House of Commons Hansard #206 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was rohingya.

Topics

VenezuelaPrivate Members' Business

5:45 p.m.

Some hon. members

Nay.

VenezuelaPrivate Members' Business

5:45 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

In my opinion the yeas have it.

And five or more members having risen:

Pursuant to Standing Order 93 the recorded division on the amendment stands deferred until Wednesday, September 27, immediately before the time provided for private members' business.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

5:50 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

The House will now proceed to the consideration of a motion to adjourn the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter requiring urgent consideration, namely the situation of the Rohingya people.

Let me remind the hon. members that they do not need to be in their own seats and that, pursuant to the order made earlier today, the Chair will receive no quorum calls, dilatory motions, or requests for unanimous consent.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

5:50 p.m.

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

moved:

That the House do now adjourn.

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Calgary Midnapore.

I speak from time to time in the House about my children. It is important for us to think about our own children and families when we think about the experience of families previous human rights abuses. People are people and children are children, wherever they are, whatever their colour, and whatever their faith.

The Subcommittee on International Human Rights had hearings about the situation facing the Rohingya community last week, and I want to read from that testimony. The subcommittee heard the following:

“...on August 27th. Around 10 a.m. Myanmar army soldiers arrived in Maung Nu Village....Some residents fled immediately, but a large number gathered at what is essentially the largest home in the village. It's a two-storey home owned by a prominent Rohingya family. The residents in this village thought perhaps they would be safe in this home. Each room of the house, which is relatively large, filled up with huddled masses of residents. According to survivors, women and girls were downstairs, and men and boys were upstairs.

“The Myanmar army surrounded this home, entered the home, corralled women and young girls to the house next door. One eye witness watched as soldiers dragged the men and boys out of the house including children as young as 12 years old. Some of the soldiers tied their hands behind their backs, and they tore veils off of women, and tied them over the eyes of the men and boys, and proceeded to violently interrogate them.

“Soldiers started beating the men and boys, screaming at them, and threatening them. After period of time the detainees were made to lay face down on the ground, and Myanmar army soldiers started executing them. Soldiers shot them and in some cases used knives to inflect fatal wounds to necks. One woman with whom we spent a period of time with witnessed soldiers shoot dead her father-in-law who was a local...her brother-in-law, and his two sons who were aged 16 and 18.

“The killing in this particular village on that particular day lasted for a period of about two hours. The victims ranged in age from 90 years old to 12 years old. Myanmar army soldiers in some cases wrapped bodies in tarps. and dumped them in a military vehicle, and drove toward the local battalion referred to locally as the Pale Taung battalion. It's Battalion 564 of the Myanmar army.”

The same testimony and various other reports contain many more stories of atrocities and massacres. I struggled today, as I prepared for this, with which elements of the testimony to share and ultimately decided to stay away from the most graphic. However, I would encourage members to review the work of the subcommittee and the many media and independent reports out there, in particular, the testimony from last week.

We have here a clear textbook case of ethnic cleansing, of genocide against the Rohingya people in Burma. We are in the midst of a present escalation. The Conservatives have been raising this issue repeatedly in the House for the last year and a half, and we have asked the government to do more. In our view, the government did not start early enough and can do better now.

In the context of these events, it is important for us to work together as much as possible, but also to continually challenge the government to do more to protect the vulnerable. I will speak more about what I see the Canadian role being later on.

I have shared one of many stories of massacres, but here is the situation in broad strokes.

The Government of Burma has, for decades, pursued a policy of denying the reality and legitimacy of the Rohingya claim to citizenship. The Rohingya people are, in reality, indigenous to western Burma. Their presence can be tracked back over a millennium. However, the government seeks to deny that reality and define them as “other”. Their right to be citizens was first denied them in 1982, and the Government of Burma since then has taken successive steps to deny their citizenship, push them out, and/or kill them. The goal is quite apparent: to rid the region of its indigenous Rohingya people.

There was once a great deal of hope for Burma after the military rule gave way to a power-sharing structure between the military and the elected government. There is still hope for Burma, but it will be a longer road than many people thought. The elected government has not shown an interest in improving the situation of the Rohingya community. In fact, the situation has obviously worsened.

Canadians will know well the name of Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Burma and an honorary Canadian citizen. She bravely resisted military rule and fought for democracy, but now, bizarrely, is providing cover for the same military as it continues to delegitimize the Rohingya people, kill them, destroy their villages, and force them from their homes.

