Debates of June 11th, 2018

Opposition Motion—Iran

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Eglinton—Lawrence.

I want to thank everyone who has given me the opportunity to talk about Iran, because this is an issue that is very important to all Canadians, but in particular to those in the Iranian Canadian community in my riding, who have been the greatest victims of the regime that is currently in place in Iran.

They have suffered from political oppression. The Baha'i community, whose religion is not recognized as a religion in the Iranian constitution, has suffered endless streams of discrimination. The Jewish community, the Christian community, and religious minorities in Iran have all suffered, and those who have come here understand what they went through and what their friends and families in Iran are still going through as a result of this regime.

This motion in no way imputes any fault to the Iranian people or to the Iranian Canadian community. It solely singles out the totalitarian, authoritarian, repressive regime currently in place in the Islamic republic of Iran.

Why is it so important to talk about Iran? There are other regimes out there that are theocracies. There other regimes out there, unfortunately, that violate fundamental human rights. There are other regimes out there that discriminate against women. There are other regimes out there that single out our ally Israel. However, what is unique about the Iranian regime is they export their horrible record abroad.

They encourage Yemen to also discriminate against the Baha'i community. They support terrorist groups like Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas to wreak havoc on the Middle East, including what recently occurred in Gaza. While Hamas is no doubt responsible for the violence that occurred and the unfortunate death of Palestinians in Gaza, Iran, behind the scenes, financed Hamas and gave it weapons to fire rockets and projectiles on peaceful civilians in Israel.

It is Iran, behind the scenes, that has helped the murderous Assad regime in Syria kill thousands of their own citizens with poison gas and has caused the dislocation of millions.

Iran has chosen to export its terror abroad. Iran has chosen to single out one country for condemnation, the most democratic country in the Middle East, one that respects the rights of people of all religions in the country, and one that has an independent judiciary that is prized around the world: Israel.

We have all been talking about world leaders who like to tweet. One of the world leaders who likes to tweet is the supreme religious leader of Iran, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei. While his remarks are odious, I think it is important to put on the record of this Parliament what this gentleman has put on his Twitter account this year.

“Israel Is A Hideous Entity In the Middle East Which Will Undoubtedly Be Annihilated.”

“Our stance against Israel is the same stance we have always taken. #Israel is a malignant cancerous tumor in the West Asian region that has to be removed and eradicated: it is possible and it will happen.” That was on June 3.

“Woe to the heads of those dependent and traitorous countries, who refrain from the great duty of fighting against #Israel and defending #Palestine only to win U.S’s attention and a few more days of power.” This was on June 2, 2018.

“Friendship with the unbelievers brings misery to Muslims, like the friendship some Muslim states have with the Zionist regime, exchanging kind words and establishing economic or political relations.” This was on April 26, 2018.

He went out of his way to say, “God’s curse be upon the arrogant powers, their agents, as well as the vicious Zionist regime and the U.S. for destroying Muslims”. This was on January 30, 2018.

He has also called Israel “barbaric”, “infanticidal”, and “sinister, unclean rabid dog of the region”.

I can only say that this man's tweets bring shame upon his country, and it is unfortunate that we, in this world today, have to deal with a world leader who is so intent on destroying one small country in the region, the homeland of the Jewish people.

However, we should not be surprised, because after all, this gentleman is also a Holocaust denier. With respect to the six million Jews and the many other millions of gay people, Jehovah's witnesses, and others who perished in the Nazi Holocaust, this gentleman is not sure it really happened.

That is why in 2016 for the second time Iran held a Holocaust cartoon competition and invited anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers from across the world to exhibit their wares in Tehran with a grand prize. Yom HaShoah is the day that is sacred to tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors living in Canada today, who found refuge on our shores from the vicious murderous entity that they had escaped in Europe. This gentleman, Ayatollah Khamenei, on Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2016 published a video in which he said, “No one in European countries dares to speak about the Holocaust, while it is not clear whether the core of this matter is reality or not. Even if it is reality, it is not clear how it happened.” The video featured images of Holocaust deniers Roger Garaudy, David Irving, and Robert Faurisson. That is shocking.

