Debates of Dec. 12th, 2012

Foreign Affairs and International Development

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

Order. The hon. member for Scarborough—Agincourt is rising on a point of order.

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

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary is out of order. A member attending or not attending somewhere should not be mentioned. I would like you to rule on that, please.

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

I have two comments. First, that is probably not a proper point of order. Second, the comment by the parliamentary secretary was not about the absence of persons from the chamber. It was about an absence elsewhere. That clearly is not a breach of parliamentary rules.

The parliamentary secretary can continue.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, had that member come the day the committee was studying--

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would like to point out that I am not a member of that committee. The parliamentary secretary keeps saying that. He is way out of line.

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

That is not a point of order.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, that member has shown up on other occasions. He did not on that particular occasion. The point I wanted to make was that had he been there, he would have known that we received comments from members of the Syrian-Canadian community about the funds they had been raising. We thanked them for the funds they had raised, but they were not clear about the amount that had been raised. The Canadian government has gone far beyond any amount the Syrian community has raised to date, to my knowledge.

We always stand ready to consider what more can be done. Canadians are encouraged to donate through the International Red Cross, which Canada has also done for humanitarian relief.

Our government will continue to assess the situation, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs has done today, and to provide humanitarian assistance, as necessary, to support the countries in the region that are doing such a good job caring for those people who have fled the violence in Syria.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, one of the things Canada is doing, because of our deep concern about what is going on in the region, is imposing a number of sanctions. The parliamentary secretary talked about 11 sanctions we have put on the Assad regime. I wonder if he could speak to those sanctions.

What we do not want to do is impact the people of Syria who are fighting for freedom and democracy. We want to see that happen. We believe in freedom, democracy and the rule of law. Could the member tell us about those sanctions on the Assad regime that are so important? I wonder if the parliamentary secretary could tell the House what steps Canada has taken.

[Bob Dechert, Conservative, Mississauga—Erindale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canada has moved 11 times, from the very early stages of the violence in Syria, to put specific sanctions on the Assad regime and on particular individuals within the regime. In addition, more sanctions were announced earlier today against several more members of the Assad regime. Another 10 individuals and three entities were added to the list of designated persons who are subject to prohibitions on dealings under existing Canadian sanctions.

We continue to call upon Russia, China and the United Nations to put further sanctions on the Assad regime through the United Nations Security Council. We believe that if they were to do that, those sanctions would have a real impact on ending the violence in Syria. We continue to call upon our colleagues at the United Nations to make sure that the United Nations Security Council passes those sanctions resolutions.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that the situation in Syria is worrisome. People all over are worried right now. They are worried that the situation will spread and affect other countries in the area. But above all, this is an absolutely horrible and worrisome situation for Syrians themselves.

We are talking about 30,000 civilians who have been killed since the start of the events, countless people injured, homes destroyed, hunger, cold and fear. Fear is a very big factor in this situation.

I want to quote Mariam Hamou, from the Syrian community in London. When she appeared before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, Ms. Hamou said:

Torture has been reported in every city and town and affects every family. I do not want to get into the chilling details of what goes on, but I will share with the House one story that just sends chills down my spine. Women are being systematically raped in Syria.

Beyond the dead and wounded, it is a matter of human rights violations and sheer terror. We must put an end to what is going on, as the member from Ottawa Centre said a little earlier in this debate. We must continue diplomatic efforts and put all the necessary pressure on both the countries that think like us and those that do not. We must also do more to help.

We were all pleased to learn today that Canada would increase assistance for refugee camps in the surrounding countries, and we hope that this assistance will continue, because the situation continues and is getting worse and worse with winter approaching. I will come back to this issue a bit later.

As for Syrians in Syria, I would like to quote Faisal Alazem, who lives in Montreal in my region. This is what he told the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development:

Domestically, many members of the Syrian Canadian community are worried about the fate of their families in Syria or those exiled out of Syria, and they therefore request that in keeping with Canada's long-standing tradition of concern for the displaced and persecuted, our Canadian government facilitate bringing their family members to join them in Canada. Many members of the Syrian Canadian community are concerned that no priority processing or family reunification program is in place to assist their families affected by the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Such measures were taken in 2007 for Iraq; they were taken for Algeria; and they were taken in 2010 for Haiti, after the earthquake.

He asked this question, and we did as well: why is there no priority program? We were told that the process had been expedited slightly. Yet, I remember that no effort was spared after the earthquake in Haiti. The government created a special program, and everyone worked together to bring people home and reunite families as quickly as possible.

In keeping with our long-standing Canadian tradition, why can we not do the same thing for Syria?

As Faisal Alazem said, it is important to the people of Syria and it is also important to the people living in refugee camps in neighbouring countries. The United Nations predicts that by the end of the year, which is just around the corner, there will be 700,000 refugees living in neighbouring countries.

As I was saying earlier, winter has arrived. Some people believe that winter over there is not so bad. This morning it was 3^oC in Aleppo. When you live in a house that is not built to Canadian standards, or in a tent, and it is 3^oC, that is pretty cold. And life is very difficult with children who are malnourished, frightened and traumatized.

