Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with the member for Parkdale—High Park.
There are 450,000 people who have been killed, 3.4 million people who have been affected by the conflict, 2 million are internally displaced, and 250,000 have fled to Chad. In the past two months alone, 50,000 have been displaced and more than 200 women and girls raped. These are stark statistics that describe the terrible human suffering in Darfur.
The situation in Sudan and Darfur weighs heavily on many people in Canada. This matter was first drawn to my attention as a newly elected MP in 2004 by the Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific region. Its work with members of the Darfurian community in the greater Vancouver area has been very important and stems from its commitment that genocide must never again be part of humanity's common history.
Shortly afterward, I became acquainted with the work of Canadian Students for Darfur organized by students at Simon Fraser University in my riding, and at other secondary schools, colleges and universities. Clement Apaak, the past president of Simon Fraser Student Society, has been a key figure in Canadian Students for Darfur.
It has been an honour to participate in a number of activities of this group, including a march this summer in Vancouver. I want to pay tribute to Apaak and his colleagues for their dedication to the cause of the people of Darfur, and their tireless and regular efforts to bring the situation there to the attention of Canadians.
Canadian Students for Darfur and Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, STAND, have urged their supporters to write to MPs. I would like to quote from their letter. It states:
As our government assumed power, the Prime Minister said: “Canada can no longer lead from the bleachers”. As Darfur's death toll mounts, women are raped and the Sudanese government bombs its own civilians, it is time to rise from the bleachers.As a respected middle power and architect of Responsibility to Protect, Canada must lead the international community to stop the carnage in Darfur.Last Thursday in Bucharest our Prime Minister spoke directly to the situation in Darfur: “We must act to save a desperate population, it's the responsibility to protect”. This coming debate will measure our will to live up to that sentence. We urge you to support Canadian leadership for the UN mission outlined in Resolution 1706. Canadian participation in this mission cannot be undervalued. We cannot fail the 21st century's first test of our moral fibre. Act now.
I agree that we must act.
Recently, like many MPs, I also received a letter from John Siebert, Executive Director of Project Ploughshares. We know that Project Ploughshares is an ecumenical peace centre of the Canadian Council of Churches based at the University of Waterloo. Mr. Siebert also quotes from the Prime Minister's speech in Bucharest. The Prime Minister stated that “--the world body has to take over the responsibility to bring peace to the area, over the objections of the Sudanese government”.
However, Mr. Siebert also questions how Canada's role will be strengthened. He points out that the Prime Minister suggested Canada's role would include reform of the justice system, rebuilding a security system, reducing the traffic in arms, and reinforcing the institutions of government and community life.
Mr. Siebert points out that these are all, in his words, “praiseworthy” goals, but also notes that they are all “post conflict responses” and none support an effective UN intervention to stop the atrocities in Darfur. Mr. Siebert concludes that Canada must commit to Security Council resolution 1706 and support the Darfur peace agreement to prevent attacks and threats against civilians.
Canada has the military capacity to participate in stopping the attacks and threats against civilians. An access to information request has proven that and even the government acknowledges it. We have a $13 billion surplus, so we most certainly have the fiscal capacity to contribute even more than we already have.
Our support to African Union troops, who have not been paid and who may even be suffering from hunger themselves, must be increased in order to see the increased deployment of 1,300 additional African Union troops in the Darfur region. We must commit more humanitarian aid, especially when we hear that 355,000 people in North Darfur have gone without food aid for two months.
The government of Sudan must know that Canada is willing to participate in a UN force in Darfur and we must also continue to take advantage of every diplomatic opportunity to resolve this crisis.