Mr. Speaker, there are nearly 10,000 signatures on this petition, which reads as follows:
We, the undersigned residents of Canada, beg to draw the House's attention to the following:
Whereas the situation in Palestine and in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon presents a real danger to the lives of those in these camps or returning to them;
Whereas Canada is a signatory to the convention relating to the status of refugees and thus has international obligations to protect refugee claimants;
Whereas numerous refugee claimants of Palestinian origin have applied for refugee status in Canada;
Whereas a number of refugee claimants turned down by the Immigration and Refugee Board will be returned to refugee camps in Lebanon or Palestine, barring a decision to the contrary by the authorities; and
Whereas three refugee claimants of Palestinian origin, namely Nabi Ayoub, Therese Boulos Haddad and Khalil Ayoub, are at present taking refuge in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce church in Montreal in order to avoid deportation;
Therefore, your petitioners call upon Parliament to intervene with the appropriate authorities to ensure that the three refugee claimants in question are awarded permanent resident status on humanitarian grounds, and that the removal orders for the other refugee claimants of Palestinian origin are suspended and their cases re-examined by the appropriate authorities.
As I said, this petition bears close to 10,000 signatures.