Debates of Feb. 4th, 2009

Situation in Sri Lanka

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Oak Ridges—Markham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, tonight's debate is about a very serious conflict happening in Sri Lanka. The galleries are filled with people who have family and who are suffering or are concerned. Tonight is about those people. It is about the hard-working, law-abiding Canadian Tamils who have come to this country over the last 25 years, have built a better life and who have concern with what is happening in their homeland.

I am here on behalf of the people of Oak Ridges—Markham to tell that story, to tell the story of all those people who have come to this country, created a better life and who are pillars of the community.

Since 1983, 250,000 Tamils have come to Canada and have become an incredibly important part of our community. Our community of Oak Ridges—Markham is richer for it. I welcome even more Tamil Canadians. They are an incredible part of our community. They are strong, hard-working people. I want to say to them that the Government of Canada is committed to doing everything in its power to ensure their families, friends and relatives are safe. We will not play politics with this. We will work hard to get the job done, and that is my commitment.

[Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise this evening to take part in the emergency debate on the situation in Sri Lanka. The current situation there is intolerable. The Bloc Québécois believes that lasting solutions only come about through peaceful means. We feel that the only path to a lasting solution is through peace negotiations.

The Canadian government must increase its close watch on Sri Lanka. At this time, the situation in this country is out of control. Fighting has intensified and is threatening the lives of many civilians. Neither side wants to end the conflict. The United Nations is demanding an immediate ceasefire in order to evacuate civilians who are in danger. The ceasefire must happen immediately, and Canada has responsibilities. This ceasefire would allow the civilian population to be safer within Sri Lanka's borders.

A number of international organizations would be available to help these people, but currently, the situation and the danger in Sri Lanka do not allow these organizations to enter the zones that are so dangerous for so many. We know that these zones have been affected and that there have been thousands of deaths. More than 60,000 people have died and 11,000 have disappeared, all victims of the war that is raging in Sri Lanka right now. It is a human tragedy.

We also know that there are organizations that recruit child soldiers. Political assassinations also occur in Sri Lanka, as do numerous kidnappings. The Conservative government announced in 2006 that it was including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on Canada's list of terrorist organizations, and a large portion of their funds and assets were frozen and seized.

As I was saying a little earlier, since hostilities have resumed, it is estimated that thousands of Tamils have been killed, a large majority of whom were civilians. The UN and the Red Cross estimate that over 250,000 civilians are stuck between the two parties in Tamil territory. Tens of thousands of civilians have been left homeless and have been displaced within Sri Lanka's borders. The vast majority of these civilians are stuck between the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil rebels. They are trying to reach much safer zones, but it is very difficult for them to do so.

According to International Committee of the Red Cross estimates, only half of the population have managed to find refuge in the so-called safe zones. Those secure zones are not nearly big enough to accommodate everyone who needs them. At present, between 10,000 and 15,000 families have moved to an area with no potable water. This is a horrible situation that must be condemned.

The UN Secretary General has expressed his concerns regarding the humanitarian crisis that persists in Sri Lanka. Many civilians are trapped in the combat zones. First and foremost, Canada must add its voice to that of the UN and it must give priority to the humanitarian aid that needs to reach the Sri Lankan civilian population.

The Secretary General is calling on both parties to respect the safe zones, in order to allow aid to reach affected civilians.

According to spokespersons for the coordinators of humanitarian and emergency aid, there are still 250,000 displaced civilians and many of them have been moved 10 to 15 times during the past year. This is absurd; it undermines the security of civilians and it is a situation that must not continue.

Because of these numerous moves, the health conditions of these people are deteriorating as we speak. There are currently no epidemics, but the risk is great. We must combat the epidemics that could arise in the situation we are discussing today.

It is also unusual for humanitarian convoys to take more than one week to reach civilians. This situation is absurd and undermines the security of the people of Sri Lanka.

I will conclude my speech with these words. I join with the member for Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, who earlier explained the situation in Sri Lanka. I will not repeat what he spoke of earlier but I too will say that the situation is very dangerous.

From a humanitarian perspective, Canada absolutely must join with the UN in exerting pressure. We know that the only way for Sri Lankans to be safe is for peace to return. And a ceasefire is the best way for Sri Lankans to live in safe zones and to experience societal peace.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for her comments.