That Aung San Suu Kyi is providing cover is an important point. It speaks to her responsibility and need to do more, but it also speaks to the need to be specifically holding the military leadership and commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing responsible.

Despite calls to do so much earlier, the government failed to raise these issues with Aung San Suu Kyi until quite recently, but still has not, at least as far as we know or have been told, done anything to apply direct pressure to the military. There has been a dramatic escalation in the campaign of violence in recent weeks. The situation has now entered a critical phase.

Many of my relatives were victims of what Hitler called the “Final Solution”. Although we cannot know the twisted logic of those responsible for this ongoing genocide, it seems that they may be pursuing their version of what they would think of as the final solution in this case, that they want to drive out or kill those Rohingya who have hung on until now.

In response to incidents of genocide, it seems to me that the world follows a familiar pattern: ignore it while it starts, start to notice it when it happens, and then wring hands after it is over, while promising to never let it happen again. This seems to repeat itself over and over again.

After the fact hand-wringing may have a useful function but it is often somewhat disingenuous. Many of the same world leaders involved in that after the fact hand-wringing then go on to pay limited attention to subsequent atrocities.

For those of us who might look back and ask why people did not do more in the context of the Rwandan genocide, in the context of the Holocaust, we have an opportunity now to ask ourselves why we are not doing more. Our children and grandchildren will ask us the same question.

Let us make “never again” meaningful. Let us act with the same urgency we would as if these Rohingya children were our children. They are no less human.

It is of course well and good to say that we should act. However, addressing situations like this require us to do more than express solidarity, but to act in a specific, effective, and sustained way.

Let me identify a number of things I think the government should have done and has not done unfortunately, but then, more important, identify some things the government should do going forward.

First, the government should have prioritized human rights in Burma and, in that context, answered direct questions that were posed to it on this in the House much earlier. The government should have engaged with military and civilian leadership, including Aung San Suu Kyi but also Min Aung Hlaing much earlier. The Prime Minister should have raised this issue during his speech to the UN General Assembly last week.

We cannot change the past. We feel that time has been lost already. However, going forward, the government must do the following.

First, the government must review every aspect of our present relationship with Burma. Burma is a major recipient of Canadian development assistance, for example. We must review that, yes, to get resources to vulnerable people, but we should review any government-to-government aid, and it seems there is a substantial amount of bilateral aid going to Burma.

We should forcefully raise this issue publicly and privately with military and civilian leaders, and do it in a sustained way.

We need to prioritize this issue in multilateral fora. It should be Canada's voice in all multilateral fora, asking what is being done about the situation in Burma.

We cannot change the past with respect to the Prime Minister's UN speech, but going forward, we should, and we must, prioritize discussion of this issue in multilateral fora. We must put pressure on our allies to end any elements of military co-operation with Burma, and to ramp up that pressure in every way possible. We should be imposing sanctions on all those individuals who are responsible.

We can do this. The Government of Canada can make a concrete difference in this situation if it ramps up the emphasis, if it ramps up the pressure and it prioritizes the issue fundamentally, and if it takes those specific concrete steps that I have mentioned.

I want to respond to some of the criticism I have received on this issue. It has not been much, but the Government of Burma has tried to muddy the water somewhat by suggesting it is responding to stereotypes. It has frankly sought to play on negative stereotypes about Muslims to delegitimize the legitimate demand for fundamental human rights.

Let us be clear. These are significant crimes being undertaken by the Burmese military against civilians. Nothing ever justifies that, even if this were the middle of a war or some kind of active guerilla campaign.

The reality is, though, that this is a completely asymmetrical situation of a Burmese government that for a very long time has seen no kind of violent response from any elements of Rohingya society and has still consistently sought to delegitimize the Rohingya people's presence, to deny the reality of their long-standing presence in that area.

For those who play on these stereotypes, it is unconscionable because the facts in this case are clear. We need to take action. We need to hold the Burmese government accountable.

The world is watching. Canada can take action here. The situation must change and we have to do our part.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Madam Speaker, we appreciate the need for us to have this discussion. I know the Minister of Foreign Affairs and parliamentary secretary, among other government members and the caucus, are very much sensitive to what is taking place.

One of the things that is important as we move forward is to recognize that Canada can and will continue to play a leadership role on the national scene in doing what it can where it can.

