- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley
- Manitoba
- Voting Attendance: 65%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $99,486.97
- Government Page
- Apr/15/24 5:52:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to speak to this important motion. The motion we are dealing with is a concurrence motion that calls for a number of things, but the one I mainly want to talk about today is the first part of the motion, which calls on Canada to designate the IRGC as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code and expel the estimated 700 Iranian agents operating in Canada.
I wish I could say that to do this was obvious and that it had been done already. Many people watching this debate tonight may not realize that Parliament actually voted to do this exact thing six years ago. Sometimes I wonder what we are doing in this place. We are elected. We are spending billions of dollars renovating Centre Block. These places are supposed to mean something. They represent the will of the common people. When we vote as a Parliament to do something, it should be done. If there is a good reason for it not to be done, I am all ears.
I keep asking myself this: What will it take for the Prime Minister to actually list the IRGC as a terrorist entity? The Liberals are now using Liberal speak. They are saying they have to responsibly list. I have never heard those two words put together in my life, responsibly list, unless one is making a grocery list or something. What do they mean by that? What will it take for the Prime Minister to act responsibly?
The IRGC has been a bad actor in the region and throughout the world for decades. It is not a secret. The IRGC does not hide it either. We know that there are 700 agents wreaking havoc on Persian and Jewish communities. Who knows what else they have gotten into?
What if, for instance, the IRGC shot down an aircraft and killed Canadian citizens? If that were to happen, would the government register the IRGC as a terrorist entity? The answer is no, because it happened. That was done. It pains me to have to say it again. PS752 was shot down, killing 55 Canadians and 20 permanent residents. The call came after Parliament already voted and the democratic will of the Canadian people had been expressed. The call came again from the House to please ban the IRGC and list it as a terrorist entity. Apparently, it fell on deaf ears.
Would it take the IRGC murdering “woman, life, freedom” activists, such as Mahsa Amini, to finally bring in a ban on the IRGC? I always thought, because I heard the Prime Minister say this back in 2015, that the government had a feminist foreign policy. Where is it? The IRGC murdered activists in cold blood. The calls came out again from this democratic institution to ban the IRGC and do the right thing. The government said we have to responsibly list, whatever that means.
What will it take for the Prime Minister to act responsibly? Would it take Iran and the IRGC orchestrating a terror attack in Israel in which 1,200 innocent Israeli civilians were killed and 250 others were kidnapped? Our friend, democratic ally Israel, gets attacked and its people slaughtered in their own homes. I know this because I walked among those homes.
When I was in Israel in November, I walked through the burned, shot-up and blackened homes of Kibbutz Kfar Aza and saw the devastation that Hamas, the Iranian IRGC proxy, wrought on the innocent civilians of Israel. Would it take something such as that for the Liberal government to finally decide to ban the IRGC? Apparently, it would not.
How about 700 IRGC agents across the country harassing Persian and Jewish communities? Mr. Speaker, imagine a circumstance in which Iran decided to send 170 armed drones from its territory directly to Israel. Such a scenario seems unimaginable. Would it make the government finally realize that it is time to ban the IRGC?
What if Iran sent 30 cruise missiles or 120 ballistic missiles? What if such an eventuality took place? What if it did something so heinous to our friend and ally Israel?
However, Iran did do it. It did it on Saturday night, on Shabbat in Israel, because it wants to kill Jews. It wants to do that directly and indirectly, through proxies such as Hezbollah, the Houthis and Hamas. That is Iran's goal, and Canada, as an ally of the only democratic state in the Middle East, has a moral obligation to stand up and do the right thing.
Again, what is this “responsibly list” business? Some will say there are some low-level IRGC conscripts who are living in Canada now; surely we should not do anything that would hurt them. What about the fact that our own citizens and our allies are being hurt? I have my doubts that this is the issue, because all they have really said in the last six years is that we need to look out for these poor conscripts who really had nothing to do with the conflict other than the fact they spent a year in the IRGC. However, if this is actually the reason, then let us find a solution to that problem, but not doing anything at this point is simply not an option.
I also want to briefly talk about the horrendous motion the Liberals and the NDP in the House gave a standing ovation to themselves for a couple of weeks ago. It did not punish the IRGC. We can imagine punishing the IRGC, which would make sense. It did not punish Hamas. The motion punished Israel. There was a motion passed by the House that actually punished Israel and rewarded Hamas.