When I was in Sri Lanka some years ago, I travelled to the south in Galle and then later to the north in Jaffna and I did notice a dramatic distinction in the distribution of aid. It was clear to me that Tamil regions were receiving less aid than were Sinhalese. It appeared to me that the government was doing its best to favour one group over another in the post-tsunami period.

It was unfortunate that the previous government in this country did not do more to scrutinize the dollars that went to Sri Lanka during and after the tsunami period. I did implore the government at the time to do so, but there was not the political will in that Liberal government to act. The point I make in all of this is that it is incumbent upon us to ensure that the $3 million actually reach the people in need, the Tamils who are suffering in those regions.

I wonder if my hon. colleague would have suggestions on how we could better scrutinize the use of those dollars to ensure they reach their recipients and relieve the pain and suffering of these victimized people rather than those dollars being wasted, not being spent at all, or being diverted to unworthy causes.

[Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

I would like to thank my colleague opposite for his question. The member began by saying that he visited Sri Lanka a number of years ago. The situation has deteriorated dramatically over the past few months, indeed, over the past year. Compared to previous years, things are very different now in Sri Lanka.

To answer the member's question directly, humanitarian aid must be delivered by international organizations with solid reputations. These organizations act in good faith, and they are responsible for on-the-ground supply delivery, even to areas where civilians are safe.

This is not just about getting aid in. The country needs a ceasefire so that these organizations can get to places safely and distribute the international aid that needs to be distributed.

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to address something that was said not by my colleague from the Bloc but by my colleague from Ottawa—Vanier.

He said that he visited Sri Lanka and he noticed that the Tamil area was getting more aid than the Sinhalese area. Either I was not there at the same time he was there, or he was there, probably having smoked some bad dope or probably drunk, but on January 9, 2005, after the tsunami, when I arrived at Point Pedro, the most northern part of Sri Lanka, I saw--and my colleague can visit my website--the army gathering up whatever they could of the remnants of the houses that had been broken up and they were making shacks so they could stay overnight. I have seen a part of the country that the Sinhalese government certainly did not care about.

I am not sure if we visited the same country or if my colleague was there in virtual reality having probably smoked some bad dope.

I would tell him to check his figures again.

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Carleton—Mississippi Mills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, my colleague from Scarborough—Agincourt has referred to one of our members as smoking dope. I want an apology from him right now.

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, if that is unparliamentary, I certainly apologize, but that is for you to rule.

However, the member for Nepean—Carleton, having made those comments that the south was getting less aid than the north, must have been on the verge of really being drunk.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member has mistaken me for the member for Ottawa—Vanier, who is a colleague who sits near him, and I do not know if he was disoriented when he did that.

He also mistakenly claims that he heard me say that the Sinhalese population had not received its fair share. In fact, what I said in my comments was exactly the opposite. I said that the Tamil community was clearly not receiving a fair distribution of aid.

I hope that will help clarify this for the hon. member and allow him to compose himself so that we can get on with the debate.

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

The member for Scarborough—Agincourt was initially recognized to ask a question of the member who had been speaking previously, so I would like to give the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot the opportunity to comment if she wishes to.

[Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I did notice that discussion between two of my colleagues here in the House.

To get back to the question, I would say that I do not want to discuss what things were like in Sri Lanka three or four years ago. Today, we are debating the current situation, and we will not help the Sri Lankan people, their families or their friends who are listening tonight if we debate things that happened more than four years ago.

Tonight, we are here to debate what kind of immediate assistance we should provide, and I would like the debate to stay focused on that. The important thing is figuring out what the government can do now to help the people get out of the terrible and dangerous situation they are in.

I agree that what was done four years ago was awful. But for now, the government must not hide or abdicate its responsibilities because of something that happened over three years ago.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad that the Bloc member was able to bring us back to the debate.

My colleague's experience is a unique one and knows what it is like coming from and having a connection with a country that was unstable and at war. I appreciate her perspective.

The $3 million is fine and we are glad that the government has talked about a ceasefire, but it is how we get there. We have been talking tonight about ways to push for a ceasefire through the Commonwealth and also through the United Nations. I would like to hear her comments.

