Debates of Jan. 31st, 2017

U.S. Decision Regarding Travel Ban

[Mark Gerretsen, Liberal, Kingston and the Islands, ON]

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for not only addressing her question here, but for reading a letter that one of her constituents wrote to her. That is extremely noble.

I would argue that there has not been merely symbolism coming from the government. As pointed out by other colleagues this evening, this government has delivered 40,000 Syrian refugees alone last year to Canada. It has done so much more than the Conservatives did when they were in power, and more than NDP members had committed to doing in their election platform.

I appreciate the member's comments. I disagree that it is just about symbolism. This government has shown actual, real leadership when it comes to this file.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Parry Sound—Muskoka.

Last Friday, the world looked on in shock as the United States announced a ban on immigration from seven Muslim countries. In light of the dire global event, it gives me hope and a great sense of pride to stand here today and reflect on the warmth and generosity with which Canadians welcome newcomers to our country.

When we think of Canada, we think of a country that is aware and proud of the fact that it has been built on immigration. Over the years, the convergence of many different cultures from all over the world has only made the country stronger.

As an immigrant to Canada myself, I am immensely proud of the contributions the country's diverse population of immigrants has made. I am also incredibly proud to call myself a citizen of a country that welcomes immigrants unreservedly and gives the opportunity for a new life to refugees.

Canada must continue to be a beacon for those seeking refuge from the danger, no matter their religion or origin. This is not a country that discriminates against those who need our help. This is not a country in which fear will ever create division and hostility. This is a country that is stronger, safer, and more prosperous than ever thanks to the contributions of immigrants.

The reality is that when a country opens its doors and welcomes immigrants, it reaps the benefit for generations to come. Immigration has made Canada more diverse and prosperous as newcomers contribute their knowledge and experience in the workforce, which in turns strengthens the economy.

Immigrants have been recognized as exceptionally motivated, dedicated, and innovative entrepreneurs and employees. Of course, this is not the extent of the benefits we see from immigration. Immigrants also contribute to the military, first responders, the arts, academia, and public service.

Aside from these concrete economic benefits, Canada's communities are more vibrant and stimulating because of ethnic diversity. I am proud to represent Markham—Unionville, one of the most immigrant-rich ridings in Canada.

Canadians welcome newcomers to this country because we are a tolerant and understanding nation. Canadians are eager to help refugees in any way possible, and in desperate times like now, when the world doubts the compassion of people in response to the refugee crisis, it is important that Canada express its unfaltering support for refugees and immigrants of all backgrounds.

That is why I am heartbroken over the terrorist attack in Quebec City this week that killed innocent Muslim worshippers in one the safest places in our country. All Canadians, and everyone around the world, know that this hatred and intolerance is not representative of the Canada and Quebec I know and love.

The Liberals' management of the immigration file has been haphazard and incompetent. They have failed to prioritize victims of genocide in Iraq and Syria. It is clearly the duty of countries like Canada and the U.S. to shelter groups that ISIS is persecuting. This includes Yazidis, Assyrians, Christians, and Muslims alike.

The government accepted the Conservative motion to expedite Yazidi refugees to Canada and committed to take action within 120 days. That was in October last year. Their time will run out on February 22, and the Liberals have yet to share their plan with Canadians. The Liberals are excellent at making commitments on which they do not intend to follow through. However, we had hoped that in this matter of life and death, the Liberals would not just say empty promises. Are they just not serious about helping the victims of genocide?

ISIS continues to commit unspeakable atrocities against the Yazidi people in northern Iraq, including rape, mutilation, and enslavement. Thousands of Yazidi women and girls remain in captivity. We need to see action now. The previous Conservative government always prioritized persecuted religious, ethnic, and sexual minorities for resettlement in Canada.

We call on the Liberal government to set a specific target number of Yazidi refugees to bring to Canada immediately. It is crucial the government process Yazidi asylum claims in an expedited manner so that those who are persecuted by ISIS can take shelter and find a home in Canada.

The Liberals have completely failed to uphold our high standards for protecting human rights. Not only have they shied away from calling these crimes what they truly are, genocide, but the Liberals have also failed to stand with our allies in the fight against ISIS, and decided to end our combat mission and withdraw our CF-18s.

