- Member of Parliament
- Member of the Joint Interparliamentary Council
Whip of the New Democratic Party
Member of the panel of chairs for the legislative committees
- NDP
- Edmonton Strathcona
- Alberta
- Voting Attendance: 67%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $141,604.97
- Government Page
- Jun/3/24 2:30:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, despite promising to do so three months ago, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has failed to issue a notice to exporters telling them that they cannot sell weapons to Netanyahu's government. As Palestinians are starving, as violence in the West Bank escalates and as UN experts are calling for the recognition of Palestine, the Liberals will not act to stop a genocide. Peace requires action. Justice requires action: two-way arms embargo, sanctions on Netanyahu's war cabinet and recognition of Palestine.
When will the minister stop speaking empty words and take action?
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- May/22/24 2:53:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Ireland, Spain and Norway announced that they will soon recognize the state of Palestine. This is a crucial step towards peace and justice for Palestinians and Israelis, but Canada is missing in action. In February, New Democrats asked the government to recognize the state of Palestine. The government refused and turned its back on Palestinians and Israelis who are looking for peace and justice in their region.
The Prime Minister can take a stand today. Will he join the consensus of the international community and recognize the state of Palestine?
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- May/6/24 3:08:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the expected military invasion in Rafah will be catastrophic. Over a million people, half of them children, have no safe place to go. In Gaza, there is famine in the north and bombing in the south. This escalation threatens the safety of both Israelis and Palestinians.
The Liberals should be doing everything to protect innocent civilians, including hostages. Where are the promised sanctions on extremist settlers? Where is the two-way arms embargo? Why will the minister not do what she promised and act to save lives?
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- Apr/11/24 3:08:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today I met with Mansour Shouman, a Palestinian Canadian who risked his life to report on the devastation and horror of the war in Gaza. Weeks ago, the Liberals promised to stop selling military goods to Netanyahu and to sanction extremists. As innocent children continue to die, the Liberals have not issued export notices or announced sanctions. This is a betrayal of the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who want peace for Palestinians and Israelis.
We need a two-way arms embargo and sanctions. How many more people will die before the government acts?
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- Mar/18/24 12:38:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her important work in the House.
Right now what we are seeing is tens of thousands of innocent civilians losing their lives. Over 13,000 children have lost their lives. Right now, today, at this moment, there is a population facing starvation. They are facing starvation in 2024, and it is not starvation because there is no food. The food is at the border rotting in trucks instead of getting into the bellies of innocent children.
We need to do everything we can to stop the war and to alleviate the suffering of innocent civilians. This is why part of our motion is to make sure there is a ceasefire and to make sure we stop selling arms to Israel. The final piece, recognition of Palestine as a state, is so that we can build toward this. It is so that the world can work together and we can build toward a more peaceful outcome into the future. Ultimately, what we are all looking for is a secure and safe future for Palestinians and Israelis.
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- 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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- Mar/18/24 12:08:29 p.m.
