Mr. Speaker, I have a petition, initiated by the Calgary Jewish Community Council, that I would like to table in the House. There are over 300 signatures on it.
It concerns Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his government. They have campaigned to delegitimize the State of Israel by among other means Holocaust denial and to incite citizens of Iran and other countries to hate Israeli Jewish citizens. The Iranian government has also given substantial material support, funding and training to organizations recognized by Canada as terrorist organizations for the purpose of terrorizing and killing Israelis.
The Government of Iran and its President Ahmadinejad have publicly and repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel as demonstrated, among other activities, by the parading in the streets of Tehran a Shahab-3 missile draped in the emblem “wipe Israel off the map”.
The president is also engaging Iran in the development of nuclear weapons in defiance of the Atomic Energy Commission and the United Nations.
The petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to take all possible measures to prevent the leadership of Iran from developing nuclear weapons or inciting or carrying out genocide. They also call upon the Government of Canada to support and join with international efforts to prosecute Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for incitement to commit genocide in violation of the UN Genocide Convention.