moved for leave to introduce Bill C-332, an act to amend the Special Economic Measures Act.
Mr. Speaker, the Special Economic Measures Act is not often mentioned, but we felt that it needed to be amended when we saw first minister Axworthy and now the current Minister of Foreign Affairs involved in a conflict in Sudan, where a Canadian company is associated with serious and repeated human rights violations. In fact, Human Rights Watch indicated this year that the company was associated with the continuation and intensification of war.
However, the Special Economic Measures Act could not be implemented by the Canadian government alone and, secondly, it could not be invoked for situations where the actions of companies resulted in serious and repeated human rights violations.
By amending the act, the bill will give authority to the governor in council to take action. We hope that the government will hear this strong voice.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)