Over the last year, the Conservatives have put forward numerous recommendations to help Yazidis. We have asked to treat the declaration of genocide as an immediate call to action for Canada in which a whole-of-government approach is required, especially targeting the areas of humanitarian aid, military intervention, and resettlement.

We have implored the government to act upon the June 2016 United Nations recommendation to accelerate the asylum claims of Yazidi victims of genocide. It should review the selection process used by the United Nations to identify refugees for the government sponsored refugee stream, and encourage changes if necessary.

The government must examine the need to restore the exemption for Syrian and Iraqi refugees from the mission cap under the privately sponsored refugees program in order to fully harness the generosity of Canadian private sponsors.

IRCC must review processing times in Canada for asylum claims of victims of genocide, in both the government sponsored and private sponsorship stream, and make process improvements. Specific targets must be set for the number of victims of genocide within our refugee sponsorship programs, and put mechanisms in place to measure whether we are meeting these targets in order to measure efficacy.

The bottom line is that we must examine and implement innovative ways to identify victims of genocide. It is well known that many of these people experience difficulties by being identified as part of the UN selection process.

Regarding Syrian refugees, the Liberals appear to have treated the Syrian refugee crisis as a numbers game, caring only about how many refugees they could bring to Canada in a limited time period. Sadly, they have neglected to consider the long-term impacts.

The Syrian refugee crisis is a tragedy. All Canadians want to help this terrible situation. Canada is an open and generous country. The Conservatives believe, as we committed to during the election campaign, that Canada should be extending that generosity to resettle more Syrian refugees fleeing persecution. This is a terrible humanitarian crisis, and Canada needs to help.

However, the plan released by the Liberals shows, once again, a massive increase in the estimated costs over what their platform document indicated during the election. They did not factor in the basic necessities that Syrian refugees needed, like language training, job training and assistance finding work, and for the love of everything holy, food. Syrian refugees were forced to use municipal food banks, which put a major strain on other persons.

I will stop here since my time is up.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Madam Speaker, I was interested to hear what my colleague from across the aisle mentioned. Over the past many days, I have received numerous calls from my constituents telling me how much they want Canada to continue to be a welcoming country. I have seen that in my own community. We have welcomed more than 30 Syrian families over the past year, and over the month of January I toured many of our local settlement agencies to see how we were doing with the resettlement plans, to make sure that we were setting up our newcomers for success. I was getting great feedback about all of the work that is being done by people in our community to ensure that our newcomers are being set for success in this country.

Having heard the comments, I would like to know what my colleague has done to make sure that newcomers arriving in his riding are being set for success with our settlement agencies and with services.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Madam Speaker, my riding is one of the most diverse communities in the country. With the various communities, we help out whomever we can help out, whether Syrian refugees or other refugees. However, the issue here today is the people stuck at the airport, and what the government is going to do. You are in the government. You have a majority government. What you bring to the table—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I would like to remind the member that he is to address his comments to the Chair, please.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Madam Speaker, they are in a majority government. They have all the access for anything and everything. What they are trying to do and what they are achieving, they can do many things. One of the options is private sponsorship. If the Liberals take the cap off the number of private sponsorships, there are thousands of people in the churches, in the mosques, and in various places who are willing to help these people. Allow them, please talk to your government.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Again, I just want to remind the member that he is to address comments to the Chair.

Questions and comments, the hon. member for Vancouver East.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Madam Speaker, I have been directing my questions mostly for the government members tonight about the suspension of the safe third country agreement.

I would like to ask this member whether the Conservatives support the NDP's call to immediately suspend the safe third country agreement.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Through me, no problem.

The hon. member for Markham—Unionville.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Madam Speaker, I do not have any problem on that issue, but again, at the end of the day on the government side they will decide what they bring to the table. If the government is willing to do it, we do not have a problem.

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, I listened with interest to the hon. member. Apparently the Conservative Party has a new-found faith and interest in accepting refugees and immigrants from across the world. With that in mind, I wonder if the hon. member would agree—

[Garnett Genuis, Conservative, Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB]

Oh, oh!

