Mr. Speaker, Coptic Christians are one of the oldest Christian communities in the Middle East. While they have integrated into the larger Egyptian nation, the Copts have survived as a distinct religious community, forming around 10% of the population.
Coptic Christians have faced increasing marginalization since the 1952 coup d'état led by Mr. Nasser. The Coptic community has been targeted by hate crimes and physical assaults. Their churches, homes, and businesses have been looted and burned. They have faced a growing number of personal attacks, which have left uncounted numbers injured and several hundred dead, and the death toll is rising.
Earlier this month, six Coptic Christians were killed in an attack in Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, in Cairo. They were attending the funeral of four Coptic Christians who had been gunned down two days earlier.
It has been estimated that in 2011 alone, 100,000 Coptic Christians fled Egypt. There are no figures yet for 2012. However, for most of Egypt's Coptic Christians, some six million to eight million, flight is not an option. They are too poor. The Canadian Coptic community is--