Can the member across the way precisely indicate what he personally believes the Government of Canada should be doing in the immediate coming days?

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6 p.m.

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Madam Speaker, the question is something I specifically addressed in my remarks. What should the government have done? It should have prioritized human rights in Burma—I answered direct questions on this—engaged military and civilian leadership earlier, and addressed the issue in the UN speech.

What the government should do going forward is review every aspect of its relationship with Burma, especially the aid dimension, but also other dimensions of that relationship; forcefully raise this issue publicly and privately with military and civilian leadership; prioritize this issue in international fora; and reimpose sanctions on all those responsible. That is what the government can and should do, and it would make a difference.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:05 p.m.

NDP

Cheryl Hardcastle NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

Madam Speaker, with heartfelt gratitude I thank the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for bringing forward this very important emergency debate. I believe it propels us forward when we have this kind of meaningful discussion that can be captured and seized by the government when it hears some of the very real and tangible ways we think we should be responding as a real personality in the international community. The member has described that very well in his speech thus far.

I would like to read a brief from the commissioner of international human rights so the member can maybe helpfully flesh out some of what is being responded to here. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra‘ad al-Hussein, condemned the situation in Rakhine State as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”, noting that the situation could not be fully assessed because human rights investigators have been denied access. He condemned the Government of Myanmar's “complete denial of reality”, which he saw as doing “great damage to the international standing of a Government which, until recently, benefited from immense goodwill.”

I would love to hear the member's comments on that.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:05 p.m.

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Madam Speaker, there is so much there that I could pick up on. I guess I will just pick up on the last point in terms of the denial of reality by the Burmese government. When the State Counsellor says things like 50% of the villages are intact, it is quite a point of denial, but it is actually a point of admission as well. When one says that 50% of the villages have not gone through these kinds of terrible abuses, it makes one ask about the other 50%.

I am not saying that comment is even correct. What satellite images show is that about 50% of villages have been absolutely brutalized. That is what we can see from satellite images in terms of the changes on the ground. Of course there has not been any kind of meaningful international access, so we just cannot see what is going on.

That this is a textbook case of ethnic cleansing is a quote we have heard before, and it just underlines the tragedy that we have seen this pattern over and over again. Unfortunately, I think there has been a pattern in terms of the international non-response to these kinds of events over and over again. The international community too often prioritizes other kinds of considerations over these issues of fundamental human rights.

This House of Commons, the government, this country have an opportunity to make that difference, to lead on this issue, and we should do it.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:05 p.m.

Conservative

Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB

Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan not only for splitting his time with me and thereby allowing me to speak to this very serious issue but also for bringing the genocide of the Muslim Rohingya to the attention of this House. Indeed, I do not think we would be having this debate tonight if it were not for the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan.

Certainly the Liberal government has deliberately ignored opportunities to make it clear that Canada does not tolerate this type of systemic attack on any people, especially by their own government. At the very least, the Prime Minister could have raised this ongoing ethnic cleansing in his recent speech at the UN, but he chose not to do so. This is beyond disappointing. The Myanmar military is attacking, killing, and raping its own people, and our own Prime Minister will not even speak up to denounce it. In fact, my colleague has asked very specific questions in this House about the Rohingya genocide time after time. The Liberal members across the floor like to claim that they are committed to protecting international human rights and that they consider it a priority to protect the rights of linguistic, religious, and ethnic minorities, but when they are asked to actually prove it, they deflect, delay, and defer. This is shameful.

During testimony at the Subcommittee on International Human Rights last week, the Canadian outreach coordinator of the Burma Task Force Canada told parliamentarians that nearly half of the Rohingya population, over 400,000 people, have been displaced in less than three weeks, and over 200 villages burned. Mr. Ahmed Ramadan warned that the Myanmar Army is mobilizing troops again in preparation for another onslaught. He pointed out that the human rights organization and the United Nations have documented and presented Suu Kyi's government with facts regarding ongoing abuses by Myanmar's military. In fact, 52% of female refugees interviewed by the UN in Bangladesh reported having been sexually abused by Myanmar forces. The Myanmar military is now laying land mines across the border where people are crossing into Bangladesh. Clearly, the goal is not just to push people out of their own country; it is to eliminate the Rohingya people.

