for civilians, including food, water, medical care, fuel, shelter and access for humanitarian workers. The member from the Green Party, my colleague from Kitchener Centre, referenced the IDRF water truck that was bombed. The CEO, the chief executive officer, of IDRF, lives in my riding. We speak frequently, and I want to thank Mahmood for his ongoing hard work, advocacy and extremely challenging efforts over his entire career. To date, Canada has announced $100 million in humanitarian assistance to address the urgent needs of vulnerable civilians in this crisis. More aid must get into Gaza. We must continue to support trusted UN agencies and humanitarian actors to provide this assistance. When it comes to UNRWA, we understand the vital role it plays in delivering aid to Palestinian civilians. UNRWA needed to undertake some reform efforts, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations has taken steps to enhance oversight and accountability within UNRWA, alongside the ongoing investigation and review. I have more to say, and I will do so after my colleague's rebuttal.

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Context: House Hansard - 309 - May/6/24

Mr. Mike Morrice

May/6/24 10:29:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to start by agreeing with my friend from Milton. Yes, we condemn Hamas. Yes, Hamas must release all hostages. Yes, from his own personal experience, he knows better than most, having seen from his time in Gaza, that things have only gotten worse there in the time since. It is also true that it has been six weeks now since this Parliament passed a motion calling on the government that he is a part of to take further action. It has been three months since the International Court of Justice called on the State of Israel to take six immediate steps to prevent acts of genocide. It is critical that the Liberal government call on Israel to follow through on that ICJ ruling. Can the member speak, particularly on this night, as we know the invasion of Rafah has begun, to what can and will be done by the current government to call for the ICJ ruling to be followed?

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