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moved:
That, given that,
(i) the situation in the Middle East is devastating to many Canadians, particularly those with friends and family members in the region,
(ii) the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 30,000, with 70% of the victims women and children,
(iii) the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, killed nearly 1,200 people and over 100 hostages remain in Hamas captivity,
(iv) millions of residents of Gaza are displaced and at risk of starvation, death, and disease, and Gaza is currently the most dangerous place in the world to be a child,
(v) the United Nations reports over 70 per cent of civilian infrastructure in Gaza, including homes, hospitals, schools, water and sanitation facilities, have been destroyed or severely damaged by Israeli military attacks,
(vi) on January 26, 2024, the International Court of Justice ordered six provisional measures, including for Israel to refrain from acts under the Genocide convention, prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to genocide, and take immediate and effective measures to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza,
(vii) Israelis are still at risk of attacks by Iran-backed terrorist groups including Hamas and Hezbollah,
(viii) the forcible transfer and violent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank have significantly increased in recent months,
(ix) the casualties of the war on Gaza and the Hamas terrorist attack include Canadian citizens,
(x) Canadian citizens remain trapped in Gaza, blocked from leaving,
(xi) Jewish, Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian Canadians have reported an increase in hate-motivated attacks and racism since October,
(xii) Palestinians and Israelis both deserve to live in peace, with full enjoyment of their human rights and democratic freedoms,
the House call on the government to:
(a) demand an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages;
(b) suspend all trade in military goods and technology with Israel and increase efforts to stop the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas;
(c) immediately reinstate funding and ensure long-term continued funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and support the independent investigation;
(d) support the prosecution of all crimes and violations of international law committed in the region, and support the work of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court;
(e) demand unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza;
(f) ensure Canadians trapped in Gaza can reach safety in Canada and lift the arbitrary cap of 1,000 temporary resident visa applications;
(g) ban extremist settlers from Canada, impose sanctions on Israeli officials who incite genocide, and maintain sanctions on Hamas leaders;
(h) advocate for an end to the decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories and work toward a two-state solution; and
(i) officially recognize the State of Palestine and maintain Canada’s recognition of Israel’s right to exist and to live in peace with its neighbours.
She said: Mr. Speaker, “If I must die, you must live to tell my story”. Those are the words of Refaat Alareer, who was killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza on December 6.
I rise today in sorrow and in hope. For five months, we have watched in horror, as horror after horror has unfolded in Gaza and Israel. The stories and the images are shocking and heartbreaking. We have seen two peoples utterly traumatized by violence, death and terror. We have seen the complete failure of the international community to stop the unfolding carnage in Gaza, and we are dismayed by the failure of Canada's Liberal government to stand up for what is right, for the rule of international law, for humanity and for peace. Canadians are horrified by a brutal assault on Gaza where over 30,000 civilians have been killed. They were horrified on October 7 by the vile terrorist attack on innocent civilians in Israel by Hamas terrorists, and they are horrified now by the way Netanyahu's extremist government has responded.
Canadians believe in peace and justice, not just for Palestinians or for Israelis, but for everyone. Canadians want our government to apply those values universally, regardless of the price, regardless of the situation. I know this because hundreds of thousands have written to me about the war in Gaza. Canadians from every province and territory, of every faith and belief, have asked us to do the right thing and help stop this war, end arms sales to Israel, push for a ceasefire and for the release of all hostages, demand that Israel stop denying humanitarian aid, and seek peace and justice for Palestinians and Israelis. Instead, the government has abdicated its responsibility by ignoring, or worse, rejecting, international law, tearing apart the global moral fabric that Canada has helped to construct over decades. It does not have to be this way.
Our NDP motion today sets out specific actions that would work toward peace and justice for Palestinians and Israelis. Today, the Liberals and the Conservatives have an opportunity to join the NDP in upholding the values of Canadians to show that Palestinian lives matter as much as anyone's life matters, that Palestinian rights are human rights and that children, all children, deserve justice.
We are witnessing the collapse of the rules-based international order in Gaza. Canada has the responsibility and the obligation under international law to prevent genocide where it may occur. Canada has the responsibility to prevent ethnic cleansing, to condemn war crimes and to uphold international law, but that is not what is happening right now. While Canada rightfully condemns the attacks on Israelis, Liberals are not doing the same thing for Palestinians. In fact, Canada is openly hindering the progress at the International Court of Justice regarding the occupied territories. Canada's refusal to support the work of the ICJ regarding South Africa's claim, and its refusal to urge Israel to comply with provisional orders, is shocking.
Professor Ardi lmseis, told our foreign affairs committee, “Canada's declared commitment to the rules-based international legal order is crucial to maintaining its moral standing in the world”, going on to say that commitment “must both be and be seen by others to be credible.”
