- Member of Parliament
- Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities
- Liberal
- Pierrefonds—Dollard
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 66%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $116,520.48
- Government Page
- May/22/24 2:08:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, May 18, last Saturday, was Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day.
Fifteen years ago, on that same day, a large-scale massacre took place in Mullivaikkal.
Tens of thousands were tragically killed, despite the fact that the Sri Lankan government declared no-fire zones. Even today, many Tamils remain missing and displaced. In a day and age when 120 armed conflicts are currently ongoing in 35 countries, recognizing the Tamil genocide is absolutely essential.
To bring peace and stability, we need justice. It is for this reason that we recognize the Tamil genocide. It is for this reason that Canada last year applied strict sanctions against Sri Lankan officials. We all hope for a day when we have peace and security, when all live free of war.
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- Jan/30/23 11:55:12 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank everyone who spoke to this motion.
It is a beautiful thing to hear voices united together, echoing as one, for this particular motion, a motion to help our human family and address a pressing issue. Whether one views it as genocide or grave and serious crimes against humanity, it is an issue that must be addressed with clarity.
This motion will be looked at not only by Canadians, but also by the international community. It is critical that we are clear on this issue and show leadership. I hope and expect each and every member of this chamber, regardless of position or party, will vote for this motion.
Why do I say that? We need to lead. Canada is a middle power. We have the ability to concretely move the needle on things in this world. I ask those who are making a decision right now on how to vote to take a deep and hard look at the information they have access to. Some have information that is only public and others have information that is confidential and classified. I ask individuals who are reflecting on this decision right now to take a look at that information to see what is actually happening.
We know that at least one million Uighurs and other Turkic minorities are in concentration camps and have been forced into labour. Their identities are being erased and they are being forced to become people they are not. This is abhorrent.
We have seen this happen in history to different people. We have seen communities wiped off the face of the earth, and the Uighur people are suffering that today. The one million of them who have been forced into concentration camps and forced to produce products that we unwittingly wear and consume are not only forced to work, but are also separated from their children. Hundreds of thousands of children are being made wards of the state permanently. They do not return home during the summer and remain permanent wards of the state.
Women are being forcibly sterilized with IUDs that are so horrible and terrible that when physicians remove them, the whole womb has to be removed. The IUDs are so crude that they are fused to the womb, meaning these women can no longer have children. As a result, eminent jurists have said that, legally, the issue of sterilization and what is happening to the Uighur people meet the level of genocide.
However, let us not debate too much on terms. Let us recognize that there is a minimal floor. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, recently came out with a report stating that what is happening likely amounts to crimes against humanity. Once that level is engaged, there is a responsibility for states to protect. That includes Canada.
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney took leadership on the issue of apartheid and Canada went down in the history books. We speak about that moment in time as leadership. Today, we need leadership on this issue. That is why I implore each and every member of the House, regardless of position, to make their intent clear and vote for this motion when it comes up. Canadians and the international community will be watching. We need to take leadership.
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- Oct/26/22 6:08:23 p.m.
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moved:
That, given the motion adopted unanimously by the House on February 22, 2021, recognizing that a genocide is currently being carried out by the People's Republic of China against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims, in the opinion of the House, the government should:
(a) recognize that Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims that have fled to third countries face pressure and intimidation by the Chinese state to return to China, where they face the serious risk of mass arbitrary detention, mass arbitrary separation of children from their parents, forced sterilization, forced labour, torture and other atrocities;
(b) recognize that many of these third countries face continued diplomatic and economic pressure from the People's Republic of China to detain and deport Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims leaving them without a safe haven in the world;
(c) urgently leverage Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program to expedite the entry of 10,000 Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in need of protection, over two years starting in 2024 into Canada; and
(d) table in the House, within 120 sitting days following the adoption of this motion, a report on how the refugee resettlement plan will be implemented.
He said: Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to be here in the House with all members today. I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on Algonquin territory.
Today is an important day. We will be discussing an important program that is within Motion No. 62, a motion to welcome 10,000 Uighur who are facing genocide within China right now, at this moment in time.
