Mr. Speaker, food is available there. When the committee was meeting, the food pack from Millhaven penitentiary where food for the detainees is prepared was delivered to the residential unit, but it sat there, as it has for 70 and 80 days. No one opened it. Nobody looked at it. No one ate anything out of it.
There is food in the cupboards. The detainees are allowed to purchase food. The cupboards in fact are well stocked with food. Publicly last week the Minister of Public Safety took great pains to describe the contents of the refrigerator in the common area. It contains items that have been purchased by the detainees.
The reality is the detainees have not eaten. They are not eating and they are not planning on eating. There could be all the food in the world, but if people are not eating it, it does not do them any good.
These men feel as though they have been forced to take this action. They feel absolutely powerless to have any of the issues that are of concern to them addressed. They feel they have absolutely been forced to take this step to seek resolution of some of the issues that they have raised. All the food in the world could be available, but if people are on a hunger strike it does not matter.
I would like to stress that for the minister to say that the refrigerator was loaded, it begs the question that without some kind of process to resolve this hunger strike, without some independent person representing the government and with the authority to go in and find a solution, to speak to the men and to make recommendations, this hunger strike is not going to end. The consequences of that will be terrible to consider. That weighs very heavily on my conscience and I know it weighs very heavily on the conscience of many Canadians.
I do not think any Canadian wants to see someone die in custody in Canada, especially someone who has never been charged, never been convicted and never been given the opportunity to respond to the evidence held against that person. That seems so outside the realm of anything that most Canadians would contemplate that I think we have to move urgently to find some resolution to this circumstance.
I must stress that the option that has been provided by the committee to appoint the official who does that kind of work in our federal prison system, who has that expertise and who has shown a personal interest in having his mandate extended to cover the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre is a very honourable direction to take. It is one that will give the government excellent advice and good options. It also gives the detainees access to someone with a proven track record and the ability to hear their concerns and make appropriate recommendations.
This is an absolutely crucial recommendation for all members of the House to support. We need to support this recommendation today and encourage the government to make those arrangements today. This is an emergency. We do not have the luxury of time. Time is not on our side any longer.