We are fast losing our credibility. It is very clear to Canadians, to Palestinians, to many Israelis fighting for peace and to the rest of the world that Canada currently holds a double standard when it comes to the question of Israel and Palestine in international law.
This month, the UN warned that all arms exports to Israel must stop immediately. They specifically called out Canada for its military trade with Israel. The NDP has been calling for this for years, even prior to October 7 and this latest war on Gaza, because of very serious human rights abuses throughout Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. The minister has an obligation under the arms trade treaty not to approve export permits for military goods and technology where there is a substantial risk of human rights abuses. This is Canadian law.
Over the past decade, the NDP has been the only party that has called for reform to Canada's arms export system, yet the Liberals do nothing. Last week, a 13-year-old boy was shot to death in East Jerusalem after lighting fireworks. In a moment of joy and play, this child was killed. The Israeli minister of national security Ben-Gvir, the same minister who is arming extremist settlers with assault rifles, saluted the officer who killed this child.
Hundreds of thousands of Canadians have demanded that the Government of Canada impose an arms embargo on Israel. How can Canada continue to engage in that kind of trade while children continue to be killed and extremist ministers of Netanyahu's government encourage this violence? Canada must do more to end the illegal arms smuggling to Hamas and other groups that threaten peace and security. We have called out Canada to do this, to stop this, not just for Hamas, and not just for Haiti, but also for the Sahel, and for other regions in the world where arms are ending up in the hands of people who are terrorizing civilians.
More than 30,000 innocent civilians have been killed in Gaza, including more than 13,000 children. More children have been killed in Gaza in four months than in four years of conflict worldwide, more than the rest of all wars combined over four years. Thousands more are suffering devastating injuries and loss. In Gaza, medical teams have added a new acronym to their vocabulary. It is WCNSF, which stands for “wounded child, no surviving family”.
Ten-year-old Yousef aI-Dawi dreams of resting his head in his mother's hands, of going swimming with his brother and of going on walks with his father, but the bomb that fell on his family's home killed them all. This child is not Hamas. The trauma felt by this generation of children will last a lifetime. Save the Children says that severe mental harm on Palestinian children in Gaza has increased exponentially over the past months, and now 1.1 million children in Gaza are starving to death. Families are foraging for food left by rats. Children scrape flour off the dirt on the street. How can we let this happen? How can we abandon the very principles of law and justice?
This is the mass starvation of an entire people, and instead of pushing Israel to let humanitarian trucks in, trucks blocked at the border by Israel and the extremist settlers, we are participating in aid drops. Aid drops are the most ineffective, inefficient way to deliver aid. Drops have already killed people on the ground. They cannot possibly alleviate the level of starvation we are seeing in Gaza.
These children who are starving are not Hamas. The choice to refuse aid to these children is political. The forced starvation of children is political. It is against international law. The Médecins Sans Frontières told the UN Security Council in February that Israeli forces have attacked their convoys, detained their staff and bulldozed their vehicles, and hospitals have been bombed and raided.
At least 165 UNRWA staff have been killed in Gaza since October. That is the largest number of UN staff in history. These are aid workers who have been killed. There are allegations that Israeli soldiers tortured Palestinian medical staff from Nasser Hospital. The United Kingdom has asked for an investigation, but where is Canada?
As we speak, 1.5 million people are trapped in Rafah, and Israel's defence minister has said that a ground invasion could happen any day, a ground invasion against the most vulnerable people in the world, people starving to death, people with nowhere else to go.
Last week I met with two Canadian heroes, Dr. Alvi and Dr. Ge. These two physicians went to Gaza last month to offer primary care. What they bore witness to is absolutely horrifying. There are patients living in appalling conditions and a lack of medicine and anaesthesia. There are pregnant women who have no prenatal or postnatal care, and mothers are so malnourished they cannot produce breast milk.
There are mothers hemorrhaging because of treatable iron deficiency. There are children with gunshot wounds to the head and neck, and children so severely malnourished that they are skin and bones. Babies are unable to survive, dying before they even have a chance of life. There are thousands of bodies under the rubble that have not even been counted yet.