It has been widely confirmed that what is going on right now in Myanmar is genocide. The French President, the Malaysian Prime Minister, the President of Nigeria, the President of Turkey, and the Bangladeshi foreign minister are all calling what is going on at present a genocide. The Rohingya still in Myanmar are being systematically isolated from food and aid, with the result that they will starve to death while we watch. The Rohingya in internment camps—some of them there for years—are not receiving food either. We are told that humanitarian groups have been kicked out of northern Rakhine State, leaving thousands of children without food or medical assistance. In Bangladesh, where almost half a million have fled from the violence in their own country, there is also severe need for aid. My Conservative colleagues and I call on the government to encourage the Government of Bangladesh to allow humanitarian aid to reach these refugees as well because, we are told, conditions in these camps are also destructive.

I want to speak a bit about the report on the Rakhine State tabled in August by the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan.

Mr. Annan and his advisory commission held a year of consultations into the challenges facing Rakhine State and put forward specific recommendations aimed to prevent exactly the type of situation that we are seeing today. The commission recognized the importance of socio-economic development for local communities. Most notable to me is that it called on the government to ensure that local communities benefit from natural resource extractions in the state. The commission stressed the importance of providing compensation for appropriated land; investing in infrastructure, including roads, electricity, drinking water, and Internet access; providing vocational training that prioritizes women; reducing red tape to promote business; and of the urgent need for the government to strengthen the capabilities of communities to adopt climate-resilient options and to improve the state's irrigation systems.

The commission also stressed the very important matter of citizenship. Muslims in particular are often left stateless due to deficiencies in the national legislation. One of the recommendations is that the government set up a process to review the current law, and that pending such a review, the government should ensure that existing legislation is interpreted and applied in a manner that is non-discriminatory. Both Rakhines and Muslims face movement restrictions, although Muslims, in particular internally displaced persons, are particularly affected.

Mr. Annan and his colleague asked the government to ensure freedom of movement for all people, irrespective of religion, ethnicity, or citizenship status, and to introduce measures to prohibit informal restrictions, including unofficial payments and arbitrary roadblocks.

As Mr Annan said:

Unless concerted action—led by the government and aided by all sectors of the government and society—is taken soon, we risk the return of another cycle of violence and radicalisation, which will further deepen the chronic poverty that afflicts Rakhine State.

Indeed, short days after this report was published, we saw exactly that.

Before I finish, I want to point out that since 2000 Canada has provided over $180 million in official development assistance to Myanmar, with $95 million being disbursed in the last four years, after Canada lifted most of its sanctions on the country. Should we continue sending money to a nation that is violating basic human rights, such as the right to religion? Should we continue sending money to a government, if not actively participating, is condoning genocide by its inaction? This is something the House must consider.

I look forward to hearing from my colleagues on these questions, as well as hearing their thoughts on what Canada can do and should be doing to help the Rohingya people.

Most importantly, we must recognize that ethic cleansing is taking place. We must take action as a nation to condemn it and encourage our Prime Minister, who has failed to condemn it, to do so.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:15 p.m.

NDP

Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet NDP Hochelaga, QC

Madam Speaker, I did not quite understand the last part of the member's speech.

Does she want to reduce humanitarian aid to Myanmar? When she was talking about sending less money to Myanmar, did she mean less humanitarian aid as well? Or does she think we should increase humanitarian aid to those in need in Myanmar? It was not clear.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:15 p.m.

Conservative

Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB

Madam Speaker, I think the most important thing is that we need to be sure that these donations are used in a manner that is consistent with our values, which is what the Conservative government did from 2010 to 2015. That is the most important thing.

When we give money, it is really important that the money be used in a manner that is consistent with our values. That is what we, the Conservatives, the official opposition, feel is the most important thing.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:15 p.m.

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Madam Speaker, Burma has a power-sharing government. There is the military and then there is the democratically elected component. Many people who are following this debate will know the name Aung San Suu Kyi, and I think will recognize the importance of engaging her. It is important that we underline for the government that it needs to be engaging her as well as the military leadership. It is important that we recognize that neither has been performing in a way that is consistent with the fundamental human values that we would like them to support. The government needs to engage more, and it needs to engage with both of those key elements of the Burmese regime.

I wonder if the member could talk a bit more about what we need the government to do, especially when it comes to engaging all of the different elements of Burmese leadership and putting on full pressure to bring about a change in direction.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:15 p.m.