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Order. I just want to remind the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan that he does not have the floor. The member for London North Centre has the floor, so I would ask for that respect.

The hon. member for London North Centre.

[Peter Fragiskatos, Liberal, London North Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, I wonder, with this new-found interest that the Conservative Party has in accepting refugees and immigrants, if the hon. member agrees with his colleague from Simcoe—Grey that immigrants ought to undertake a values-based test to enter the country.

[Bob Saroya, Conservative, Markham—Unionville, ON]

Madam Speaker, the former Conservative government was always on the immigrants' side. Years ago, when there were issues with Tamils in Sri Lanka, all those refugees came and it was Mr. Mulroney who brought them in. This is nothing new. Look at me. Look at how many immigrants we have on our side. This is not a Liberal thing that Canada was built by immigrants. We will continue to support newcomers to the country.

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise on this occasion to speak about this topic, which has garnered a bit of international attention around the world, reaction to the American president's executive order on the weekend. I started getting tweets and texts and emails from constituents, including a lawyer from my riding whose friend was caught up a bit in the net on this.

It is important that the House examine these issues. I do not have a problem with that, but we should examine them from a Canadian perspective. We are not American legislators. We are not its lawmakers. We are not part of the U.S. judiciary. We are not part of the U.S. executive branch. We are Canadian lawmakers, and that should be the focus of our attention.

I myself am an immigrant to this great country, having come here from the U.K. as a young lad with my parents. I can personally attest to the fact that Canada is a country that offers so many blessings, so many rich opportunities for those who desire a better way of life. We all have stories. I have stories from my childhood. I remember as a four-year-old packing up for the trip to Canada. I wanted to take two separate toys but there was only room for one toy in the one piece of luggage we had. I thought I was making a great sacrifice, but of course there are many other examples of much greater sacrifices to get here. To me, that was a lesson that I remember. One sacrifices a lot to come to Canada, but the opportunity to be part of this wonderful country, this wonderful society, is almost invariably worth the sacrifice.

Our country is built on the dreams of indigenous peoples, of course, but also those of many generations of immigrants, many of whom were fleeing oppression. Canada gained a reputation as a welcoming beacon to the world, and it is imperative that we continue to embrace immigrants from all points of the globe, all backgrounds, and all faiths. Of course we make a few demands. They should abide by our laws. They in turn are seeking a better life for themselves and, if applicable, their children. It has been proven time and again that immigration enriches our culture and our economy, and we must never lose sight of that.

The U.S. executive order, as I have already alluded to, is the business of the three branches of the U.S. government. All three of them are involved in this right now, including the judiciary. It does have impacts around the world. Over this past weekend in the immediate aftermath of the executive order, all of us who were fielding phone calls or emails or texts or tweets felt a certain amount of relief to hear that all Canadian passport holders are being exempted from U.S. travel restrictions. I am sure we can all agree that unnecessary disruption to the massive amount of business and travel that occurs daily across our shared border would be devastating.

Canada has always taken seriously its responsibility to monitor and secure our shared border with the United States. We fully understand that we live in a dangerous world and that we must remain vigilant on many fronts. There is no question that the U.S. restrictions prompted confusion and outrage from many quarters. On the plus side, a global conversation has erupted, including here tonight, so that we can examine our own values, our own beliefs, and our own laws.

I was reminded when this debate started that Canada and the U.S. together need to safeguard ISIS-persecuted groups, safeguard them from slavery, rape, genocide. This includes the Yazidis, the Assyrians, the Christians, and the Muslims, of course.

Conservatives have asked the Liberal government to expedite Yazidi refugees to Canada. I must say that we have not had an appropriate response to date.

I travelled to the refugee camps in Iraq last summer. I heard first-hand from witnesses about the brutal treatment of religious minorities at the hands of ISIS. Spending three days on the ground in the region, I heard the horrific stories of mass murder, women and children being sold into slavery, raped, and tortured, and neighbour being forced against neighbour. It is truly a nightmare.

