Mr. Speaker, this week marks the 22nd anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. We wish to honour the memory of the hundreds of thousands of people killed by unprecedented violence that stemmed from identity policies, but we also want to take this opportunity to highlight the progress that has been made.
I want to underscore the work done by the people of Rwanda and Burundi to overcome ethnic divisions and tribal loyalties. Although this work has only just begun, as an aboriginal Canadian, I encourage the Rwandan and Burundian leaders to draw inspiration from the efforts being made by their fellow citizens to build modern nation states that respect human rights, human dignity, democracy, and the rule of law, and that will be an example for the rest of the world to follow.
[Member spoke in Kinyarwanda as follows:]
Murakoze.