Conservative

Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB

Madam Speaker, my response would be very similar to my response to the previous question. We must make sure that we are living our Canadian values in the international realm. This includes democracy, freedom, and of course basic human rights. We must make sure that we are encouraging these fundamental human rights of democracy, freedom, and safety within the international arena and that our nation, our government, and our Prime Minister are including these rights within all of our words and all of our actions and interactions with the other international players.

Presently, we are not doing that. We must be very sure that all of our actions and all of our words follow our Canadian values, which support human rights. Right now, this is not the case.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:15 p.m.

Fredericton New Brunswick

Liberal

Matt DeCourcey LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Madam Speaker, thanks to my colleague for her participation in this debate this evening, as well as to my colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for raising this important matter as he has many times.

Certainly I appreciate hearing the member opposite ask that we continue to espouse Canadian values and work with countries around the world to build their capacity as it relates to respect for human rights, peaceful pluralism, and the rule of law. Canada has been seized with this issue and, on those very aspects of this, has been front and centre in the international sphere. We have made strong statements. We have worked with partners through the UN, through specific bilateral meetings at the UNGA, and delivered specific humanitarian aid, as well as sanctions on the regime.

Would the member opposite acknowledge that Canada has played and can continue to play a leadership role in helping resolve this situation?

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:15 p.m.

Conservative

Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB

Madam Speaker, I feel the greatest display of democracy, of freedom, and of justice was by the previous government. Its actions lived up entirely to the values. Certainly if ever there were an opportunity to express these values, which the hon. member across from me indicates that the government is doing through its meetings, it was not previously demonstrated by the Prime Minister at the recent UNGA meetings, which is very disappointing for all Canadians.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:20 p.m.

University—Rosedale Ontario

Liberal

Chrystia Freeland LiberalMinister of Foreign Affairs

Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for York Centre.

Let me start by being unequivocal and firm. Our government clearly condemns the human rights violations of the Rohingya and the violence and persecution that has forced almost 480,000 Rohingya to flee. In a matter of weeks, nearly half the population has left its home out of fear of persecution and as a result of acts of violence. This is unjustifiable. This is ethnic cleansing.

Make no mistake. The plight of the Rohingya is a priority for Canadians, for the Prime Minister, for our government, for me personally, and for our officials in Yangon.

As many members know, this tragedy is just the most recent chapter in a long and complex history of violence in Rakhine State.

For decades, the Rohingya have been the victims of widespread, systematic discrimination and human rights violations in Myanmar. The Muslim Rohingya are an ethnic and linguistic minority. The government does not consider them one of the country's official ethnic groups, and as a result, Myanmar does not grant them citizenship. They are mainly considered economic migrants from Bangladesh and commonly deemed to be illegal Bengalis. That is why Canadian aid programs are trying to get these people recognized and ensure that their status in Myanmar is respected and valued.

In Rakhine State, tension has been brewing between the Rakhine Buddhist majority and the Rohingya for a long time. Unfortunately, that tension often leads to acts of violence. For example, in 2012, inter-ethnic unrest led to the forced displacement of 120,000 Rohingya, who have since been living in makeshift camps where their movement is restricted and they are entirely dependent on humanitarian aid.

In October 2016, things got even worse for the Rohingya when police officers were killed during attacks attributed to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army at border posts in northern Rakhine State.

The security operations that followed were grossly disproportionate, and the Rohingya suffered many human rights violations, including arson, rape, and torture. Tens of thousands of people fled to nearby Bangladesh or were displaced within the country, which has led to today's humanitarian crisis.

Canada has taken every opportunity to advocate for the Rohingya people, including in conversations with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and the commander in chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

The Prime Minister and I personally conveyed this message in meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi in June 2017 during her official visit to Canada.

On September 16, I attended and addressed a rally organized by the Burma Task Force in Toronto. At that rally, I echoed the remarks by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that the situation in Rakhine State “seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”, and I condemned that.

On September 18, my colleague the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie attended a round table on Rakhine State hosted by the UK foreign secretary at the UNGA.

In recent weeks and at the UNGA last week, I have spoken about the plight of the Rohingya with my counterparts from Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, United States, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Turkey, and the EU. I have also spoken with Kofi Annan, whose report was discussed earlier in this House, and the Prime Minister spoke very clearly about this issue with Aung San Suu Kyi on September 13.