It is a regime that today still denies the Holocaust. It imputes to those who survived the Holocaust and came to Israel the idea that they should then be obliterated from the face of the earth. I am proud to stand as part of a government that supports Israel, a government that will defend Israel and recognize that Israel not only has a right to exist, but has a right to defend itself against rockets that stream across its borders.

Israel faced the situation in Gaza. I cannot imagine any country in the world that would have acted in a different way, had terrorists encouraged and incited people to stream against its borders firing projectiles and announcing to them that the border had been breached, to go forward, and putting women, children, and infants in front of the line. That is a disgrace.

I also want to talk about my predecessor as the member of Parliament for Mount Royal, the hon. Irwin Cotler. He was someone with a principled foreign policy, and someone who believed in non-partisanship, and someone who reached across the aisle and created an Iran accountability week that the Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs still runs that includes members of all parties. I have been honoured to sit in on a couple of those committee hearings where we have heard from victims of the Iranian regime, when we have heard from the Baha’i community here in Canada about the horrendous treatment of Baha’is in Iran, when we have heard that Iran executes more people per capita than any other country, including minors.

All parties in the House have joined together to hold Iran to account and Canada has led on that issue by bringing forward and sponsoring resolutions at the United Nations to condemn the human rights violations of the Iranian regime.

I am very pleased to have the chance to stand in the House today and support a resolution that condemns Iran. We should all condemn Iran for its human rights violations at home, for its importation of human rights violations abroad, for its support of terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East, for its support of the butchering Assad regime in Syria, for its denial of the Holocaust, for its threat of genocide against the Jewish people, for its attempts to eradicate Israel from the face of the earth, and for its desire to become a nuclear power and proliferate nuclear arms across the Middle East. That deserves to be denounced and I am pleased to have had the opportunity to do so today.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we absolutely support my colleague in denouncing the Iranian leadership on its comments and threats toward Israel. We want to open up the conversation with Iran so that we can speak directly to Iran about its human rights atrocities within Iran. We know that denouncing the Iranian regime cannot replace strong democracy.

Does my colleague support the opening of an embassy and diplomatic relations with Iran so we can speak directly to Iran in our opposition to its human rights abuses, in the way it is treating Israel and its support of the regimes in the Middle East, whether they be in Syria, Iraq, or elsewhere? Will the member speak to that and if Canada does support opening an embassy, how soon would we be doing that?

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the parliamentary secretary have been abundantly clear that the only issue that we will be discussing with Iran is the fate of Maryam Mombeini, who should be released immediately, what happened to her husband, Professor Kavous Seyed-Emami, who I believe was murdered in prison as opposed to having committed suicide, and following up on the fate of Mr. Malekpour, who has been in prison since 2008. That is all we should be doing.

With respect to rewarding a gentleman who is a Holocaust denier and somebody who wants to eradicate Israel from the face of the earth by upgrading our diplomatic relations, I do not think now is the time to do so.

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

Mr. Speaker, I certainly share my colleague's sentiments. There has been some discussion back and forth here about having an embassy opened in Iran. One of the points that has not been answered directly from our friends in the NDP is this issue of the safety of Canadian officials. One of the things that Iran does, in addition to what the member mentioned, is attack diplomatic staff. My colleague from Courtenay—Alberni mentioned the British having a diplomatic presence there. In 2011, in response to British government policy toward Iran, there were riots whereby British diplomatic properties were attacked and burned. We have seen similar things happen with other countries. Does the member agree with me that to put our diplomats into Iran at a time when the Iranian government does not follow any normal rules of engagement and to then be legitimately critical of its human rights record would further endanger the lives of our diplomats, and that there are other ways where we can engage that do not involve creating that significant risk to those who serve Canada abroad?

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly agree with my colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan that before putting diplomats in any location we need to look at the safety of those diplomats. The fact that in 1979, upon the new Iranian regime taking power, the American embassy was besieged and American prisoners taken is certainly at the roots of this regime that is currently in power in Iran. Therefore, I would certainly agree with my colleague that, right now, we should solely be focused on freeing Ms. Mombeini, getting answers on Mr. Malekpour and seeking to get him out of Iran as well, and not doing anything to put our diplomats in harm's way.

