Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I have the pleasure to table a petition signed by 854 residents of Quebec, and in particular the Greater Montreal area.
The petitioners call upon the Canadian government, which has a seat on the UN security council, to pressure the council to have peacekeepers sent to East Timor as soon as possible.
This petition was signed before the House had reconvened and, in the meantime, the United Nations has organized and sent to East Timor a peacekeeping mission in which Canada is taking part.
I still thought, however, that it was important for me to table this petition, since it reflects the concerns of many of our constituents about the situation that prevailed at that time and that still prevails, albeit to a lesser degree, in East Timor.
In the same spirit, I have the pleasure to present another petition about the situation in East Timor, this one is signed by 1,771 residents of Quebec, and in particular the Greater Montreal area.
Stressing the many abuses committed against the East Timorese people, the petitioners also indicate that these people have democratically voted in favour of self-determination and the results of these elections have been recognized by the Canadian government.
Besides asking the Canadian government to urge the United Nations to send peacekeepers to East Timor, the petitioners want major economic sanctions to be taken against Indonesia.
On top of these two petitions, signed by a total of 2,625 Canadians, I will have the pleasure to directly hand over to the Minister of Foreign Affairs 72 circular letters dealing with this very same issue.