We heard today about an instance where cluster bombs were being used, something that we abhor. Canada has signed a treaty against their use. It is time the world community did something.

I am wondering what she thinks about our using the United Nations, through the General Assembly, as a forum to push the Security Council to take action for a ceasefire.

[Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question.

What is equally important is that when the government across the way makes a commitment, it must keep that commitment. We know that on a number of occasions since the Conservatives have come to power, Canada has made commitments that were not satisfactory internationally.

In this situation, it is not about demanding things or saying that we will send $3 million in aid. We must take a firm stance. In addition to demanding a ceasefire, Canada must also be pro-active, not only in terms of monetary aid, but also in the demands that will be made to come to a real ceasefire or improvement for the Sri Lankan people. This measure will be taken seriously by the entire global community if, as I said earlier, we see that when the Conservative government makes commitments, it respects them and stands firm. And so, Canada will have more international credibility. When a commitment is made, we will know that it will be kept. We do not currently have that guarantee with the Conservative government.

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the very important debate that we are engaged in this evening is more than just a remote situation for many of us around this House because we have friends, people that we know well, individuals that we have come to appreciate over the course of the last number of years in the Tamil community and the Sinhalese community as well.

One of my good friends, an individual in the community of Ottawa, has a Tamil father and a Sinhalese mother. He is an individual I have come to appreciate. He has related to me some of the turmoil and some of the difficulties in that situation in Sri Lanka, and so one's heart goes out to that. I think in some sense that matrimonial situation, a Tamil father and a Sinhalese mother, is almost a microcosm of what we would hope to have for that country in terms of bringing together people and groups of people with different backgrounds.

Canada has clearly stated its view. The minister is on the record tonight stating his view on the way forward with respect to peace in Sri Lanka. We believe that conflict will not be ended on the battlefield but through political accommodation.

This government has repeatedly called on the government of Sri Lanka to show leadership, to create those necessary conditions for peace, and to move forward with the tabling of further details for meaningful power-sharing agreements that will be acceptable to all communities, to all concerned.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs stated, on January 28, “Recent developments underline the urgent need for progress toward a meaningful and durable political solution”.

Given Canada's longstanding experience in dealing with pluralism and federal governance, we believe that Canada is well positioned to assist the people of Sri Lanka to arrive at a political solution when the fighting stops. Canada has that experience across a vast stretch of country and our federal system, with provinces, with a certain degree of autonomy. Pluralism is one of Canada's foundational values. It is based on the recognition that our diversity is actually a source of strength and that every individual and community has an equal voice, and can and should use that voice to participate as a full member of society.

Our Prime Minister has noted that throughout our history the accommodation of minorities, be they regional, ethnic, linguistic and religious, has been in fact very critical to Canada's overall health as a country.

Our government considers diversity to be actually one of Canada's greatest strengths. It is our gift to the world, in some sense. We can share that example, that model that we have here can be followed elsewhere in the world. Playing an active role in a political settlement would indeed build on past Canadian initiatives in Sri Lanka.

Indeed, the hon. member for Toronto Centre, in his past work as the chairman of the forum of federations, when he was out of politics for a while, was a key part of Canada's contribution to facilitating power-sharing discussions between the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE in 2002 and 2003.

More recently, in March 2008, some here might be aware, Canada organized a regional conference in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, on pluralism in south Asia with a specific focus on minority integration and participation in government and civil society, and that event included participation from the government of Sri Lanka.

So, it is very clear, I think people from all sides of the House would agree, that the only path to a durable and a peaceful solution in Sri Lanka is a political settlement that respects the equality of all Sri Lankans and is acceptable to all communities.

So Canada stands ready to assist, ready to help in any way it can, the parties to arrive at that kind of a solution and to turn the page on this very tragic chapter in Sri Lankan history.

[Maria Minna, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government has finally come to the conclusion that political accommodation or political dialogue is what is needed. This is not something that we have heard before, not for a long time anyway, and I am glad to hear that.

Given the fact that we are at that stage now, I would like to know from the hon. member what the government is doing to get its message through to the government of Sri Lanka, and to the LTTE for that matter, to get that resolved, to have a ceasefire, and then to have a discussion about a different solution.