When I spoke about our concerns about the plight of the Rohingya with Federica Mogherini, the EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, I told her about conversations I had had with Canadian Rohingyas at this demonstration. She said that Canadians are so amazing, that we have in our country refugees from every country in the world. That was a very poignant remark, because I think we Canadians do feel a special obligation toward persecuted minorities around the world. I think one of the reasons is that, apart from the indigenous peoples in Canada, all of us originally came here from somewhere else.

I am so proud that we are having this debate tonight. I am so proud that the voices on all sides of the House are raised in support of the persecuted Rohingya. That says something about us as a country, and I want to commit to Canadians that we are fighting that fight.

I also want to say that our government is very aware that it is a Muslim minority that is being persecuted. We supported a motion opposing Islamaphobia in our country, and we are very aware that in the world today, both in Canada and abroad, many Muslims are a particular focus for persecution. That is something Canada speaks out against.

Our goals today are very clear. The first is to end the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya. The second is to work very hard to allow Canadians and Canadian humanitarian assistance to be provided to the persecuted Rohingya, to see with Canadian eyes what is happening and to support these deeply suffering people. The third is to work in concert with our international allies to do everything we can to allow the Rohingya to return to their homes in Rakhine State and to live there free from persecution and fully enjoy their human rights.

It is important for all of us to hold Aung San Suu Kyi to account. That is what the Prime Minister has done in his conversations with her. That is what I have done in my conversations with her. That is what we have done in our public statements.

It is especially important for all of us to also hold to account and put pressure on the military leadership of Myanmar. It is very important that the military in Myanmar understand that the world is aware of the military's role in this ethnic cleansing and that we will not stand for it. That is something the government is doing as well.

I want to assure Canadians and all members of this House that Myanmar currently faces an arms embargo from Canada. That embargo is very firmly and clearly in place.

Finally, I want to reiterate the extent to which I personally, my colleagues, the Prime Minister, and our government welcome the opportunity to have this debate, welcome the opportunity to have this conversation, and really welcome the very strong show of support that we, collectively, are giving to the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority by, all together, with one voice, stating that we stand for them.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:25 p.m.

Conservative

Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for her remarks, her expression of solidarity, and also her report on some of the activities she has undertaken recently. Our view as the opposition is, to be frank, that some of these activities could have, should have started earlier. However, I appreciate nonetheless what the minister has shared.

I wonder if she could report specifically about engaging the military leadership as well, because she has talked about its importance. Has she spoken with General Min Aung Hlaing, the commander in chief in Burma? I wonder if she could report some of the context for those discussions in terms of what happened, what was said, and what the response was. I think the House would be very interested in hearing.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:25 p.m.

Liberal

Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his engagement on this issue and for his engagement in having the debate tonight in this House. As I have said, I think it is very important for us to be showing our cross-party support on this issue.

As I said, I think we very much share the view that it is important, even as we hold Aung San Suu Kyi to account, that we also put pressure on the military leadership of Myanmar, and our government has definitely been doing that, including directly to the military leadership.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:30 p.m.

NDP

Cheryl Hardcastle NDP Windsor—Tecumseh, ON

Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. minister for giving us a very aspirational description of how we are going to move forward in terms of ending the situation of ethnic cleansing now, allowing that humanitarian assistance access to the actual problematic areas, and allowing that full enjoyment of human rights for the Rohingya population now and moving forward.

It is very aspirational, and I would ask the hon. minister if Canada will be increasing its humanitarian funding for this situation, to achieve these goals.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:30 p.m.

Liberal

Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON

Madam Speaker, it was an aspirational list of our goals. I will be candid, because I think it was implicit in the question, that these are hard goals to achieve. I recognize that. I think it is important for all of us, even as we advocate strongly and fiercely for the Rohingya, to be clear that this is hard, this is difficult. It does not mean that we should not try to do it, and we do need to be working hard. I certainly have felt that, in my conversations with our international colleagues, we can at least hope that this concerted international pressure may be starting to have an effect.

As for increasing our humanitarian support for the Rohingya refugees and humanitarian support for those in the region, that is certainly something that we are very urgently looking into.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:30 p.m.

Liberal

Mary Ng Liberal Markham—Thornhill, ON

Madam Speaker, my riding of Markham—Thornhill, one of Canada's most diverse ridings, has a strong Muslim community, which has shown great concern toward the human rights atrocities faced by the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. I have met with many of my constituents, who have called on Canada to uphold international justice and take a lead in humanitarian intervention.