Gaza is facing an overwhelming crisis of malnutrition, lack of water and shelter, all while the bombs continue to fall.
I need to take a moment to address some of the concerns I have heard about the part of the NDP motion that calls on Canada to recognize a Palestinian state. In 2006, Rashid Khalidi wrote:
Certainly the aspirations of the Palestinians to live as a sovereign people in their own land are likely to be further denied, for a time at least and perhaps lastingly....
It will certainly not improve if there is a continuing refusal to look honestly at what has happened in this small land...and especially at how repeatedly forcing the Palestinians into an impossible corner, into an iron cage, has brought, and ultimately can bring, no lasting good to anyone.
He wrote that 18 years ago and, today, we are further away from a two-state solution. We are in the most dangerous and difficult moment for Palestine and Israel.
Netanyahu has said that he will not allow the recognition of a Palestinian state. His government continues to support the construction of illegal settlements eating away at Palestinian land. In January, I travelled to the West Bank, East Jerusalem to Jordan, to meet with Palestinian families, to meet with progressive Israeli groups and humanitarians to understand what they were feeling during this terrible crisis. I have worked in many difficult contexts in my career, and this was the most devastating I have ever seen.
Now is the time to recognize Palestine. The United States and the United Kingdom have both signalled that they are looking at ways to formally recognize the state of Palestine. Last week, the prime minister of Spain said that he would ask the Spanish Parliament to recognize the Palestinian state, and already 139 United Nation member states recognize Palestine. It is beyond time for Canada to join with like-minded states and move this forward.
This month, the Canadian Jewish organization JSpace released an important policy brief by Maytal Kowalski and former ambassador to Israel Jon Allen, which stated, “we call on the Canadian government to unilaterally recognize the state of Palestine despite no such recognition by Israel. By doing so,...and in lock-step with our allies, we believe that such a move can help accelerate a much needed diplomatic process to revive two-state negotiations.”
Our NDP motion does not mean Canada would be recognizing Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization and it is not the government of Gaza. In fact, it is far from it. We are simply asking Canadians to do what other states have done; that is to recognize that a two-state solution requires the recognition of two states, accelerate the diplomatic process and stop using the denial of Palestinian statehood as an excuse to not support proceeding at the International Criminal Court.
Over 100 hostages remain in Hamas captivity. This is devastating for their families, whose profound grief I cannot possibly understand. Since October 7, we have been united in our demand for the return of the hostages, and Hamas must be prosecuted for attacks, crimes and kidnappings. That is why the NDP supports bringing the perpetrators to justice at the International Criminal Court, as called for by the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. However, to do that, Canada needs to support and recognize the court's jurisdiction.
Every day, the families of the hostages protest in Tel Aviv, calling for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange. Every day, the families of the hostages call on the Netanyahu government to stop abandoning their loved ones. They are met by extremists like Minister Smotrich who tells them that their loved ones being held by Hamas are not the priority. They are hit with water cannons while protesting in the streets. Imagine the pain and grief they feel as they are abandoned by their own government, and are instead witnessing this horrific war against people who are not responsible for what Hamas has done.
I know that these past months have been incredibly painful for Canadians, for Jewish Canadians and for Jews around the world. The pain and the trauma felt by many in the Jewish community is very real. Canadians fear and decry rising incidents of hate in our communities. We need the federal government to do more to fight anti-Semitism, anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia.
How do we find hope against despair? How do we build security while acknowledging the trauma of so many people? We must look to the helpers, the many doctors of Gaza who continue to go to work, despite their families having been killed and their homes destroyed; the journalists risking their lives to report the horror of this war; the peacebuilders like Standing Together, a grassroots movement mobilizing Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel in pursuit of peace, equality and social justice. They have a simple message, “There is another way....The occupation of the West Bank and the blockade on Gaza must end - not only because it is brutal and oppressive for Palestinians - but also because it does not guarantee any long-term safety for Israelis.”
