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

Oct/16/23 11:06:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I keep raising this issue in the hope that the government will respond. We know, as the member mentioned in his remarks, that both the Jewish and Muslim communities in Canada are living in fear of an attack. The government's integrated threat assessment centre has assessed Canada's national terrorism threat level at medium, where it has been since October 2014. Does he think that it would be a good idea for the Government of Canada's integrated threat assessment centre to give Canadians, including those in the Jewish and Muslim communities, an update tomorrow about the threat level so that Canadians can be assured the government is assessing the situation and ensuring the protection and safety of Canadians?

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

Oct/16/23 10:22:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to ask the member, since he is part of the ministerial party, about a question I asked one of my colleagues earlier. There is a lot of fear, as he has mentioned, in both the Jewish and Muslim communities across Canada, that they may be attacked individually or that their cultural, religious or educational institutions may be attacked. The government's integrated terrorism assessment centre has assessed Canada's national terrorism threat level at medium since October 2014. Does he not think it would be useful for the integrated terrorism assessment centre to indicate to the public if the level remains at medium or to assess it at a different level in order to reassure Canadians or better equip them to ensure their safety?

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

Oct/16/23 10:07:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague knows that the Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre of the Government of Canada has a national terrorism threat level. When Parliament Hill was attacked In October 2014, which was the last terrorist attack here on Canadian soil, it was set to medium, which is that a terrorist attack could occur. Does the hon. member not think it is a good idea for the Government of Canada to update Canadians about the threat level that communities like the Jewish community, like the Muslim community, might be facing and either to reaffirm the threat level at medium or to upgrade the threat level to high, a likely chance of an attack occurring, in order to either reassure Canadians or arm them with the information they need to protect their religious and cultural communities?

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Oct/16/23 8:15:37 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, we agree that innocent civilian lives need to be protected, and that is why we have called for three things. First, we have called for the establishment of a safe zone in the southern part of the Gaza Strip to allow Gazans who are fleeing from the north, where a lot of the IDF is targeting Hamas infrastructure, to get to the south of the Gaza Strip in safety. Second, we are calling for a humanitarian corridor to allow for food, water and medical supplies from outside the Gaza Strip to enter the Gaza Strip. Third, we are calling for a humanitarian corridor to evacuate foreign nationals who are in Gaza, particularly Canadian citizens, who are trapped there.

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Oct/16/23 8:13:12 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I am not going to speculate on what Hamas might or might not do. What I will say is that Hamas must release the some 199 hostages they are currently holding, three of whom may be Canadian citizens. We will be watching very carefully to see what Hamas does with these three missing Canadians. I would further add that Hamas is a listed terrorist entity under the Criminal Code of Canada. As such, providing material support to this organization within Canada is a criminal offence, something that we expect our law enforcement to prosecute to the full extent of the law. Let us be clear here, Hamas has been an organization in the Middle East that has created great misery, not just for Israelis but for Palestinians themselves. The elimination of Hamas will hopefully lead to a two-state solution that would allow the Palestinians to fulfill their aspirations to live in their own country, side by side, peacefully among the community of nations.

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Oct/16/23 8:11:36 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I agree with my hon. colleague that we should not conflate the terrorist group Hamas with the Palestinian people. We support the aspirations of the Palestinian people who aspire to an independent sovereign state, a two-state solution in the Middle East. We believe in the aspirations of the Palestinian people to live in peace and security in their own country, with their own self-determination, among the community of nations. However, we must also be clear that Hamas is a terrorist group, and Hamas committed horrific war crimes, not just in attacking Israel in the first place, but in slaughtering over 1,000 innocent civilians in what were clearly war crimes and which were so systematic they might actually rise to the level of crimes against humanity. At this difficult time in Israel's history, we must stand with the state of Israel, as we stand with other democratic nations, in their defence and security.