Has someone consulted with our high commissioner in Sri Lanka? What is she advising Canadians and what is she advising the government in terms of the plan that she might be suggesting, given her knowledge of the area and first-hand knowledge of the situation?

Does the Minister of Foreign Affairs, for instance, intend to visit or travel to Sri Lanka anytime soon? That would be helpful and I would think, given the situation there, that should have happened already. I would hope that would be happening sometime soon. Finally, will the government be consulting Canadians of Sri Lankan origin to involve Canada's diaspora in the discussion in terms of what their role might be in this, and also to seek advice and consult them on their ideas?

I wonder if any or all of these are in the works and if the government intends to act on any of them.

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I am probably starting at the last and working my way up in response to the good questions that the hon. member has put forward, but I do know that the minister and the parliamentary secretary have listened to and heard differing submissions over the course of the last several years, but in particular over the last number of weeks. We have had contacts probably from members across the way, possibly the member herself as well, and I am sure that those conversations will continue on. That input will be more than welcome as it comes to the diaspora in our own country here, as that is fed through members of Parliament back to the foreign affairs minister and the department.

I do know and the minister is on the record this evening already as having stated that at the very highest of levels, through our high commissioner there, especially in these last number of days, our government, as I understand it, is more than ready to continue that process of engagement and doing what we can to offer our assistance and the unique perspective we bring. I believe that those high level discussions at all levels, through the international forums as well, will take place in the days ahead, hopefully to get the kind of result that members on all sides of the House and all parties desire for that very tragic situation in Sri Lanka.

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, with everything the government is putting forward, everything it is saying it is going to do and the aid it is going to send, if the government of Sri Lanka does not cooperate and move in a positive fashion, would my colleague ask his colleague, the parliamentary secretary who is sitting beside him, or even the minister and the caucus, to consider setting a precedent by recalling our high commissioner so that other countries can follow suit?

That would be a clear message to Sri Lanka, as it was to South Africa under a Conservative government back in 1992. The world is certainly not going to take this anymore. When we started doing this, the government of South Africa, at that time, moved. I am just wondering if the government would find it in its heart that we should also move in the same fashion, or are these just words of platitude that we are using?

[Maurice Vellacott, Conservative, Saskatoon—Wanuskewin, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has been very clear on the record this evening, as have other speeches been that were given, indicating very clearly, and from my personal conversations I would know that they are carrying on those discussions, that our foreign affairs minister and our parliamentary secretary want to keep all those channels open with both parties in order to be most helpful and constructive in this particular serious stage of things. It is rather crucial that they be talking to all the players over there and be engaging with them, particularly in this terrible conflict that has gone on far too long.

[John Cannis, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the members for Etobicoke North, Don Valley West and Etobicoke Centre.

I have the opportunity to participate in this emergency debate on the unfortunate circumstances in Sri Lanka.

Earlier today I welcomed here in Ottawa a group of students from Precious Blood school in my riding. They arrived while the people were out there demonstrating, and I use that word in a positive way, to express their concern and their message.

The students asked me what was going on outside. I explained to them that a group from across Canada was here to demonstrate with respect to what is happening in their former homeland of Sri Lanka, and I explained a bit of the circumstances.

They were surprisingly attentive. They wanted to know and hear. In the mosaic, the representation of students before me, I think there had to be some students from that community as well. I think they were pleased that I was leaving the reception to go and add my voice to the voices of the many colleagues who were out there earlier today.

Throughout this debate, we have heard a historical perspective of what has happened in decades past, the thousands of innocent lives that have been lost, from parliamentarians to young boys and girls, young men and women, seniors and so on. We have heard about a society that is not able to progress.

The humanitarian tragedy that is unfolding today is unfortunate. I think we could go so far as to use the word that is not permitted to be used: genocide, or ethnic cleansing.

We are all aware that organizations and groups such as the European community, the U.K., Norway, Switzerland, the United States and Canada have expressed their concern for what is happening. It is odd that although all these prominent, powerful nations have made these statements, they are going nowhere.