I met with local government leaders, including the speaker of the Kurdistan house of parliament, who welcomed the attention and asked for our support. I was profoundly struck by the resiliency and unwavering faith of the Yazidi people, the minority Christians, and Syrian Muslims. However, there is a resounding sense of deep despair in the face of the ongoing slaughter in those areas still controlled by ISIS, and we must do more. We must do all we can to restore hope to these persecuted minorities and offer them a chance for a better way of life.

Bringing Yazidi victims to Canada should be a priority for the government, but inexplicably, the heels keep dragging. The government committed last October to acting within 120 days, and that time runs out on February 22. When will we see the plan?

This is a good opportunity to review the government track record as well. This includes ongoing problems with successfully integrating Syrian refugees, making sure they have the proper resources and ongoing supports to succeed in their new homes. These are serious concerns. Canadians are generous people. We know that. Through the privately sponsored refugee program, Canadians opened up their hearts and communities, but too many groups and refugees have been left in the lurch by red tape and bureaucracy.

Conservatives call on the Liberal government to live up to its promises. I think we can all agree in the House that, while being vigilant, Canada must remain a compassionate nation when it comes to immigration. It is my sincere hope that the government will do all it can in this regard, including on the dire need to shelter ISIS-persecuted minorities, and work with our allies around the world to keep our citizens and communities safe.

[Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Madam Speaker, the member mentioned refugees left in the lurch. My community of Beaches—East York asked me to attend tonight and call on the government to put actions behind its words.

I would note that, in the election, President Trump promised a Muslim ban that was fearmongering and discriminatory. The travel ban implemented by executive order is not nearly as sweeping, but it is also fearmongering and discriminatory. The swift dismissal of attorney general Yates raises other concerns. A senator in the other House suggested there are thousands of refugees who will be left in the lurch by the 120-day travel ban, and Canada, working with international partners, can perhaps step up to help these thousands of refugees find homes.

I wonder if the Conservative member would support such an initiative.

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

I would, Madam Speaker. I would support that initiative. I have to add the caveat, particularly as public safety critic, that it all has to be within the bounds of Canadian law and, of course, we have to do the usual vetting that we always do when it comes to refugee claimants, which we do for every single refugee claimant.

I would say that would be a good endeavour, but today in question period in the House of Commons, when this very question was asked of the new Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, he made it very clear that was not something the government was contemplating. I join the hon. member in sorrow that the question was answered in that particular way and hope that the government reconsiders.

[Murray Rankin, NDP, Victoria, BC]

Madam Speaker, the hon. member, who is the foreign affairs critic for the Conservative Party, talked to us about his experience in refugee camps in Iraq. I would like to ask him whether, as Canadians, we should be worried about the impact of this executive order on our national defence. After all, we are collaborating with the United States. Senator McCain said that perhaps banning Iraqis from coming to the United States would constitute a “self-inflicted wound” that would radicalize those people and say to them that they are not welcome, that their citizens are banned from the United States.

Therefore, through you, Mr. Speaker, I ask this question. As we collaborate in trying to address the ISIS crisis, should Canada have a concern that this will make things worse, not better, for our security?

[Tony Clement, Conservative, Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have already said publicly that in examining this executive order, I found it strangely overreaching and under-reaching at the same time. It is overreaching, because it casts the net so wide that people who have nothing to do with terrorism or a threat to American security, such as translators in Iraq or other countries, are caught up in this web. Anti-government dissidents who loathe the theocratic government of Iran are caught up in this net. It under-reaches because countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, where we might have some additional concerns, are not part of this executive order.

However, I can assure the hon. member that we can spend every day for the next four years debating U.S. policy, as our constituents are doing every day as well. Of course, we will have opinions, but at the end of the day, we are here for Canadians in Canada. We have to make sure that we have the right security for our citizens but that we also cherish the rights and freedoms we have here. That is my focus as the public safety critic.

[Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Essex.

I wish to begin by invoking the imagery of the Statue of Liberty, that beautiful colossus, the embodiment of freedom holding liberty's torch high into the sky. It is her silhouette in the distance that has greeted millions of the world's huddled masses as they have arrived by ship to freedom's shores in the United States. Designed by La Frédéric Bartholdi in the 1870s, it was a gift from the people of France to the United States in 1886. Her full name is La Liberté Éclairant Le Monde, Liberty Enlightening the World. At her feet lie broken chains.