I am very proud of the steps that the hon. minister has shared with us on what our government is doing already to address this crisis. I would like the minister to inform this House, moving forward, on what steps our government intends on taking toward addressing the ethnic cleansing that is taking place in Myanmar today.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:30 p.m.

Liberal

Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale, ON

Madam Speaker, one thing I want to tell people is that many of the foreign ministers I spoke to last week and this week recognize the Canadian leadership, particularly those from the Muslim world, who said they were glad to hear Canada's voice raised on this issue.

On the steps we are taking, as I said, we are urgently looking at humanitarian assistance and seeking access for our diplomats to the Rakhine State so that we can see first-hand what is happening. Also, in concert with our allies, and I talked about this with Rex Tillerson last night, we are thinking about ways that we can step up that pressure on the military leadership.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:30 p.m.

Liberal

Michael Levitt Liberal York Centre, ON

Madam Speaker, it is with profound sadness that I stand tonight in the House to speak on the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar and their brutal oppression at the hands of the Myanmar government.

Thirty-five years ago in 1982, the Rohingya, who are a Muslim minority in a Buddhist majority country, were stripped of their citizenship. Even before that, the Rohingya experienced the severest forms of legal, economic, educational, and social discrimination. Through concerted government and local efforts they have been one of the most persecuted peoples on earth. This situation has only worsened over the past 35 years.

I am honoured to sit with six other members of the House on the Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the foreign affairs committee, and I am honoured to have been elected as chair of that subcommittee. Our subcommittee has done extensive work on the human rights situation facing the Rohingya and I would like to highlight some of our work to give members an idea of the tragedy that these people have faced.

In November 2012, the subcommittee studied human rights in Myanmar. The report studied the gradual dismantling of a military dictatorship and the birth of a nascent democracy with cautious optimism. The peaceful election of Aung San Suu Kyi as a member of parliament in a 2012 by-election and the election of other candidates from the NLD, was promising. Myanmar, it seemed, had emerged from 60 years of repressive military rule, characterized by grave human rights violations, an absence of the rule of law, persistent internal armed conflicts, and low levels of human and economic development.

Given the obvious challenges this new democracy faced, no one expected progress on human rights in Myanmar to happen overnight. I think as Canadians, and as elected representatives ourselves, we were glad to see a democratically elected civilian government led by individuals who we thought were committed to democracy and human rights.

Last year, after the election of the NLD to government and Aung San Suu Kyi's rise to State Counsellor, the Subcommittee on International Human Rights did an updated report on the plight of the Rohingya as its first order of business during this new session of Parliament.

The witness testimony was gut-wrenching. Throughout this study, our subcommittee heard that the Rohingya remain the target of hatred and violence in Myanmar, led by Buddhist nationalists and exacerbated by an environment of impunity and official complacency.

Those same 2015 elections that saw a civilian government finally elected also saw the Rohingya lose their right to vote. A Rohingya member of parliament testified about his Kafkaesque experience of being told that he was not a citizen and therefore could not run for the very position he was currently holding by the same immigration department and election commission that had approved his paperwork and candidacy for the 2010 elections.

When we drafted that report and made our recommendations, we understood that the situation of the Rohingya was dire, but we did not think it could get worse. In October of last year it got worse, much, much worse.

On October 9 last year, a group of Rohingya armed themselves and killed nine police officers in Rakhine State. None of us in the House condone the use of violence, but it is the responsibility of the Myanmar government to exercise restraint in the maintenance of peace and security and the exercise of justice.

Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, Myanmar security forces carried out a ruthless and disproportionate response to the violence in Rakhine State. Satellite evidence showed that Rohingya villages had been burned to the ground. The Government of Myanmar expelled humanitarian workers, international observers, and western journalists, deprived the 100,000 Rohingya confined to camps of food, medicine and other aid, and emptied the region of witnesses to the violence. Let me reiterate that this was not last month or last week; this was last year.

The Myanmar military's attacks on thousands of innocent Rohingya civilians, including women and children, were inexcusably brutal and disproportionate. Security forces and mobs of Rakhine villagers set fire to houses with families still inside. We heard reports of members of the Myanmar military using widespread rape and sexual violence as a form of torture, targeting women and girls of all ages.

These are the same horrors we hear when we recall Rwanda or the plight of the Yazidis. They are stories of neighbours murdering neighbours, of families slaughtered, and women and children brutalized in the most horrific way. We looked at the situation from last October and said it could not get worse. It got much worse.