It prompted me to go back to a quote of what was said. Earlier they talked about UN declarations. I am going to quote, for the record, what Javier Solana said here in this honourable House, when we had a joint session with the House of Commons and the Senate. He was then the NATO Secretary-General. He said, “The solution to the problem is not in signing papers; it is in compliance”.

The frustration is that bodies such as the UN, whose credibility I believe is on the line today, can sit around those wonderful chambers and bring forth resolutions. Then, regarding these conflicts, wherever they are unfolding--today it is Sri Lanka--people say that there was a resolution, but why is it not being complied with and not being carried out? As a result, the conflict escalates.

We need a way to enforce these resolutions and have these nations comply with the resolutions through measures mentioned earlier by several colleagues, as was done by the Mulroney government and as was mentioned earlier by the member for Scarborough—Agincourt.

I have had the Canadian Tamil Congress visit me in my office. We talked about how we could approach this issue. We talked about petitions. Petitions have been presented and are waiting for accreditation so that we can present them to express their views.

However, an interesting thing came up earlier, and I ask the member for Oak Ridges—Markham to take this to the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism or even their whole caucus. At a time of great difficulty like this, when loved ones are being killed, when they are being thrown out of their homes, villages and towns and have nowhere to go, maybe there could be an application for them to come and move over with their loved ones.

I remember that during the Yugoslavian conflict, we here in Canada opened our doors and allowed many thousands of people to come over temporarily to get out of that conflict. They stayed with their relatives. Some of them stayed in Canada and some of them went back.

We talk about resolutions, but what a unique opportunity it would be if the government side today could ask our immigration officers over there to look at all the applications so that we could reunite them, or unite them, with their families here in Canada. It is one suggestion for a unique opportunity to alleviate some of the pain.

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Scarborough—Agincourt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke about reunification of families and moving families faster.

I want to ask my colleague a question. After the tsunami, a protocol was set by the Liberal government so that that family-class applications, those who had passed medical and police clearance, were to be fast-tracked and brought to Canada. I remember being in Colombo at the time when the Prime Minister visited, and there were 13 extra officers there to expedite the cases of the families. Right now it is quite the opposite: if a person is a Tamil, it takes three years.

I wonder if my colleague would agree me and if he would say a little more about how we could put more personnel there in order to move these files and get the people out of the war zone to be with their loved ones in Canada.

[John Cannis, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and neighbour, the member for Scarborough—Agincourt.

I think it is very important and, as I said, it did not come to me just in listening to the debate. We are dealing with a multi-faceted problem. Yes, it is ceasefire. Yes, it is human rights. Yes, it is getting medical supplies to people, as well as food and clean water. It is everything.

Along with that, for a moment we have a unique opportunity for the government and the country. I do not know how much staff would be required, but let us assume it is 10. Let us send 10 people over right now from our department, people who can look at these files, advance them as quickly as possible and get these family members here if there is already an application. I am referring to applications that are already in the pipeline. That would be a very positive signal to the communities here in our country.

I have had the opportunity and the honour, over the past 15 years that I have been elected, to meet a good number of members in the community. I have seen the young ones grow from 10-year-old cubs to university students today. One example is my friend Logan Kanapathi, who is a city councillor today in Markham. He came here as a refugee. Today he is a very successful businessman and a city councillor. His wife is a doctor, offering services to all Canadians.

This community has added to the wonderful mosaic that we call Canada. Maybe we could do that by bringing their loved ones over here as quickly as we can.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, over 50 years ago, an outstanding and remarkable Canadian, Lester Pearson, was honoured with the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize for his perseverance, success, vision and wisdom in creating a peacekeeping mission and the blueprint for the United Nation's now well recognized role in peacekeeping and peace building. Pearson was a tough advocate and firmly believed that Canada had a responsibility to actively participate in any international activity to end ongoing conflict.

Throughout his career, Pearson demonstrated two characteristics: undeviating stability and dynamic responsiveness. Because of these two characteristics, Pearson was an effective supporter for peaceful resolutions to several major international crises, from the Korean War to the Cyprus crisis, and Canada emerged with distinction.

Civil war has raged in Sri Lanka for 37 years and throughout the period both sides have been accused of serious human rights violation. I absolutely and strongly believe that terrorism is unacceptable no matter who commits it, no matter what the reason.