Yotam Kipnis, whose parents were murdered by Hamas on October 7, spends his days trying to get aid into Gaza to alleviate the suffering. Wheels of Hope facilitated getting patients from Gaza to Israel hospitals, a program that Canadian Israeli Vivian Silver participated in before she was murdered by Hamas. Vivian Silver's son says, “the issues may be huge and complex, but the solution for peace is very simple.”
It is through the work of peacebuilding organizations, human rights advocates, humanitarian workers and grassroots collectives that embrace compassion and empathy for one another that we will find that hope. It is through the work of hundreds of thousands of Canadians who are calling for a ceasefire, the release of the hostages, an arms embargo and humanitarian assistance. This is where we find hope.
We must rise in this moment to strive for humanity, to hold space for each other's pain and trauma. We must understand that we are not separate, but we are all part of one another.
Jewish Canadian organization JSpace has said that our NDP motion is “a strong first step for Canada to take in leading toward an end to the war and a negotiated two-state solution. It is easy to talk about what can't be done. Yasher Koach to those who propose what can be done.” That is what we are doing today.
We are proposing that which can be done to build a real future for Palestinians and Israelis so that they can live freely in peace, with the full recognition of their dignity and their human rights.
I am going to tell a story now. It is very difficult, but it is important that we tell it.
Six-year-old Hind Rajab was with family members as they attempted to flee Israeli forces and their car came under fire in Gaza City. Her family members were killed. Hind was trapped in the vehicle and surrounded by her dead relatives. She managed to reach the emergency hotline of the Palestine Red Crescent. “I’m so scared, please come” were some of the last words she said in a call to rescuers. For three hours she pleaded with the Red Crescent for help, as the aid workers waited to be given permission by Israel to access Hind's location. Hind was afraid of the dark. The ambulance was finally granted permission from Israel, but once it got close to her location it came under fire. The ambulance was found days later, only metres away from Hind's family's car, the ambulance crew dead. Six-year-old Hind died alone in that car afraid, surrounded by the bodies of her dead relatives. “I'm so scared, please come”, she said, “please come.”
I am telling members this story today because none of us can say that we did not know. We do know. The failure of Canadians to face this horror is shameful. It is not political inaction, but complicity, and it does not have to continue. The NDP motion today asks the House to recommend nine steps that Canada could take today to help end this war and save the lives of children. This is not complicated.
Over and again we have risen in the House, demanding an end to Canada's arms sales to Israel and support for humanitarian efforts. Day after day, week after week, New Democrats have demanded that the government pursue peace and justice, while in Gaza the bombs continue to fall. How many more bombs must fall? How many more children must die before the government finally does what is right?
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- Feb/15/24 2:27:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for four months, innocent Palestinians have pleaded for help. Close to 30,000 people, including children, have been killed. In Rafah it is even worse.
All we hear from the Prime Minister are empty words. He is concerned, but he will not stop arms sales to Israel. He will not help Canadians fleeing Gaza, and he will not reinstate funding to UNRWA. Maybe the minister's parliamentary secretary should say publicly what he has clearly been saying privately, that UNRWA is the only organization that can help people in Gaza.
When will the Liberals finally act to save Palestinian lives?
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- Feb/12/24 2:46:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unbelievably the Liberal government has authorized $28.5 million of new military exports to Israel since October 2023. Today, a Dutch court ruled that the Netherlands must stop sending F-35s to Israel. Spain and Belgium have suspended arms sales, but Canada continues to send arms, doing nothing to ensure that they are not being used against civilians. So many children are being killed as Netanyahu bombs Rafah, the place where Palestinians were told they would be safe.
How can the minister continue to sell arms to Israel?