It punished Israel by reinstating funding to UNRWA, which is a subject of a whole other debate, but UNRWA employees were complicit and acted directly in the slaughter of Israeli citizens on that day. We should not be funding organizations that fund terror. What else did the motion do? It banned arms sales. What foresight. What a brilliant move that the House of Commons would vote to ban arms sales to our friend and ally Israel.
We ban arms sales to Israel and now Iran shoots cruise missiles, drones and ballistic missiles at Israel. The Prime Minister says that we stand with Israel and that it has a right to defend itself, but we are not going to sell it any arms. What a hypocrite. Such a level of hypocrisy has never before been seen in the House, and it cannot stand.
I would like to ask for unanimous consent for the following motion: “That, notwithstanding any standing order, special order, or usual practices of the House, the motion to concur—
Some hon. members: No.
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- Mar/21/24 3:08:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Iran shot down flight PS752, killing 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents, yet today, 700 IRGC terrorists still operate on Canadian soil, terrorizing Persian and Jewish communities. Five years after Parliament voted to ban the IRGC, the Prime Minister seems more concerned with punishing our democratic ally Israel, and rewarding Hamas terrorists, than going after the IRGC in Canada.
When will the Prime Minister finally stick up for Canadians and ban the IRGC?
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- Mar/18/24 7:03:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was scrolling through my social media over the last couple of days, and I came across a photograph of Anne Frank and her sister frolicking on a beach in Germany. The year was 1940. Five years later, they were dead, killed by Hitler and the Nazis and his brutal genocidal machine.
Appeasing terrorists leads to a very dark place. I wonder why the member would not have insisted that this motion be balanced, that it require accountability on the part of Hamas, that Hamas surrender, lay down its arms, turn over all the hostages and surrender all the terrorists for prosecution in Israel for their war crimes.
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- Mar/18/24 5:38:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Hamas has been recognized by Canada as a terrorist organization since 2002. On October 7, it launched a brutal assault, killing some 1,200 Israelis, including children and the elderly, and taking over 200 more hostage. One of the hostages is a one-year-old baby, Kfir Bibas, who remains in captivity.
In response, this motion calls for Canada to tell Israel that it does not have a right to defend itself against this evil and to reward Hamas attacks by reversing Canada's long-held policy supporting a two-state solution negotiated and agreed on by both Israelis and Palestinians. Is it now going to be the policy of the member's government to reward Hamas terrorists for their heinous war crimes?
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- Nov/28/23 2:06:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, last week, I was in Israel to show solidarity with our friend and ally. I will never forget seeing burned and shot-up homes where ordinary people had their lives stolen by barbaric terrorists. One man told me that while he hid with his daughters, Hamas terrorists murdered his parents. A mother told me about her daughter being abducted and the anguish of not knowing her fate.
Here at home, another battle is raging. Canadians are shocked by public displays of anti-Semitism across the country. I am appalled at seeing people tear down posters of hostages. What kind of person tears down a poster of a kidnapped baby?
There is no place in Canada for targeting Jewish-owned businesses or for shooting up Jewish schools. There is no place for Jewish students to feel unsafe because of who they are. There is no place for anti-Semitism.
I call on all members of the House to show solidarity with our friend, the only democracy in the Middle East, the state of Israel. Only when Hamas is defeated can peace be within reach.
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- Oct/17/23 2:14:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on October 7, the world woke up to an unspeakable horror. Hamas terrorists had brutally invaded Israel, intentionally killing over a thousand Israeli civilians and taking hostage over 100 more.
More Jews were killed that day than on any single day since the Holocaust, for no other reason than they were Jewish. They were children, babies, men and women. They were young people just out listening to music at a dance party. This was an unprecedented, brutal, intentional attack.
We must not let anyone tell us that Hamas is the legitimate voice of the Palestinian people. It is not a government. Its members are not activists or freedom fighters. It is not a resistance movement. It is a genocidal, murderous terrorist death cult and it must be defeated.
The Conservatives unequivocally condemn the invasion of Israel by Hamas terrorists and affirm Israel's right to defend itself against these barbaric acts.