However, now is the time for dynamic responsiveness. A major humanitarian crisis is unfolding in northern Sri Lanka, with 250,000 unprotected civilians trapped in the crossfire between government troops and rebel forces.

The United Nations reports that several hundred civilians have been killed since the beginning of the year and last week more than 300 patients and staff were forced to flee a hospital in the Tamil area after it came under shelling. For over a week, my constituency office and my riding office have been inundated by members of the Canadian Tamil community. I have held grown men in my arms while they sobbed, listened to young women recount tales of rape and prayed with families.

My community writes:

“My aunt's uncle is trapped inside the war zone; we haven't heard from them for months...we are devastated; please stop this genocide....I cry every night at the thought of the number of children that die, and get raped...why won't the international community listen to our children...I cannot go home because I am unable to handle how my mother cries every night because she hasn't heard from her family in weeks....I have no words to make her feel better...I have three uncles and their families in Sri Lanka and we have lost all communication with them”.

When people's lives are threatened, we have a moral obligation to alleviate their suffering. I cannot imagine the terror of not knowing where one of my family members might be, let alone 100 members as one of my community members reported, or the tragic confirmation of their deaths. I know how Canada and our whole country grieves when one person goes missing and how the international community mourns when a child goes missing. Where is the mourning when a hospital is bombed and children killed?

Parliamentarians must take, as Pearson did through history, a leadership role in the intensifying crisis. We must push for a humanitarian ceasefire and for independent monitors to ensure it is respected. We must send more humanitarian aid and ensure that it reaches whose who need it most. We must ensure the protection of life.

[Rob Oliphant, Liberal, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege and an honour to be here tonight. I come with a heavy heart. I am very aware of the gallery being filled tonight. I am aware that people have come here with hopes and dreams, with pain and with challenges, and I am very pleased to see them.

I am also very keenly aware there are members from my riding of Don Valley West. I thank them for their fierce patience and their persistence and the honour that they have brought to this place today.

They have brought their stories with them as well, stories of brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins, relatives who have become displaced, become lost or have been killed. They are asking for us, as parliamentarians in Canada, to do the right thing, to tell their stories again and again so they may be heard so the world may change.

This conflict has gone on for over three decades and over 70,000 people, mostly Tamils, have been killed. And so we take this time in remembrance of them and also with the commitment to do something different about life.

As Canadians, we pride ourselves on standing for justice in the world. We pride ourselves on speaking when others stay silent. Most of all, we pride ourselves for fighting for the ability to right the wrongs that we see in the worldwide community.

We have a noble tradition, as the member for Etobicoke North said, in our world to bring about peace and to talk about peace. That reputation is sorely at risk if the Conservative government fails to stand up for our sisters and brothers half a globe away.

The Canadian government has an obligation to the global community, to the Tamil citizens, to all citizens of Sri Lanka and to Tamils living in Canada. They number over 200,000 and they have the right to speak up and be heard in our country, as they fully participate as Canadian citizens here.

While it is thousands of kilometres away from where we gather tonight, a genocide is occurring and the global community must take action. Most important, our Conservative government, which has been silent far too long, has to take further steps than even those announced today.

Up until today, there have been no calls for mediation, no calls for humanitarian assistance and, most important, no calls for a cease fire or a way out of this conflict. Every day the toll of this conflict is rising and its effect on future generations is flying out of control. Tens of thousands are dead, towns and villages have been destroyed, hundreds of thousands of people have been made homeless in this long conflict. Despite these ongoing tragedies, the crisis remains largely invisible to the western world. The press gallery is not full tonight. We will have an ongoing responsibility to take this message to the world and we on this side of the House are committed to doing that, not only tonight, not only yesterday but tomorrow and the day after and the day after.

All sides of this conflict have used violence and have experienced suffering. I will never condone the use of child soldiers or suicide bombings and I know that both forces have used these instruments. It is inexcusable, and we do not support them nor condone them. However, this growing crisis has disproportionately affected the minority Tamil population in the northern and northeastern parts of the island. Constant shelling of civilian areas, disappearance of community leaders, journalists killed and lost, long-term detentions without trials, incidents of torture and the increased deprivation of the country to the government's hindrance of food aid, water and medicine delivery happen day after day.

