Mr. Chair, I too had the pleasure and honour to be at that rally on Sunday with the leader of the New Democratic Party and other colleagues of the House. One thing became apparent, as the former speaker just said when he quoted from Dr. Epstein, that it is not a question of left or right. I am also not here to blame a government or past parties. The reality is that we have to appeal to all our sensibilities and to our humanity to do something that is right for the people of Darfur. It was too late in Rwanda, but it is not too late for Darfur.
I was happy to see a massive contingency of youth at the rally that was called “Scream for Darfur”. This rally was organized mostly by high school students with a keen sense of social justice and an understanding that continued silence is the equivalent of acceptance.
I want to take this opportunity to state my gratitude for having seen the power that our youth have to rally for important causes. The youth of Canada are literally screaming for us to stop this massacre. The member mentioned the African Union monitoring force in Darfur. Unfortunately, it is not empowered with the ability to intervene or to protect the innocent people of Darfur.
Would the member support empowering the African Union force to intervene or would he prefer to see a more international force involved in the conflict?