[Michael Levitt, Liberal, York Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think we have heard a lot of reflections in this House, and we have heard some strong condemnations of this regime. I want to particularly focus for a second on the issue of Iran's domestic repression of human rights, something I know this member cares about. He sat in on the Subcommittee on International Human Rights, as he mentioned, during Iran accountability week. We have heard from the LGBTQ community. We have heard from women. We have heard from the Baha'i. We have heard from political prisoners and families of political prisoners who are being held. We have heard about this odious regime and its denial of fundamental freedoms. We have heard about its denial of justice and due process. I would just like to hear from the member his thoughts on how the Iranian regime can be held to account, and how we as Canadians can add our voice to ensuring that the plight of these individuals in Iran, of Iranians under this regime, is not forgotten.

[Anthony Housefather, Liberal, Mount Royal, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for York Centre for his incredible work on this file. For me, it is very clear. Canada has to play a leadership role across the world in defending the people of Iran and making sure that human rights are upheld in Iran. That includes the Baha'is and the LGBTQ+. That includes everybody. One of the ways that we have already started on the path to do it is to recognize certain Iranian organizations as terrorist organizations. Also, we have led on the issue of imposing a Magnitsky act, which perhaps could be applied to certain Iranian officials.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege to speak on this motion, which calls for the condemnation of the Iranian regime for its sponsorship of terrorism, human rights violations, and, most egregiously, its repugnant calls for genocide against the Jewish people and the state of Israel.

There are a number of reasons why the motion merits support, but none is more important, more transcendent than the deep and abiding strength of Canada's friendship with Israel. I am proud to say that our friendship is very strong. That is because our two countries enjoy close people-to-people ties on a number of shared priorities.

In my riding, I think of the profound and prominent people of the Jewish community. I see them in the shuls, in the schools, in the camps, and it is a privilege to represent them in the House every day. Those priorities include commerce, trade, national security, and the fight against terrorism when it comes to our two states.

The government's commitment deepening the bonds between Canada and Israel can be seen through many examples, most recently the Minister of International Trade's announcement on the modernization of the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement. Under CIFTA's new provisions, there will be expanded trade, additional reduced tariffs, and the adoption of voluntary CSR standards by enterprises. Together, these improvements will benefit domestic businesses and exporters, growing the more than $1.7 billion in merchandise trade that exists between Canada and Israel.

However, it is not just commerce and trade where our economies are working together to drive opportunity. Canada and Israel have also forged an important strategic alliance, which plays a vital role in preserving peace and stability in the Middle East, and I will come to that.

When it comes to national security, there are scarcely two countries that co-operate more in the region. We work closely with Israel through exchanges of information, close collaboration on day-to-day operations, and routine bilateral visits at the ministerial and official levels. I would highlight the most recent trip of the Minister of Public Safety to Israel where he advanced and deepened the degree of co-operation that exists between our two countries where we share technology, intelligence, and best practices, all of which strengthens our ability to keep our respective borders safe.

All of these examples evidence the deep ties that exist between Canada and Israel, but the true measure of our friendship lies in our shared values, the very apex of which is a profound respect for Israel and for the Jewish people. That is why the Iranian regime's conduct is so worthy of condemnation, as expressed by the language of the motion on the floor. It must be condemned for its threats against Israel, for its sponsorship of terrorism, for its incitement of violence in the Gaza, and for its repeated human rights violations against the Iranian people and Canadians alike.

Let me be clear. Iran's blatant calls for Israel's destruction, Ayatollah Khamenei's characterization of Israel as “a malignant cancerous tumor” that “must be eradicated”, and most recently and troubling, the al-Quds day rally at Queen's Park in Toronto, in my hometown, where anti-Semitism ran rampant, are deplorable and unacceptable examples. Canada stands firmly against this kind of hatred, which is driven by fear.

It is for this reason that Canada stands on the international stage to stamp out this kind of hatred and to hold Iran to account.

How are we going to accomplish this objective? We are working with our global partners to call on Iranian authorities to respect human rights of the people of Iran, to halt its nuclear weapons ambitions, as well as to end its regional actions that persist in destabilising an already fragile environment.