Our Canadian government has announced $3 million in aid and it is simply not enough. Nor is there any possibility that we can have a guarantee that it will be delivered. The agencies listed by the ministers tonight simply are not in the area. They are not, as the ministers say, on the ground. They are not able to deliver the aid.

The government needs to call for a UN envoy to be a witness for peace, a witness for justice and a witness for ongoing settlement to the solution. It is a half measure at best that the government has done. We are glad that it is acting. It needs to act further. We on this side of the House will have a concerted effort, we will stand with our friends, we will continually remind them of our responsibility and we will continue to keep them in our prayers.

[Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I address not only our fellow parliamentarians in the House of Commons. I wish to address our fellow Canadians of Tamil descent, who gathered on the Hill here today, and in fact, Tamil Canadians from across our great country who are watching this historic emergency debate.

I feel tremendous empathy for our Tamil Canadian brothers and sisters. Like many of them, I am the child of political refugees to this country. Many of my parents' and grandparents' family members and loved ones were killed, often in the most brutal of ways, in their struggle for a free and independent Ukraine.

Freedom and independence are sought when continuing injustices take place. This has been the historic struggle of many peoples, many nations. In the past century, tens of millions of lives have been lost to ethnic intolerances, ethnic hatreds, ethnic cleansings and genocides, yet humanity seems not to learn from these tragic lessons.

For decades now, Tamils in Sri Lanka have struggled with intolerance and injustice. In the resulting frustrating and horrific violence, tens of thousands of innocent Tamils, as well as Sinhalese and Muslims, have been killed. How many of the anguished Tamil-Canadians who gathered here today before the Peace Tower have lost loved ones and friends?

Just over a year ago, along with many Tamil Canadians, we mourned the assassination and loss of Thamilselvan. Thamilselvan embodied Tamil aspirations. He was a soldier who became a peace negotiator. Despite having borne witness to decades of horror, he laid down his gun in the search for peace. The targeted assassination of a peace negotiator by the Sri Lankan government began a well planned out descent into the horrors of war.

At the time, I condemned the assassination and stated the following at the November 5, 2007, memorial for Thamilselvan:

Sri Lanka stands at the edge of a precipice, with a potential to descend into a new hell. How many thousands more to be victimized to satiate the hatred in people's souls? How many more women and men, brothers and sisters, children, are to be sacrificed on the altar of war?

These were the words of warning I spoke over a year ago, yet the Conservative government was deaf to these warnings, deaf to the pleadings and anguish of thousands of Tamil Canadians. A year ago, Tamil Sri Lankan infants, children, men and women were on the precipice. In these last weeks they have been pushed off the ledge and find themselves in the midst of the horror, in the midst of the hell of war.

Meanwhile, our Prime Minister has been silent for over a year, and I note he has not been here for the debates this evening. Has he even taken the time to look at the—

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Barry Devolin]

Order, please. The member is an experienced parliamentarian and he knows that it is inappropriate to refer to members who are or are not here.

[Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, has he even taken the time to look at the pictures of the dead and dying civilians?

Thousands of our Canadian brothers and sisters of Tamil ancestry, as well as all Canadians who believe in Canada's legacy of peacekeeping and patient diplomacy, call on our Prime Minister to help re-establish an international ceasefire, to actively engage our diplomats in Sri Lanka, the Commonwealth and the UN to restart peace negotiations, to dedicate substantive resources and not a symbolic $3 million, or the equivalent of $10 for each of the 300,000 herded, internally displaced refugees, so as to provide desperately needed medical and humanitarian aid.

I once again turn to our fellow Tamil Canadian brothers and sisters. Many of them have lost family members and loved ones. In their honour, let us commit ourselves to putting an end to the anguished cries that have emanated from the island of Sri Lanka for decades and imagine instead what today seems impossible, an island paradise of smiling peoples, of smiling children.

Canada can, Canada must play a role in bringing an end to the horrors of this war. Canada can, Canada must be at the forefront in bringing about peace.

[Member spoke in Tamil]