To mount her upon a pedestal in New York Harbor, New York's business barons were turned to for funding. The fundraising ended unsuccessfully. Then Joseph Pulitzer, of the New York World, started a drive for donations in his newspaper. Over 120,000 average Americans responded, most giving less than a dollar.

The statue's completion was celebrated by hundreds of thousands at New York's first tickertape parade and a dedication ceremony presided over by President Grover Cleveland. On the pedestal are inscribed the words, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”, an inscription that became an American canon, which for generations millions of children born into freedom have memorized. It is a canon Canadians share.

This week, Americans gathered in the hundreds of thousands, not in celebration at American ports of entry but in protest. Tens of thousands of Canadians have stood in solidarity. Our Prime Minister, invoking the spirit of the inscription at the base of the Statue of Liberty, tweeted, “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada”.

Let us be clear. The U.S. presidential order contravenes foundational principles of liberal democracy, equality, religious freedom, and the support and compassion with which we have reached out to those suffering political tyranny and religious persecution. It plays into and mirrors Daesh's and al Qaeda's narrative that there is no place for Muslims in the liberal democratic west.

The presidential decree targets seven Muslim countries while exempting their Christian and non-Muslim minorities. The hardest hit are refugees from Syria. They face an indefinite ban. They are also among the greatest suffering and most vulnerable refugees on the planet. They have escaped Bashar al-Assad's regime, which had, by February 2012, five years ago, when it was last documented, killed more than 500 children, arrested and brutally tortured another 400 children, and regularly dropped chemical barrel bombs on opposition neighbourhoods. Other Syrians have escaped the Daesh death cult with its perverse public executions and ethnic genocides. Still others have escaped cities such as Aleppo, where Putin's air force has blanket-bombed civilian areas while specifically targeting schools, hospitals, markets, and bakeries, leaving cities in decimated ruins.

It is as if Assad, Daesh, and Putin have opened up the gates of hell in Syria. In the last six years, 400,000 Syrian civilians have been killed. Today there are 7.6 million internally displaced Syrians and 4.8 million Syrian refugees. Out of a population of 23 million, 13 million are either dead or displaced. It is these tired, poor, huddled masses for whom the hope represented by the flame burning in the Statue of Liberty's torch has been extinguished.

To those despairing that a rising tide of nativism and xenophobia in Liberal democracies is washing across Canada's borders, I point out that in Canada, the Prime Minister has appointed a new Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. At the age of 16, the minister arrived in our welcoming country as a refugee from one of the seven banned Muslim countries, Somalia.

Our newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs is the daughter of a mother born in a displaced persons camp for Ukrainians.

Our newly appointed Minister of Democratic Institutions is the granddaughter of Jewish displaced persons, Holocaust survivors.

As the son and grandson of refugees who arrived in Canada following the conclusion of World War II, it was with immense pride that I watched the Prime Minister and these new ministers during their swearing in ceremony three weeks ago. However, it was not just a personally poignant moment. It was a reaffirmation that Canada will stand as a beacon for those huddled masses seeking refuge, sanctuary, and belief in the universal values of liberté, fraternité, and egalité of humankind.

This past week, Canada's sanctity, this promise of sanctuary and respect for those seeking Canada's freedom, freedom to worship, freedom from hate-fuelled violence, has been horrifically desecrated. In a place of worship during evening prayers, innocents were gunned down, killed solely because of their Muslim faith.

Alexandre Bissonnette had drunk from that dark chalice of fear and hatred proffered by those equating Muslims with security threats. The threat we face domestically is not from our Muslim brothers and sisters in Canada. It is from those whose minds have been poisoned by the peddlers of discriminatory fear, hatred, and its consequential violence.

It is time to clearly and unequivocally restate our values. As the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship underscored earlier today, I can tell the House what our principles are. Our principles are openness—open to ideas, open to people, open to those who want to come here and make a better life for themselves—and to continue to have compassion for those who seek sanctuary in our country.