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- Feb/8/24 2:47:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the CBC reported that the Liberals made the decision to suspend life-saving funding to UNRWA without having seen any evidence of allegations or having waited for the results of the independent investigation. UNRWA is the only organization that can reach Palestinians in Gaza who are starving and who are being killed in the tens of thousands, and the government cut life-saving support. The decision needs to be reversed, and somebody needs to be held accountable.
Was it the minister or was it the PMO that decided Canada should turn its back on starving Palestinians?
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- Jan/29/24 2:50:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the same day that the ICJ ruled that there is a risk of genocide in Gaza, the Liberals paused funding to UNRWA, which is a lifeline for millions of innocent Palestinians. People will lose their lives, and unbelievably, the Conservative leader has accused 30,000 UNRWA humanitarian workers of being terrorists. He does not deserve to lead.
New Democrats support an investigation into the 12 former staff, but defunding UNRWA is collective punishment, and it is illegal. When will the Liberals stop abandoning Palestinians?
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- Oct/27/23 11:47:35 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, leaked emails from Global Affairs Canada reveal that the government has no plan for over 400 Canadians desperately trying to flee Gaza, as well as hundreds more in the West Bank.
In Gaza, they have no food, they have no water and the hospitals are crumbling. The minister and the Prime Minister have no answers for Canadians, and they refuse to call for an end to Israel's siege and for a full ceasefire.
What is the plan to evacuate Canadians out of Gaza and the West Bank? How many Canadians and Palestinians will die before the Liberals call for a ceasefire?
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- Oct/24/23 6:38:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since October 7, Israelis have not been able to mourn their dead in peace. Every day we are learning more about the sickening and horrifying brutality of Hamas and the Hamas terrorist attacks. We mourn the loss of so many bright lights, including so many people who were working for peace. We want to see the hostages come home now.
Only a few miles away from where Hamas committed these terrorist attacks, Israeli military bombs are now raining down on homes in Gaza. More than 2,000 children in Gaza have been killed in the past two weeks. Families have been eradicated. Half of Gaza's homes have been destroyed.
A few days ago, 18 people were killed in an Israeli military air strike on a Greek Orthodox church, where 200 vulnerable people had sought shelter. Bombs fall next to schools and hospitals. Children are experiencing mass trauma. Surgeries are performed with no anaesthetic and with vinegar from the corner store. Humanitarian aid is desperately needed. Palestinians are not able to mourn their dead either because the bombs keep falling.
My city of Edmonton is grieving. In my community of Edmonton, I know of at least eight families who have, together, lost over 100 people, 100 family members in the siege of Gaza. We need a ceasefire now.
Dehumanization of the enemy is a terrible feature of wars and genocides. It is already evident in this war, with Hamas militants spitting on and torturing their victims. It is disgusting. It is horrifying. The Israeli defence minister is using words such as “human animals”. The Israeli president has said that the “entire nation” of Gazans is responsible for Hamas.
There is a straight line between dehumanization and the hate crimes we are seeing around the world. We know that hate crimes against Jewish Canadians have massively increased since October 7. It is heartbreaking to see what is happening in the world. The National Council of Canadian Muslims says that reports of hate crimes against Muslims have increased by 1,000%.
I am deeply concerned by the silencing of Jewish and Palestinian people, particularly of women and of women's voices across Canada, in the media, on social platforms and in public discourse. This is a a time for us who are not Palestinian and who not Jewish to listen and to learn. We need a ceasefire.
Our call for a ceasefire does not mean we do not want the end of Hamas. Of course we do. However, the people of Gaza are not Hamas. The children of Gaza are not Hamas. Palestinians are not Hamas. They deserve, as all people do, to live, to thrive, to be free and to be safe. They do not deserve this.
These bombings will not make Israelis safe either. Collective punishment does not make anyone safer.
Canada must do better. We must recognize the broader context of this war and the ongoing occupation in which we have so much work to do. Before this war, Gazans were severely restricted in their movement by Israel.