Yes, we are helping Syria. I was pleased to learn today that we will provide more aid. We were all pleased. However, these efforts must be sustained. We must also work with other countries and encourage them to provide additional aid. This is an urgent matter, and we must not allow this opportunity to save lives to pass us by.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to read a letter that was sent on August 23, 2012 to the ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, CIDA, and Citizenship and Immigration Canada. This was sent from the leader of the Liberal Party and it reads, “Members of the Liberal caucus met this week with representatives of the Syrian-Canadian community”. It encourages them to come up with $2 million in aid. It also says that:

The Syrian-Canadian community has also expressed the need for additional humanitarian funding to help those on the ground. As the situation in Syria continues to deteriorate, we urge the government to consider implementing a program to match contributions, similar to the program that assists with the humanitarian situation in the Sahel region in West Africa.

It goes on to ask to expedite immigration as well. I seek unanimous consent to table this letter so that my colleagues across the way might have it.

My question to my colleague is very simple. The government is stepping up and talking about all kinds of things it is doing. I wonder if my colleague would agree or disagree with me that the government should do more, especially in the case of immigration. People in Canada want to sponsor their extended families, parents, grandparents, spouses, and bring them to Canada. Should they be allowed to come to Canada on an expedited basis and given a ministerial permit or visitor visa and have their application continue from here?

Second, does she agree or disagree with me that the government has failed the Syrian Canadian diaspora in matching donations dollar for dollar? The community has advised me that it has raised close to $4 million. I am sure that the representatives who went to committee told the members this, but it went in one ear and out the other. I read it on the record very clearly.

However, I ask for consent to table this letter.

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

It is improper to ask for that. The motion under which this debate is being conducted is very specific and states that requests for unanimous consent are out of order. Therefore, no, you do not have permission to do that.

You have not asked the hon. member for Laurier-Sainte-Marie a question.

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

Mr. Speaker, I had two questions. Should we expedite immigration cases from Syria?

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

The hon. member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie.

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I agree that we should be doing more in terms of the family reunification program and the priority processing of files, among other things.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, I listened to the member for Scarborough—Agincourt when he was making his comments. If I heard correctly, he was asking that the government put forward $2 million.

However, the government today has added $10 million, for a total of $22 million, into humanitarian aid to help the people in Syria. We are working with our humanitarian partners. We want to see all of that aid get into Syria and help the people there. We know that there are needs and so we have stepped up.

If the member had come to committee, he would have heard the testimony—

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

The hon. member for Scarborough—Agincourt is rising on a point of order.

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

Mr. Speaker, if my colleague across the way would take the wax out of her ears and listen, she would have heard that this letter was written on August 2. If she wants to quote me, she should quote me correctly. This letter was sent to her boss—

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

That is a matter of debate. He will be given the opportunity to come back with a question if he wants to.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Cooperation.

[Lois Brown, Conservative, Newmarket—Aurora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, what we heard from the Syrian community was that it was uncertain how much money had been raised or collected. Canada stepped up to the plate quickly to help the people in Syria. We are very concerned.

I ask my colleague who sits on the committee if she does not feel that Canada has urgently met needs. We continue to assess the situation. Does she not think that this should be a non-partisan issue and work with the Canadian government to get the assistance to the people who need it in Syria?

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, there is a completely non-partisan aspect to this issue. We all want to help the Syrian people; we all agree on this. As I said in my statement, I was pleased to learn that Canadian aid has been increased to $22 million, but I still think that this could have been done a few months ago.

I was talking about winter, a very real situation that means that our foreign aid must be on the ground at the most crucial time.

It is also my opinion that we have to work with our partners to encourage the entire international community to contribute more. I also believe that we can do more in terms of family reunification.

[Paul Dewar, NDP, Ottawa Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member's background, as we know, was in foreign affairs before she was elected as a member of Parliament. One of the issues that we need to be seized with is around governance. I would like to get her opinion.

In light of the fact that we are obviously seeing a state come apart because of the conflict, what does she think Canada can do when we reach the point that we all know is coming, which is when the regime is no more and the war is over?

Many Syrian Canadians as well as everyday Canadians want to know that Canada has a plan for helping to re-establish stability in Syria. With her background in diplomacy, what does she think we could offer in terms of helping Syria deal with the governance question when the conflict ends?

[Hélène Laverdière, NDP, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for this very interesting and essential question.

Over the past few years, when speaking about the Egyptian revolution or Tunisia or Libya for instance, we have all too often made the mistake of saying that, once the toothpaste is out of the tube, everything is resolved and we do not have to concern ourselves with it anymore. Unfortunately, Canada has been completely absent in the post-revolutionary and post-war periods in these countries, and we see that the situation is not so straightforward.

It is also urgent that we have a plan for going forward. How are we going to help Syria set up stable, democratic and equitable institutions that respect human rights in every way? If we want the country to attain stability and peace, this is the most crucial thing. Weapons, airplanes and the like are one thing, but genuine security is built on democracy and human rights. This is the only way to guarantee security over the long term.

We were active in a number of countries, such as Libya. We could have stopped earlier, but we agreed on the first stage, at least. Now, we are no longer there to help the country rebuild, even though we have experience, in terms of federalism for instance, that could be very useful to a number of these countries. Unfortunately, the government downloaded its responsibilities and took away some of the extraordinary tools that Canada had, such as Rights and Democracy, an organization that could do this work in the field, and now Canada is playing an ever-diminishing role in this regard.

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

Resuming debate. Seeing no further debate and pursuant to an order made earlier today the question is deemed put and a recorded division is deemed requested.

Pursuant to Standing Order 66 the recorded division stands deferred until Wednesday, January 30, 2013, at the end of the time provided for government orders.

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.