Linda Duncan on Petitions

Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege today of presenting a petition from more than 150 Edmontonians. Those petitioners remind us that the Canadian government has publicly committed itself to the defence of human rights internationally and that the Magnitsky act was passed a year ago, allowing for restrictive measures to be taken against foreign nationals responsible for gross violations of internationally recognized human rights. They remind us that today the Canadian government has taken no action against Russian authorities responsible for the unlawful imprisonment and brutal ill treatment of three Ukrainian hunger strikers, Oleg Sentsov, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Volodymyr Balukh, and approximately 60 other Ukrainian political prisoners. The Magnitsky act has not been invoked against Russian officials responsible for these violations. The petitioners call on the House of Commons to demand the release of those political prisoners and the dozens of others illegally detained by the Russian government and to employ all possible sanctions, including measures under the Magnitsky act.