This motion calls for the Government of Canada to resettle 10,000 Uighur as of 2024 from third countries. Why third countries? It is because we cannot welcome, unfortunately, Uighur who are currently undergoing the genocide within China, but we can provide safe haven for vulnerable Uighur within third countries. These third countries primarily include countries from north Africa and the Arab world, but not exclusively. There are several other countries where Uighur people are living and are present.
We have heard a lot of testimony from survivors at committees and at the Subcommittee on International Human Rights. In the past we have heard horrifying nightmare stories of people being abused in unspeakable ways, of women being violated and men too. We heard about forced labour. There are over a million people currently in forced labour camps. We heard about children, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, being separated from their families when they should be in the care of their moms and dads.
We know that 20% of the world's cotton is produced in China, likely tainted by forced labour. We know that 35% of tomato products are also tainted by forced labour because they come from the Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region. We know that 45% of polyurethane, which is the base material for solar panels, as the world tries to go green, is also tainted by forced labour. This is wholly and entirely unacceptable. This is something that we, as a country and as a human family, must stand up against.
We had a motion from the benches opposite in February 2021 that called on the House to recognize that a genocide is in fact occurring. Thankfully the House voted unanimously and spoke with one voice on that matter. Not a single person voted against it. We unanimously voted to recognize that a genocide is in fact occurring toward the Uighur people.
This issue is not a partisan issue. For those who make it such, shame on them. They know who they are. This is an issue about people who are dying, who are being violated and who are being mistreated. We said after World War II that this would not happen again. After Bosnia and Yugoslavia, we also reconfirmed that intent. After what happened in Rwanda, we did the same, and with the Rohingya again. Now we know, a genocide is occurring.
What are we going to do? We heard the reports. We know the reports. Many of us have read the reports, over 50 pages long, from Michelle Bachelet, the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She said that these allegations of the Uighur people are well-founded, and they also may amount to international crimes, including crimes against humanity. These are high crimes in international law, as is genocide.
The international community, in 2005, said that these types of international crimes must be prevented. Therefore, each and every country has a responsibility to protect when we see crimes against humanity occurring, or the threat of them occurring. When we see genocide occurring or the threat of genocide occurring, we, as a human family, as a collective of countries and as Canada, all have a responsibility to protect.
Our responsibility is engaged and we must act. One way in which we can answer this is by voting for this program to welcome 10,000 Uighurs here in Canada. We have a proud tradition in our country of welcoming refugees and asylum seekers. This is a proud Canadian tradition.
This program will not halt the genocide. It will put a slight dent in it. This program will not answer our obligation, the responsibility, to protect. It will in part answer it. This is something that speaks to our tradition. This is something that we can do, should do, must do.
In the past, we have welcomed many different people who have been fleeing for their lives from genocides, from crimes against humanity. Recently, we can think of Yazidis, Syrians and Afghans. We can think of Hongkongers. We created some special pathways. We can do this again, now, today.
I will share some facts about the Uighur people. Who are they? We hear the term but we do not know who they are.
Like all people, they are a proud people. They live in the western part of China, what they have traditionally called East Turkestan, what we know in international law as Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region.
Xinjiang has a particular meaning. It means “new frontier” in the tongue of the majority of people within China. It is approximately, as I mentioned, one-sixth the land mass of China. It also has many vast deserts and mountains. It historically has been part of the ancient Silk Road trade route that connected China, that allowed for trade to occur to Europe and the Middle East. That trade route is being revived, but with a modern update, with highways and the free flow of goods.
That is why the supply chain issue is a big question. The current belt and road initiative runs through Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
As I mentioned earlier, 20% of the world's cotton is produced there. Eighty per cent of China's cotton actually comes from the region. I will repeat that for all of us who buy cotton. Eighty per cent of Chinese cotton comes from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, as does 35% of tomato products, pasta and pizza.
I love pasta and pizza. Contrary to first impressions, I am actually one-quarter Italian and one-quarter Sicilian. I joke sometimes that my colour comes from my Sicilian side. It is a bad joke, but I say it sometimes.