In addition, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs has stated that discussions with the Iranian authorities are focused on consular issues, including ensuring that Maryam Mombeini is able to leave Iran and to return to Canada, her home. In fact, just two weeks ago, the minister raised the case of Maryam Mombeini directly with the Iranian minister of foreign affairs.

Canadians expect their government to raise these issues directly with Iran. They want to know that their governments will put the safety and well-being of Canadians at the foremost of our interests and efforts, and we are.

Let me be very clear. Canada remains deeply concerned by the behaviour of the Iranian government and its continued lack of respect for human rights, its long-term nuclear ambitions, its ongoing ballistic missiles program, its support for terrorism, and its regional actions, which are destabilizing. To respond to these threats, Canada maintains a robust sanction regime and controls on exports of proliferation-sensitive goods to Iran, including goods and technologies that could assist the development of Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Under the Special Economic Measures Act, Canada continues to maintain a list of individuals and entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, subject to asset freezes, and with all whom transactions involving property are prohibited. Under the United Nations Act, Canada also implements the sanctions against Iran as decided by the UN Security Council in resolution 2231.

Beyond our domestic responses, Canada is a firm believer in the necessity and strength of multilateral action. Without coordinated multilateral action. our ability to influence meaningful change in Iran's behaviour is limited. To this end, Canada participates in many multilateral fora to work alongside our partners to continue addressing Iran's anti-proliferation risk.

Canada strongly supports the JCPOA monitoring and verification of the International Atomic Energy Agency. As a leading contributor to the IAEA, Canada has provided $11.5 million in voluntary contributions since 2014. Despite the United States' decision to withdraw from the JCPOA, we believe it remains in the interest of the international community to continue to implement the JCPOA in order to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons regime.

We are also concerned by Iranian actions in the Middle East, which are destabilizing and threaten the security of its neighbours, including our Canadian partners. On this front, Canada has committed to working with partners to counter Iran's threatening foreign policy, including its support for Hamas, the Syrian regime, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. We strongly condemn these groups and the violent and dangerous activities they undertake in the Middle East, which are so destabilizing.

We will continue to work with our partners in the region to come up with sustainable solutions to this threat and to promote peace and stability in the region.

We will continue to call on the Iranian regime to fully respect the rights of the Iranian people. I am sure that every member in the House can agree that the people of Iran deserve full access to human and democratic rights. Human rights are absolutely integral to our international engagement. We stand up for our values. We do not hesitate to speak up against human rights violations and abuses, wherever they take place.

When the protests took place in Iran in December 2017 and January 2018, Canada was one of the first countries to publicly express support for the Iranian people to exercise their basic right to protest peacefully. This government called on the Iranian authorities to uphold and respect democratic and human rights. The Minister of Foreign Affairs also publicly expressed our deep concerns over deaths and detentions of protesters in Iran. The Iranian people have the right to freely express themselves without facing violence or recrimination.

To promote respect for human rights in Iran, Canada also believes in the strength of civil society work. This is why the government regularly interacts with human rights groups, including Iranian religious and ethnic minorities, such as the Baha'i community. The Iranian Canadian community in Canada makes strong and meaningful contributions to Canada and to Canadian life, and so many wish to see greater freedoms and respect of human rights in Iran. Our government believes the same, and we continue to advocate strongly in this regard. That is why we seek to raise human rights and consular cases directly with Iranian authorities.

We will continue to call on Iranian authorities to immediately give Maryam Mombeini the freedom to exit Iran and to return to Canada. As our government has publicly stated, as long as Mrs. Mombeini is not able to leave Iran, the focus of any discussions with Iran will be on getting her home.

We are committed to promoting Canada's peaceful land democratic values abroad. We will continue to work with our partners to respond to the threats that Iran poses to international peace and security.

I want to acknowledge and thank the Prime Minister for his support of Israelis during this challenging time. He clearly stated, “Israel has every right to defend itself against the deplorable attacks by the terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.” Likewise, the Minister of Foreign Affairs was clear that “Canada strongly condemns the mortar attacks launched on Israeli civilians from Gaza.” She has also condemned incursions by Iranian drones into lsraeli airspace. Such acts of violence are unacceptable and threaten the long-term goal of a just and lasting peace.

