Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise to present a petition from numerous people who are very concerned about the possibility of war with Iraq and also about the sanctions against Iraq. The petitioners include people who, for more than two years, have demonstrated publicly every week against the sanctions in Iraq and have done so often in times when their position has been very unpopular.
They point out that the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs has reported that economic sanctions on Iraq are not accomplishing their objectives and that Canada's policy should be based on international law.
They say that Canada should not join a war against Iraq in any event and should leave regime change to the Iraqi people. They say that Canada should increase humanitarian aid to Iraq in the form of civil society partnerships and should stop supporting the sanctions. They also say that Canada should re-open its embassy in Baghdad.