Mr. Speaker, the members of the Bloc Quebecois and Quebec's artistic community are outraged at the heartless attitude of the Minister of Immigration, who has denied an entry visa to Ms. Koudil, an Algerian filmmaker living in France.
This woman, whose courage is an example to all those who dare denounce publicly the treatment of women by Muslim fundamentalists, particularly in Algeria, has been unjustifiably denied entry into Quebec and Canada. Because of her honesty and courage, Ms. Koudil must be given this visa so that she can show her film here.
The stubbornness of Canadian authorities in this matter shows how subjective and arbitrary this kind of decision often is.
In the name of women and artists, we are calling on the minister to intervene on behalf of Ms. Koudil, whose film highlights the dangers of fundamentalist oppression.