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

Oct/16/23 8:05:45 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, Canada must stand with the state of Israel. The events of October 7 were the biggest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. On that day, Hamas launched a terrorist attack and invaded Israel. Some two and a half thousand Hamas terrorists broke through the border, attacking Israeli military bases and massacring Israeli citizens. The latest count indicates that 289 IDF soldiers were killed and over 1,100 Israeli civilians were killed. Thousands more casualties took place as IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians were injured. The over 1,100 Israeli citizens who were killed were not killed inadvertently or accidentally. These 1,100 civilians were deliberately and systematically targeted and murdered by Hamas. They were gunned down execution style, just like the mobile killing squads of the Nazis, the Einsatzkommando, who executed some one and a half million Jews by firing squad during the 1941 Aktion campaign in Eastern Europe. It was the Holocaust by bullets before the Holocaust by gas chambers that murdered an additional four and a half million Jews. On October 7, whole families were executed, innocent babies were killed in their cribs and the dead were mutilated. Some of the dead were paraded through the streets of Gaza. The war that began October 7 is an existential threat to the state of Israel. The very state of Israel is threatened by this war, particularly if Hezbollah in Lebanon and the IRGC in Iran start participating in attacking Israel. One of the belligerents in this war, Hamas, has targeted Canadian interests. Five Canadian citizens were murdered by Hamas and another three are missing, presumably being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. We, in this House, call for the immediate release of these hostages by Hamas. We will not forget about the five Canadians who were murdered by Hamas. We will not forget what will happen to the three Canadians currently held by Hamas. There has been widespread condemnation from western democratic leaders of Hamas's barbaric terrorist attacks, including Canada's democratic leaders. There has been widespread solidarity expressed by western democracies for the state of Israel at this difficult time. This institution, the Parliament of Canada, projected an image of the Israeli flag on the Peace Tower as a sign of our solidarity. The coming days and weeks will be a test of western condemnation of Hamas and a test of western solidarity with Israel. In the coming days and weeks, Israel will exercise its right to defend itself under article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which states, “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations”. In the coming days and weeks, we should be clear that Israel has the right to eliminate Hamas as a threat from the Gaza Strip and to liberate the hostages Hamas has taken. As casualties mount, we should resist the temptation to call for a ceasefire until the Israel Defense Forces achieve its goal of eliminating this existential threat to the state of Israel. This is a war. It is a legal war under international humanitarian law. Under the law of armed conflict, it is a justifiable war against a terrorist group, a group that the Government of Canada has officially listed as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code of Canada. The state of Israel has the right to prosecute this war at the time and pace of its choosing until it has accomplished its goal of eliminating this existential threat. Israel has the right to determine, within the bounds of international law, how it will prosecute this war. It has the right to determine the pace of this war. It has the right to determine the timing of this war, including when the war ends. Palestinians are also victims of Hamas. The suffering of the Palestinian people is a real tragedy. A million Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza. Every innocent human life, whether it be Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish, Muslim or any other faith, is of equal precious value. We must do everything in our power to preserve this precious life and to minimize the suffering of innocent civilians.

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Context: House Hansard - 55 - Apr/7/22

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

Apr/7/22 2:57:00 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are reports that some 300 civilian men were massacred last week in Mali by Malian and Russian forces. Only a few short years ago, for a brief moment in time, the government sent hundreds of Canadian troops to Mali and over a hundred million dollars in aid, and then it lost interest. Does the government have any plans to stop future atrocities in Mali seeing that it was once the government's foreign policy priority?

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Context: House Hansard - 28 - Feb/10/22

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

Feb/10/22 2:43:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Russia supplies almost half of Europe's gas. President Putin has threatened to cut off those gas supplies if Europe comes to Ukraine's defence. People will freeze. Industry will shutter. Europe's economy will grind to a halt. President Biden has been rallying natural gas producing countries around the world to secure additional supplies in the event that happens. Can the government explain to the House why Canada, the world's fifth-largest natural gas producer, cannot export liquefied natural gas from our east coast to assist our European allies?

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

Jan/31/22 9:52:03 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I just have a comment for the member, whom I have known for a number of years now. Russia's military is not the only hard power tool that it has to intimidate Europe and Ukraine. It can also use energy as a weapon. It supplies 40% of Europe's natural gas, and if it cuts off natural gas supplies to Europe, people will freeze, industries will shut down and European GDP will plummet. The Biden administration has been talking to countries around the world about increasing natural gas supplies to Europe in the event that the Russians cut off gas to Europe, except for Canada. Canada is not mentioned in any of the reports coming back about supplying natural gas in the event that this happens, even though we are the fifth-largest natural gas producer in the world. When will the government see that energy is not only vital to our economy, but vital to our national security and to those of Europe and Ukraine?