Last week, the subcommittee heard a horrifyingly familiar update on the current situation facing the Rohingya. Just last month, the Myanmar military launched a disproportionate operation against the Rohingya following deadly attacks by extremists. Make no mistake, these events were brought about by an enduring policy of cruelty towards the Rohingya. The rise of violent extremism was both predictable and preventable in light of years of persecution at the hands of the Myanmar authorities. In what the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has labelled “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”, Myanmar authorities and Buddhist extremists have burned entire Rohingya villages and shot at fleeing civilians.

We heard from a witness just last week who described how he calls what remains of his family every day to check whether they are still alive. The night before our meeting, his nephew in Myanmar told him: “Uncle, if we do not die, if we do not get killed by the army or the attacks with them, we will die here without food.” This is the risk they face. If the Rohingya who remain in their homes or are confined in camps in Myanmar are not murdered, they are being starved to death by the atrocious conditions forced upon them by the Myanmar government.

Since August 25, around 3,000 Rohingya are estimated to have been killed, tens of thousands of Rohingya remain stranded in northern Rakhine State without access to basic supplies such as food and water, and almost 400,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar into Bangladesh. In case anyone questions the intent or brutality of the Myanmar authorities' response, I have this to say. According to information collected by the international campaign to ban landmines, credible witnesses saw an army truck arrive on the Myanmar side of the Myanmar-Bangladesh border on August 28 from which soldiers unloaded three crates. They saw the soldiers take antipersonnel landmines from the crates and place them in the ground. One does not lay landmines to maintain public safety. One lays landmines to murder indiscriminately. The alternative conclusion to the cruel act of laying mines to prevent Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh from returning to their homes is the barbarity of laying those mines to murder Rohingya fleeing violence.

This is the point that we are at, where we all know that ethnic cleansing is happening in front of our eyes. It is clear that the blame for these atrocities lies at the hands of the Myanmar government. Myanmar is among the youngest democracies. Its constitution mandates military control of key ministries, and effectively gives the military veto power over constitutional amendments, but this situation does not excuse gross human rights violations. One cannot advocate for democracy and peace with one side of one's mouth, and demonize and murder minorities with the other.

Aung San Suu Kyi must show leadership and denounce these crimes. The political reality she faces in Myanmar does not absolve her of the responsibility to speak up for the principles she once stood for, the hope she gave to so many, the Nobel prize she won, and the honorary Canadian citizenship she holds. The world recognized Aung San Suu Kyi for her leadership advocating for the rights of the oppressed. She is complicit in her silence.

Lastly, we must not forget to recognize that it is the military leadership in Myanmar that orders, undertakes, and oversees the brutality. Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of Myanmar's armed forces, bears direct responsibility for the atrocities committed by his military. Myanmar security forces must end all violence, and the rights of all citizens of Myanmar must be immediately recognized and protected.

As I close, I want to return to my earlier point, which is that whenever we heard of the atrocities the Rohingya have faced, we thought it could not get worse. We look at the scope and scale and the brutality of the attacks today. We look at the victims and the international outrage, and we say that it cannot get worse, but we know it can get worse. We know that if it gets worse from this point, from the ethnic cleansing and the massive displacement of Rohingya from their homes, then we know what this will become.

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

6:40 p.m.

Conservative

Scott Reid Conservative Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON

Madam Speaker, the hon. member said that we all know what this will become but did not say the word that I think was on the tip of his tongue, and that is “genocide”. I cannot think of what comes next after ethnic cleansing. We cannot even debate whether the line between ethnic cleansing and genocide is a fuzzy one given that clearing people from their homes, destroying their villages so they cannot come back, freeing up that land for use by others, and making a return to their homeland impossible are all features of genocide and ethnic cleansing.

Was “genocide“ the word that was on the tip of the member's tongue?

Situation in MyanmarEmergency Debate

September 26th, 2017 / 6:40 p.m.

Liberal

Michael Levitt Liberal York Centre, ON

Madam Speaker, there is no doubt that it was the word on the tip of my tongue. We see the tragedy facing these people. We see the spiralling of this situation that has become more and more dire. Even as we have examined this over the last couple of years, it has continued to trend downhill. We have seen it happening, as I mentioned in my speech. We know what happened to the Yazidis. We know what happened in Rwanda and it is up to the international community to ensure that these people are not subject to genocide.