We know that approximately 45% of the base materials for solar panels come from that region also. Minerals, such as gold, silver and zinc come from there. It is very mineral-rich.
There has been atomic testing also in the region since the 1960s. In addition to all of the horrors that we heard, these things are occurring.
These horrors are real, so real, as I mentioned, that the former high commissioner of human rights, Michelle Bachelet, said that these allegations are well-founded.
Thankfully, in addition to my motion, we had a preview this week in the House when we were discussing and then voted to concur in the immigration committee's report, which called for immigration. That report unfortunately, or fortunately, did not specify something. That report that we all unanimously concurred in this week said that we should create special immigration measures for Uighur people and other Turkic minorities, but we did not specify what those measures should be.
This motion does exactly that. It completes what happened earlier this week, when we said, “Let us do this.” This motion says how. This motion is precise. It is specific. It is time-bound. It is what we need.
In addition to this, we thankfully have a number of initiatives in the House, and I would like to see them all pass and made into law.
First is Bill S-211, which is on forced labour. It is a very important bill. Thankfully, our foreign affairs minister has said that we support it. She said that in August, when replying to Michelle Bachelet's report that there may be crimes against humanity occurring within the region, so already our foreign affairs minister has said such. This initiative started in the Senate and now is in the House. It is actually heading to committee.
We also have a second initiative on organ harvesting: Bill S-223, which is also an important piece of legislation. Organ harvesting does occur within Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region, but not exclusively there. We know that Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa, practitioners have been subject to this in the past. It is well documented.
These are a number of the initiatives that are in progress and happening right now. They are initiatives that we should all be supporting.
Our government has done a handful of things. We have implemented Magnitsky sanctions against four individuals and one entity that are active and responsible for these crimes. This was done in advance of the genocide motion of February 2021. We also have a number of advisory opinions for companies operating within Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region. As an advocate, I would like always to see that strengthened, and that must be strengthened through Bill S-211.
I would like to highlight something. While we are speaking squarely about the crimes against humanity and genocide occurring within China, we need to be careful not to fall into unconscious bias about Asians and Chinese people. That is very important, as we advocate clearly and unambiguously, to not to fall into that. At the end, I personally have, on this issue, no qualms, if and when the government in China were to stop doing what it is doing, I personally would not speak on this issue, but only if and when China does stop doing what it is doing. However, until then, all of us, including myself, must speak on this issue.
I would like to impress upon the House how we united behind my motion. I want to share something. My seconder is Rachel Bendayan, a colleague of mine in the benches.
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- Oct/24/22 8:37:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite for that important observation, that Uighur people are right now suffering a genocide and that we need to act as soon as possible to help people. The sad reality is that we cannot go into China to stop it. We need to continue to work with the international community and call for unfettered access, because it is only with unfettered access that this will stop. We know it is occurring. The satellite images show it. The China papers have revealed the intent. We see the birth rates dropping. To the member's correct observation, it is happening right now. We must act immediately and without delay. My motion brings things forth to the earliest possible time, so that we can get this done effectively and in a fulsome manner.
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- Oct/24/22 8:26:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I hope I am audible with the microphones here. I know my voice is gone. I do not have COVID. I tested negative, but I am here to speak to the motion the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan brought forth.
This is an important debate and, I would suggest, a preview of what we will be seeing on Wednesday and in December when we will be discussing my own motion, which is Motion No. 62. It relates to resettlement and calls upon the Government of Canada to resettle 10,000 Uighur here in our country to provide safe refuge as of 2024.
My motion calls for us as a country to welcome 10,000 from third countries, not from within China but Uighur people and other Turkic minorities who are living in, for example, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and many different countries around the world. Why? It is for the exact reason we in this House have said: They are suffering a genocide. Not only are we saying this today, but we said it in this House on February 22, 2021. We were unanimous in saying so. We spoke with one voice, and I would like us again to speak with one voice, not only here today and now but also this coming Wednesday and again when we speak in December on this exact same thing.