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- Oct/16/23 9:19:25 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, on October 7 we woke up to an unspeakable horror. Hamas terrorists brutally invaded Israel, invaded homes, intentionally killing 1,400 Israeli civilians and taking hostage over 100 more.
We must stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel as it defends itself from the criminal and barbarous acts of Hamas. Among the dead are seven Canadians. May their memories be a blessing. At least one Canadian is still missing and presumed held hostage. All hostages must be released.
More Jews were killed in Saturday's attack than on any single day since the Holocaust. They were children, babies, men and women intentionally slaughtered in their homes. They were young people, just out listening to music at a dance party. This was an unprecedented, brutal, intentional attack.
As we speak, Hamas is threatening to execute innocent hostages. This outrage cannot and must not stand. Do not let anyone say that Hamas is the legitimate voice of the Palestinian people. It is not a government. Its members are not activists or freedom fighters. They are not a resistance movement. They are a genocidal, murderous and evil death cult, and they must be defeated.
Hamas has demonstrated, in an especially depraved manner, why it is listed as a terrorist entity by Canada and its western allies. There is broad consensus that the war on Hamas is a just one. Hamas is a sworn enemy of Israel, intent on its annihilation, but it has also betrayed the Palestinian population it claims to represent. Its goal is to maximize the suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians. It serves as a fundamental impediment to peace and the goal of reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinian people.
Make no mistake: Hamas is a direct proxy of Iran, and that is why Canada must list the IRGC as a terrorist entity. I have to say that all celebrations on Canadian soil of the evil, sadistic Hamas terrorist attacks on Israeli citizens are abhorrent. Shame on all those who participated.
Conservatives unequivocally condemn the invasion of Israel by Hamas terrorists and the sadistic violence that Hamas has carried out against innocent civilians. Now is the time for moral clarity. There is no moral equivalency between democratic Israel and the butchers of Hamas. There is no response within the boundaries of international law that would be disproportionate to the crimes Hamas has committed.
Israel has the right to defend itself against these attacks and respond against the attackers, just as any other country would. Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, was famous for saying, “If you will it, it is no dream.”
In 1948, that dream became a reality, a homeland in Israel, the promised land. Working together, Israelis turned a desert into an oasis, an island of democracy surrounded by a sea of autocracy, a Jewish state where Jews could live in peace, free from fear and persecution.
Let there be no doubt: Israel is the ancient and indigenous homeland of the Jewish people.
Many politicians will stand with Israel when it is easy, but listen to what they say when it is hard. They will talk about both sides. I am here to say that there is only one side: the side of morality, the side of democracy, the side that Israel is on.
Too often we see politicians at the United Nations unfairly single out Israel for criticism. I will always stand against the unfair singling out of the Middle East's only democracy.
We call on the government to conduct an immediate review of all aid going to Gaza, to ensure it does not go to funding Hamas in its campaign of terror but rather to aid innocent civilians. Already there are calls for Israel to de-escalate. I cannot believe I am hearing this, even from the NDP. I ask, would any country de-escalate after having its people slaughtered in cold blood and still held hostage? No, they would not.
I wish the people of Israel and its brave soldiers Godspeed on their mission to defend the promised land from pure evil. As then prime minister Stephen Harper said, “Through fire and water, Canada will stand with you.”
Am Yisrael Chai.
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- Oct/7/22 12:03:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, Hadis Najafi, at age 22, is dead. Sarina Esmailzadeh, at age 16, is dead. Nika Shahkarami, at age 16, died after telling a friend she was being chased by the IRGC. Her family was forced to lie publicly about her death. This bloodthirsty regime is clearly beyond the pale. Canada simply must do more.
This is a very important question. At exactly what time today will the government finally do the right thing and list the IRGC as a terrorist entity?
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- Oct/3/22 3:05:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Mahsa Amini is dead for the high crime of showing her hair. Tomorrow marks 1,000 days since the IRGC shot down flight 752, killing 55 Canadians. The U.S. declared the IRGC to be a terrorist organization over three years ago. Sanctioning a few individuals today does not go nearly far enough.
It is time to send the tyrants in Tehran a clear message. When will the government wake up, see the IRGC for what it is and finally list this horrible terrorist entity?
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