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Jan/31/22 9:24:29 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I could not agree with my colleague more. In fact, what is going on right now often reminds me of the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s where the duly elected and recognized government of Spain, the republican government of Spain, was under threat from the nationalists, from a civil war and a coup d'état that had erupted, led by Spanish generals. Spanish republicans pleaded to western democracies to provide lethal defensive weapons, lethal military weapons, for the defence of Spanish republicans, but democracies in the 1930s turned a blind eye and refused those military weapons. Germany and Italy, being fascist powers at the time, sent plenty of weapons to the nationalists who eventually triumphed, leading into the dark events of the war of 1939 to 1945. When I hear about governments and democracies refusing to send lethal defensive weapons to a fellow democracy under threat from another authoritarian regime, it brings me back to that period of time in the 1930s where we as democracies turned a blind eye to rising authoritarianism in Europe and paid a very high price over the subsequent six years to 1945. That is the lesson we have failed to heed from the situation that is currently unfolding in eastern Europe.

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Jan/31/22 9:22:21 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the answer to the question is simple. For centuries Canada's security, the safety and security of our citizens and the safety and security of our borders have been inextricably tied to that of Europe. If democracies in Europe are being threatened with an attack, with invasion, then Canada must stand up not only for the security of those nations in Europe but for the security of Canadians here at home and provide all assistance necessary to ensure that happens; assistance including diplomacy, humanitarian aid and assistance including the threat of use of force and lethal defensive weapons as the Government of Ukraine has requested.

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

Jan/31/22 9:16:26 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I will be splitting my time with the member for Lakeland. Canada's security is inextricably linked to that of Europe and it has been for centuries. Once, the conflicts between the French and British empires had a direct impact on us here on this continent, and conflicts between the Spanish empire and other empires have had a direct impact on the security on this continent. Today, our security is inextricably linked to that of Europe. In the last century, in the First and Second World Wars, Canada's security was inextricably linked to that of Europe. We all know the names of places where Canadian blood was shed in defence of this country and its values, names like Passchendaele, Vimy Ridge and the Battle of the Somme. We can think about the Second World War and the names that are indelibly etched into the minds of Canadians, names like Juno Beach, Normandy and Arnhem. In fact, it was Canadian soldiers who, in 1945, liberated the Netherlands. Some 7,000 Canadian soldiers died in the canals, the fields and the villages of the Netherlands liberating the Dutch from the tyranny of Nazism. In the 20th Century, some 100,000 Canadians died defending this country in two world wars: 60,000 Canadians died on the battlefields of France in the First World War and some 40,000 Canadians died around the world during the Second World War, most of them in Europe. Almost all of those Canadians are buried in graves that dot the Normandy coastline, the fields of Normandy, the Netherlands, Italy and many other places throughout Europe. After the First World War, because of the blood that had been shed, Canada began to gain her independence. The Balfour Declaration led to the Statute of Westminster and eventually to Canada's independence from the United Kingdom. After the Second World War, because of the high price we paid, we were a founding member, in 1949, of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Canada played and continues to play a key role in peace and security across Europe. In fact, Canada has contributed to every single NATO mission since the alliance’s inception in 1949. We are one of only two countries that are non-European members of the NATO alliance, and now NATO is being threatened. An estimated 130,000 Russian troops are built up on the Ukrainian border, and we have a government that has failed to take any real action to support Ukraine. We are facing a situation today of grave consequence. While the government, on January 21, announced a loan of $120 million to Ukraine, and while it recently announced the extension and expansion of Operation Unifier, it has failed to grant the key request of the Government of Ukraine, which is to provide lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine for its defence. The United States has provided some $650 million in defence equipment, $200 million of which is lethal aid for Ukraine. The United Kingdom has supplied lethal aid and lethal weapons in the form of anti-tank weapons. Others, such as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the Czech Republic, have also provided lethal weapons. Diplomacy that is not backed up by credible threats to use military force, and in limited and rare circumstances the use of that force, is naive talk and empty rhetoric. That empty talk and rhetoric will result in damage to Canada's security and the security of Europe and Ukraine. That is what a previous generation of Canadians understood in 1945 when they created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization out of the bloodshed that had happened in the previous 50 years. That is not something the Prime Minister understands. He has said this will only be solved through diplomacy, not through the threat of force to defend democracy. I urge the government to get off of its naive position, defend the rules-based international order and ensure that lethal defensive weaponry is provided to a democracy, to Ukraine, in order to uphold that order.

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

Jan/31/22 2:34:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, diplomacy not backed by credible threats of the use of military force is nothing more than empty talk and rhetoric. Canada should be joining our other democratic allies and working in a multilateral fashion with our NATO partners to grant Ukraine's request and provide lethal defensive weapons. When will the government quit being so naive about its foreign policy and ensure that it counters the threats coming from authoritarian regimes such as Russia?

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