Mr. Speaker, I have three petitions to present. The first is from the citizens of the city and county of Peterborough who oppose war against Iraq. The petitioners point out that a pre-emptive strike to overthrow the government of Iraq would be a flagrant violation of international law. They also point out that it would result in the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians.
The petitioners suggest that by rejecting violence and lifting the sanctions against the Iraqi people, we would win the good will of Iraqi citizens and open the door for them to promote political change themselves.
Therefore they call upon Parliament to refuse to cooperate in any way in a war against Iraq and to use Canada's diplomatic efforts to convince the United States, Britain and the United Nations to choose the tools of diplomacy, not the weapons of war, for establishing peace in the Middle East.