Israel still occupies the West Bank, where illegal settlements are being built. As rockets have fallen on towns in Israel, settlers have attacked Palestinian residents of the West Bank. The occupation has enormous costs, most importantly in lives, but also in long-term security. I urge the government, now, to finally call for a ceasefire.
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- Oct/16/23 8:42:41 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the leader of the New Democratic Party for the love he has shown for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Right now, we know that the hostages who have been taken by the terrorist organization Hamas are likely in Gaza. We know there are 150 Canadians, at least, who are in Gaza. We know that more than 50% of the population in Gaza is in fact children. The New Democrats have called for a ceasefire.
Why does he think the other parties in this House think it is all right to be bombing the hostages, to be bombing children and to be bombing Canadian citizens who are in Gaza right now? Is a ceasefire not a better solution right now as we try to get those hostages out?
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- Oct/16/23 3:56:27 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, New Democrats are devastated by the brutal massacre and terrorist attack by Hamas, that, on October 7, killed over 1,300 Israeli civilians, including women, children and the elderly. Among those victims were Canadians, members of our communities. The accounts of what was done to Israelis in this attack, including what was done to children, horrifies every one of us.
We condemn Hamas and these terrorist attacks that have caused so much pain to the Jewish community globally and in Canada. This begs the question of what Canada has done in the past few years to stop arms from going into the hands of Hamas. Hamas's actions constitute heinous violations of international law and international crimes for which it must be held accountable.
I want to express my profound sadness and anger at the rising anti-Semitism and anti-Palestinian racism that we are seeing globally, including in Canada. The rising anti-Semitism is causing Canadian Jews to keep their children home from school. Rising anti-Palestinian racism took the life of a six-year-old in Chicago yesterday.
Canadians from both of these communities are distraught, and I think the federal government could do more to increase the security across places of worship, something many communities have called for, for years.
We are in a very dark time and I am urging all members of this House to take care to understand how deeply communities are hurting. I grieve with Canadians who have lost loved ones and who are afraid for their families. I stand with the families of hostages and call for their immediate release.
As this crisis worsens, I also want us to pay attention to the unfolding humanitarian nightmare in Gaza. I want to state clearly that international law obligations are not reciprocal. One war crime does not excuse another. Retribution is not justice. Retribution does not bring peace.
I want members of this House to know that international law was not written by pacifists. The laws of war were written by governments whose militaries had suffered extraordinary losses, who had seen civilians massacred and who had experienced the horrors of war.
International law, which Canada has promised to uphold, sets limits on military actions, state and non-state, and what those countries can do in war. It seeks to protect civilians, all civilians.
David Miliband, the head of the International Rescue Committee, said yesterday, “International Humanitarian Law is the way that previous generations have learnt to mitigate the worst of war”. It is a very low bar, but this low bar applies to everyone.
We are, unfortunately, watching violations of international law in Gaza. It is a siege with no water, no electricity and no food. Entire communities have been destroyed. Entire families have been wiped out. Over 1,000 children have been killed. Hospitals have been bombed and humanitarian aid workers killed. United Nations independent experts have said this amounts to collective punishment.
The former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo, said, “A full blockade of Gaza could be considered a crime against humanity and a genocide.”
This morning, Defence for Children International confirmed more than 1,030 children in Gaza have been killed by Israeli forces since October 7. That is one child every 16 minutes.
We are now reading reports that Hamas is stealing what little humanitarian aid is available for civilians. Let us be clear: Hamas is making already vulnerable Palestinians suffer further in this siege. Palestinians have been suffering from Hamas's brutality, as well as the absence of real democratic Palestinian leadership. With the dangerous influence of external states like Iran, this has made things worse.
However, it does not absolve Israel of its obligations to protect civilians; nor does it absolve Canada of its obligations to call out violations to international law when they occur.