It is further reaffirmed by the welcome Canada gave to over 46,000 refugees last year, of whom over 35,000 were Syrians, and by the generosity of the tens of thousands of Canadians who not only welcomed but privately sponsored over 16,000 Syrian refugees.

It is reaffirmed by our commitment to increase our immigration levels to over 300,000 in 2017, with a new base line of 300,000. It is reaffirmed by our commitment to bring 40,000 refugees and protected persons into Canada in 2017, twice the levels of past years, refugees from countries such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, and Libya. It is reaffirmed by our current government's commitments and informed by our history.

Since World War II, more than one million refugees have come to call Canada home, from Europe, from Asia, from Africa, from the Middle East, refugees of every ethnicity and every religion. Although separated by oceans from the old world, we welcomed one in 10 refugees resettled worldwide.

I began my remarks by invoking the imagery and legacy of the Statue of Liberty and the story of the United States. For more than a century, the torch of the Statue of Liberty has shone brightly, a beacon for the disposed, the stateless, and the unwanted. In 1984, in the lead-up to the Statue of Liberty's centenary, UNESCO designated it a world heritage site, stating that it is “a masterpiece of the human spirit.... She endures as a highly potent symbol...of ideals such as liberty, peace, human rights, abolition of slavery, democracy, and opportunity”.

Today, nativism, xenophobia, walls, and a presidential decree banning Muslim refugees has cast a pall. However, the ideal symbolized by the Statue of Liberty will prevail over this temporary darkness.

In the meantime, Canada must be the city upon the hill that inspires the world and serves as a beacon to those seeking refuge, the tired, huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we heard from government members who said they trust the minister to make the right decision about the suspension of the safe third country agreement.

The reality is there are scores of people who are crossing by foot, trekking through snow in -12°C temperatures to seek safety at the Canadian border. They are forced to do this illegally because of this agreement. They are risking life and limb.

The member talked about freedom for the huddled masses, for the poor, and those who need shelter. As the Prime Minister tweets to say that Canada is open, and welcome to Canada, why on earth would we not suspend this provision? Why would we not do that?

I know the member is very progressive in his beliefs in this area. Would the member advocate that his government do exactly that, immediately lift the safe third country agreement?

[Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite for bringing forward the motion for an emergency debate, and for the passion and commitment she brings to refugees.

As of today, the asylum system in the United States has not changed, as far as we know, and is meeting the conditions of the agreement. Our government will continue to monitor and to assess the situation.

As the member said, yes, I have full confidence in our new minister. I have full confidence that Canada, as we did last year with the Syrian refugees and as we are doing currently with the Yazidi refugees, will do the right thing.

[Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have been delinquent in not profoundly thanking the member for Vancouver East for bringing forward this emergency debate tonight.

The nature of the Safe Third Country Agreement is explained in the open letter that has been referred to many times this evening, and that is:

Canada's immigration legislation indicates that, in determining whether a country should be designated as "safe" for refugees, consideration must be given to the country's human rights record and to whether the country complies with the 1951 Refugee Convention and the Convention against Torture.

This letter, signed by eminent jurists, law professors, concludes that currently the executive orders the president has made, combined with his musing that torture works, they say:

We also note that they are inconsistent with the 1951 Refugee Convention, the Convention Against Torture, the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights....

I know that as things now stand, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship has not answered this question. The Minister of Immigration can, as an individual minister, immediately suspend this in order to ensure that no one is trapped, no one is prevented from finding safe haven in Canada if they happen to be in the U.S.

I would ask if the hon. member would consider, and I think there are other hon. members in the Liberal caucus who may agree, that this should be a subject for ongoing debate, and that the government should change its mind.

[Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Liberal, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I fully agree that this is an issue for ongoing debate and in fact it is an issue, as are many of the issues that this presidential decree has raised, that we are seeking clarity on and that we are monitoring very carefully.

As of the present time, the U.S. government continues, as far as we can tell, to meet the conditions of the agreement. That does not mean we are not monitoring. We are monitoring. We are watching and making sure that those conditions are in fact being met.