Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to express outrage that the Conservative government seized two children from St. Jude Catholic School in my riding last Friday. Officials threatened to take away the two young sisters if their parents did not show up within 30 minutes.
It is disgraceful that these children were removed from their classes and held as bait by the government. They must have been scared to death.
What took place was not only contrary to CBSA protocols, but a truly unconscionable act. We talk about Canada being a compassionate and caring country, and then the government seizes innocent children from the safety of their classrooms. The government clearly should be ashamed of this. Not only is this traumatic, unjust and insensitive to this hard-working family, but it tarnishes Canada's reputation on the world stage.
I would like to remind the minister of his ability to assist many families who find themselves in similar situations. The minister clearly has the power under humanitarian and compassionate grounds if he chooses to assist.