Mr. Speaker, this conflict is a legacy of British colonialism. When the British occupied the island, when the island was then called Ceylon, they used the Tamil population, in effect, to protect British interests, in preference to the Tamil population over the Sinhalese population.
When independence came, the Sinhalese majority decided that it was time to take back what was then Ceylon, and now Sri Lanka, as its own and implemented a number of laws that were reprehensible to the minority Tamil population. The consequence of that was that the Tamil people were excluded from the civil service or it was very difficult to get into the civil service. They were unable to access higher education or they were excluded from higher education. These lists of difficulties, grievances, slights, injustices and outrages built and built until we have what we have today, which is a civil war that has raged over the last 30-plus years, the consequence of which is now that we are facing a very grave international crisis.
The conflict has been characterized by outrageous acts against humanity by both sides. Human Rights Watch has said that both sides have committed atrocities and that there are no innocents among the combatants. Meanwhile, the people of Sri Lanka suffer.
There was a window of opportunity a few years ago when I had the great honour to go to Sri Lanka with the hon. David Kilgour, the then secretary of state for Asia-Pacific. I believe we were the first official delegation from Canada to visit that country. We talked to pretty well anyone who would talk to us about the possibilities of a devolved form of federation and other political solutions. It was obvious to us after we returned that there was not a real serious interest by either side in a dialogue about a form of federation that would accommodate the most legitimate concerns about the minority population and the majority population.
We would listen to the peace monitors, we would listen to the people who were frustrated by the continuous violations of the ceasefire and we were driven to the conclusion that it would be only a matter of time before the hostilities would resume.
Then along came the tsunami which exacerbated the difficulties. One of my best friends was head of an aid agency there, well-funded, well-intentioned, well-motivated, well-staffed and they gave up after 18 months of frustration with both sides and the failure to be able to deliver their aid and their relief.
This is a small island of about 23 million people. It is about one-third minority population and two-thirds majority population in rough terms. There is no solution to this war. This conflict cannot be won militarily even if the Government of Sri Lanka is under the illusion that it can win this war militarily. As we watch this conflict unfold on our TV screens, in our newspapers and in various Sri Lankan media, it appalls us all. This is not a winnable war. No one will win the war. If the Government of Sri Lanka thinks it will win the war it will not. On the day after this conflict subsides, because it will not end, there will still be millions of Tamil people looking for peace, justice, fairness and access to their various government facilities.
What is the Government of Canada to do? There have been very good suggestions from the member for Toronto Centre and the member for Mount Royal, and I will not repeat them. I would have wished that the Government of Canada had taken a more activist role. It is regrettable that it takes events such as demonstrations on Parliament Hill and emergency debates to prod it into some action.
I have the great honour to represent one of the largest Tamil constituencies in the country and it has been a very personal exercise for me to listen to literally dozens and dozens of people talk about the tragedy that is in their families and in their homes.
I would urge the Government of Canada to act along the lines that the member for Mount Royal and the member for Toronto Centre have urged.