Senator Omidvar: My question is about Afghanistan. I think we all appreciate the people of Afghanistan are suffering under brutal persecution by the Taliban. Added to that, there are food and medicine shortages, an earthquake that left 1,000 people dead, as well as other humanitarian issues. Canadian charities and NGOs on the ground in Afghanistan are ready and willing to help, but their hands are tied behind their backs and they are unable to do any work in Afghanistan because of a strict interpretation of Canada’s anti-terrorism law. That law effectively bans them from working on anything in Afghanistan because it is governed by the Taliban, which is listed by Canada as a terrorist entity. Therefore, anything they do runs the risk of being charged under the anti-terrorism law.

Other countries such as the U.S. and the U.K. have exempted charities and NGOs from similar laws so as to at least provide assurance that their work will not result in prosecution. Will the Canadian government do the same?

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Honourable senators, I rise to remember a sombre day in our history, June 23. On this day in 1985, a bomb downed Air India Flight 182 over the coast of Ireland. All 329 passengers on board were murdered, including 82 children, 6 babies and 29 entire families. This was and remains the single largest terrorist attack on Canadians. In a sense, it was our own 9/11.

In the 37 years since, much has changed in Canada. We have progressed as a nation that is more inclusive. We have learned some lessons from the past, and we have taken action. Our policies, protocols and legislation have evolved, but most importantly, I believe, it is our hearts and minds that have changed. We now mark June 23 every year as the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism. But lest we forget, I take this opportunity to once again bring Air India into our national memory.

I am heartened by the progress we’ve made, embracing immigrants as our people and not just as people with half-ties to Canada. When Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 from Tehran crashed in 2020, it took the lives of 138 individuals destined for Canada. This time around, we did not repeat the mistakes of the past. We didn’t brush off the victims as lesser Canadians and, therefore, less valuable to us. We demonstrated, this time around, that “hyphenated Canadians” are not lesser Canadians.

None of this, of course, provides much comfort to the families who were robbed of a future, whose lives were changed forever, who will not live to see their children grow up, whose parents will not show up for their graduations, birthdays, weddings or the birth of a child or grandchild. They won’t celebrate Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or Family Day. For them, I wish and hope that the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism counts.

Let’s continue to fight as a nation against terrorism, hate and intolerance. Thank you.