Evidence of meeting #16 for Foreign Affairs and International Development in the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was children.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
All in favour of the subamendment to the amendment proposed by Mr. Morantz? Is there anybody opposed?
(Subamendment agreed to)
Liberal
Rob Oliphant Liberal Don Valley West, ON
Now we have an amended motion. I would like to strike the last few words of the motion about reporting this to the House. I think it can be a motion of this committee. The minister has already made [Technical difficulty—Editor] as strong as or stronger than this. I don't think it adds value to our work by taking it to the House. I think our committee is strong enough that we can do that, and I would now move that we strike “and report this to the House”.
February 4th, 2021 / 5:10 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
Thank you, Mr. Oliphant.
Mr. Oliphant has moved another subamendment striking the final words “and report this to the House”. Is there any discussion on this amendment?
Mr. Chong.
Conservative
Michael Chong Conservative Wellington—Halton Hills, ON
Mr. Chair, I don't support that. I think we should report this to the House.
Thank you.
Liberal
Peter Fonseca Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville, ON
Mr. Chair, just having heard this, I support this change. The reason is that what I'm seeing here is really a political football. It's being tossed around. I think we're addressing it here at committee.
Respectfully to the members, I would say let's stop these games; let's stop tossing this political football around. I think we all know where this is looking to go, I would say [Technical difficulty—Editor] most of the Conservatives.
Liberal
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
I want to agree with Mr. Oliphant's amendment because I do believe that the minister has made a strong statement, which is obviously a government statement. I think that we as a committee have now agreed that we're going to put forward a motion amongst ourselves, and I think, as Mr. Fonseca says, that all this is seeking to do is to stir up a partisan thing in the House. I think I've heard Mr. Bergeron say over and over that some of the things we deal with are far too important for us to play games with. I would agree with Mr. Oliphant's amendment to remove those items.
Conservative
Kerry Diotte Conservative Edmonton Griesbach, AB
Well, I think that if we're proud of our work as a committee, we want to involve the general public and as many Canadians as possible, so of course it should go to the House—
Liberal
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Order.
Ms. Fry, you should apologize for that.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Sven Spengemann
I think this was accidental, Mr. Genuis. She wasn't on mute. She now is.
Mr. Diotte, please continue.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
She insulted my colleague and suggested he didn't know what he was talking about. That's unbecoming for a parliamentarian.
Conservative
Kerry Diotte Conservative Edmonton Griesbach, AB
One person at a time, Ms. Fry, please.
You know, we work hard, and I think that committee work is very important. A lot of Canadians don't understand the good work that committees do, and if we're proud of this motion and we all agree to it, why not spread it as far and wide as we can? It's a no-brainer, so I say that we report it to the House.
Liberal
Ya'ara Saks Liberal York Centre, ON
I'm going to concur with my colleague Mr. Oliphant, as well as Mr. Fonseca and Dr. Fry. To be frank, the minister stated clearly on January 22 that she is deeply engaged in understanding what is going on and getting to the bottom of the issue and is actively involved with counterparts in UNRWA and our other funding partners to address the situation.
That is a public statement. It is being dealt with by the ministry, the minister and her team, and while we can debate this as much as you want, the public already knows that the government is engaged in this. It's very nice that the committee is taking the time to be involved in a very fulsome discussion about it, but as Monsieur Bergeron said, why do we need to beat a dead horse here? It is already being addressed. We're in alignment on the importance of this. It must be looked into, and this committee stands on the strength of its convictions. It's already out in the public. It doesn't need more. It's already there. There's nothing to hide.
Conservative
Michael Chong Conservative Wellington—Halton Hills, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I introduced the motion, so I just wanted to address some comments that were made. I don't play games. I introduced this motion because I feel strongly about it. I respect members who disagree with the substance of the motion. Ms. McPherson has voiced her concerns about it. I respect that position, but I'm not playing games here. It's an important issue.
This is not the first time this has happened. Other countries have suspended their funding to UNRWA because of recent reports of wrongdoing that has taken place. I think of the Netherlands. I think of Switzerland. This is not a trivial issue. I believe that it's important for us to make a statement on it, and not just within the confines of this committee, which is why I think the chair ought to report this motion back to the House.
The government, the executive branch, has clearly stated its position on it. It issued a statement on this. I think as a co-equal branch of our system, we have a responsibility to voice our opinion on it. One way we do that is not just by adopting the motion at committee and having it stop there but by having the chair report it back to the House so that all of our colleagues, officially, on the record in Hansard, will know what the position of this committee is.
I think that it should be reported to the House, but I respect those colleagues who don't want to do that. Let's not cast aspersions as to why any member is voting one way or the other on this. Thank you.