We are all from different political families, and we posture, position and angle in different ways in order to get our sound bite, our headline in the newspaper and our quotes, but this issue is an issue of grave importance. It is one in which we should be united, moving together in one direction. It is an issue of genocide, not only the political rhetoric of genocide but the legal definition of genocide. This has been the opinion of legal scholars and of a people's tribunal, and this is the opinion of this House.
The genocide convention of 1951 was brought into force after World War II, after the Holocaust when there was an attempt to wipe out a people. We, as an international community said never again and that we would not allow this kind of behaviour to exist on the face of our earth, but it is happening right now.
Legally, what does genocide mean? It means that there is an “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”. They do not have to do it, but they have to intend to do it. There are five enumerated aspects of this legal definition. It includes killing members of the group. It includes causing serious bodily harm. It includes inflicting conditions on a group calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, such as imposing measures to prevent births and forcibly transferring children of the group out of their group to another group.
Jurists have said that what is happening to the Uighur people meets all five aspects of the genocide convention. The people's tribunal, though, said specifically that, while it did not determine on all five aspects, the forced sterilizations were genocidal in intent. We heard from other members previously who talked about forced sterilizations. We heard their impact on the reduction of births in the Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region.
Thus, it is incumbent upon us in this House to speak with one voice. I would ask that members put aside the partisan angling and the jockeying, and move with one force. It is important for us as a country to have a single thrust on this issue. If we are able to do that, we can and we will, hopefully, resettle at least 10,000, if not more, Uighurs.
However, if we are going to posture and position while we are having these important debates, then we will find that our energy is not focused in one direction. Instead of fighting to save people, we are fighting ourselves. There is no dignity or respect in that. There is no honour in that. It is something that we should be ashamed of. This is a moment for us to save lives. Let us do it. Let us speak with one voice. Let us encourage each other to do it.
As we are going to enter this debate on Wednesday, I ask that people reflect on this. If we actually want to have strength as a country in terms of resettling people here, we are not dealing with a small opponent or a small country that is committing genocide. We are dealing with a juggernaut of a nation. If we hope to put a dent in that genocide, then we must move together as a single hand and not as open digits.
Where are we at right now? We are at a time of reflection. We have two days to see how we will create our next speeches, what positions we will take and how we will debate the motion that I bring forth on Wednesday. I hope, expect and believe that we will move together as one.
There are so many human rights cases on the face of this earth, which is not to say that we should not speak to them openly and publicly, but we have an opportunity right now to make an impact. Sometimes we have to focus to get success, and that is what we are doing on Wednesday. We are going to focus. I ask us to focus so that we can get success and bring this thing home. If we do speak with one voice, our government will listen. It will make it more likely for our government to listen if we do speak with one clear voice.
We heard about Michelle Bachelet's report, which said that the allegations of the Uighur people were well founded and that they may amount to international crimes, including crimes against humanity. We know that our country's responsibility to protect is engaged not only when we have established that crimes against humanity are occurring, but when there is the possibility of crimes against humanity occurring. This is what Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, actually said: that there may be crimes against humanity. Therefore, our responsibility to protect is engaged. This motion allows us to fulfill that responsibility in part, not in whole but in part.
To conclude, let us move together as one force so that we can have success in this. For those who are listening, I ask them to bring this to their colleagues to reflect on it personally and to come back on Wednesday with some gusto and a united front.
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- Sep/26/22 2:16:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to sound the alarm on the critical situation of the Uighurs and other Turkic peoples in Xinjiang, China.
Today, the National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Uighur community have organized a Uighur advocacy day on the Hill.
In February 2021, this House recognized the Uighur genocide. Currently, over one million are living this nightmare. Recently, in August, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released a groundbreaking report contributing to the mounting evidence of serious and systemic rights abuses against the Uighur people. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights further said that these may rise to crimes against humanity.
Following the UN report, our foreign affairs minister said two things: that Canada will work with the international community to hold China to account; and that forced labour in supply chains will be addressed.
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