United Nations relief chief Martin Griffiths said yesterday, “The past week has been a test for humanity, and humanity is failing.” The forcible transfer of a million people from their homes is not an evacuation; it is illegal. There are babies in incubators unable to be relocated and medical staff refusing to abandon these babies, knowing that they may die in the coming days. Gazans are afraid to be pushed into Egypt because they do not know if they will be allowed back. This is a humanitarian and political disaster of enormous proportions and Canada is silent.
Where is the government in condemning this siege, this forcible transfer, this humanitarian crisis? The minister has spoken to his Israeli counterparts. The Prime Minister has spoken to the leader of Israel to convey Canada's support. However, in any of those conversations has Canada told Israeli officials that this scale of revenge, these clear violations of law, are unacceptable to Canadians?
So many Israelis are speaking out against Israel's actions in Gaza. Survivors of the Hamas terrorist attack are asking for peace. They are saying “not in our name”. They are asking for the release of hostages, including Canadians. Maoz Inon, whose parents were murdered by Hamas said:
I am not crying for my parents; I am crying for those who are going to lose their life in this war. We must stop the war. ...we are not seeking revenge. Revenge will just lead to more suffering and to more [tragedies].
Yonatan, the son of Canadian hostage Vivian Silver, said, “She would be mortified [by the attack on Gaza]... because you can't cure killed babies with more dead babies. We need peace.”
Vivian Silver is a member of Women Wage Peace. She has spent years working for peace and justice in Israel and Palestine. Yesterday, Women Wage Peace made the following comments:
We hear words of revenge all the time – [we hear] “all restraints have been removed”, “we will wipe out Gaza”.... But one cannot resolve one injustice with another injustice.
We in this House need to be thinking of both the short-term humanitarian crisis and also the long term. New Democrats for decades have called for an end to the occupation and for a just peace for Israelis and Palestinians. This year has already been brutal for all in the region before the terrorist attacks and before this new siege of Gaza. Now we are moments away from a broader war that could engulf the entire region. We are moments away from an alarming and long-term refugee crisis. We are further from peace than we have ever been. We speak of ending the occupation, but we are so far away from a political solution and the Liberal government is failing to step up. It is failing to step up for international law, for Israelis and for Palestinians.
This is the moment to call for calm. We are witnessing an increase of attacks on Palestinians in Jerusalem and in the West Bank by settlers and Israeli security. We have seen reports of abuses of Israeli families who are demanding that the leadership of the Israeli government put the hostages first. People are divided. People are hurting.
The only solution is a political solution. There is no military solution to this conflict. I am begging the government to realize that what its members say now matters. It matters so much and they must call for a ceasefire. Canada must support international justice efforts by the ICJ and the ICC to investigate war crimes by all military actors in Palestine. All war crimes by all parties in this conflict must be prosecuted. Canada must call for a ceasefire and an end to the forcible transfer of civilians.
I want to end by thanking all Israelis and Palestinians working to preserve life: medical workers, humanitarians, human rights advocates, those calling for peace, ordinary people doing what they can in the face of such horror. They are the light in this darkness. We see them and we stand with them.
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- Oct/16/23 2:34:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are profoundly alarmed by what we are witnessing in Gaza.
The UN has said that nearly half of Gaza's people have been forced to flee from their homes and that morgues are overflowing. This is a humanitarian crisis of extreme proportions.
It took almost a week for the minister to start paying attention to the impact of this war on Palestinians, even though thousands of people have been killed. Israelis and Palestinians have the right to live in peace.
Why will the Liberal government not stand up for international law and call for a ceasefire?
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- Oct/16/23 2:33:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we are all shocked by the brutality, the kidnappings and the targeting of civilians, including the elderly and children, by Hamas militants.
Now the region is spiralling. Thousands of innocent Palestinians and Israelis have been killed in a conflict that they are not responsible for. Today, we learned that a fifth Canadian was murdered, and we know more Canadians are among the captives.
What is the government doing to ensure the hostages are protected and returned to safety?
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