Canada will continue to hold the Iranian regime to account. We continue to impose one of the strongest sanctions against the Iranian regime. We continue to be one of the strongest critics of Iran's human rights record. We will continue to lead and sponsor the annual UN resolution condemning human rights violations in Iran.

For all these reasons, this motion merits support. It merits support because the Iranian regime must be held accountable. It merits support because we are a friend to the Iranian people. It merits supports because Canada stands resolutely with Israel and the Jewish people on the strength of our shared values. I hope all members will support the motion.

[Ted Falk, Conservative, Provencher, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I listened very carefully to the member's speech. He identified clearly and he articulated very nicely that Iran was a state-sponsor of terrorism. It sponsors Hamas and it has been sponsors Syria. We know it conducts many human rights violations and is responsible for many abuses of human rights in its own country.

I wonder if he could tell the House why during the recent Hamas uprising against the border of Israel, why the Prime Minister would have called for an investigation into the response from Israel as opposed to quickly condemning Hamas.

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague will have heard, if he were listening to my remarks, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs have, on numerous occasions, condemned Hamas for its incitement of hatred, terrorism, and violence against the state of Israel, and we have reaffirmed those principles today.

I would share the sentiment with my hon. colleague that we deplore the loss of any innocent life. It is precisely why we are supporting this motion and why Canada stands resolutely on the international stage with Israel and all of our partners to engender a just and lasting peace in the region.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we agree with my colleague that we unequivocally condemn the Iranian comments targeted toward Israel. We strongly condemn any support the Iranian government has given to terror groups in the Middle East.

The member talked quite extensively about human rights. He talked about the Iranian human rights abuses within Iran and why we should not have diplomatic relations with Iran. We believe that with diplomatic relations, we can convey our concerns, whether it be on human rights or on comments that the Iranian leadership has made toward Israel.

We know human rights abuses are happening in Saudi Arabia. Does he not feel that should also apply to the Saudi Arabian leadership, when it also has committed human rights atrocities, which are condemned around the world? Does he not believe that we should be in any diplomatic relations with it or at least consistent with Iran?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, of course I believe in human rights, and this is the party of the charter. It is also the party that was one of the most seminal contributors to the body of international human rights at the United Nations, and we will stand and defend those values every day.

With respect to his question regarding how we are engaging, we understand that as long as Canadians, Iranians, and other individuals are oppressed by the Iranian regime, we will directly engage on issues like Maryam Mombeini, and that is where the focus of our energies is. On a go-forward basis, we would like to see peace in the region. The way we do that is by maintaining an adherence to the very human rights of which my hon. colleague speaks.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, could my colleague and friend comment on the degree to which Canada has demonstrated leadership on world peace, on issues of human rights, and so forth in the past and, no doubt, will demonstrate into the future, and how critically important it is to talk about Canadian values?

[Marco Mendicino, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague pointed out, Canada has a record that is second to none on the international stage when it comes to standing up for human rights. We see that enshrined in our charter, and it informs all our government's policies.

When it comes to standing up for equality of opportunity, prosperity, the right to express oneself, the right to due process, these are values which Canada will defend to the last. I am proud to say that in that fight, Israel is a proud friend. I mentioned the many examples in which we co-operate, but it is on the basis of these shared values that our friendship will continue to be very strong.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman will have only five and a half minutes.

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for bringing forward this motion today, allowing us to pronounce ourselves, which we will do later in a vote, on how the Iranian regime can never be trusted and denounce it for its continuous human rights violations and for the destabilizing impact it has in the Middle East today.

We have talked at length about how the Iranian regime continues to violate human rights on a scale we have not seen in years, including imprisoning Canadians, such as Maryam Mombeini, the widow of Professor Kavous Seyed-Emami, a Canadian who was murdered in Tehran in the notorious Evin prison. He was captured and then beaten to death while he was incarcerated in Iran.

We have talked about how we need to make sure that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force is not just sanctioned but listed as a terrorist organization, not just because of what it does in Iran, but because of the evil it spreads throughout the Middle East. It trains the Shia militia in Iraq, and it supports Hezbollah in Syria. It supports the Syrian army in carrying out all its genocides under Bashar al-Assad during the conflict in Syria, and it also provides the command and control for the Houthis in the destabilizing civil war that they are committing in Yemen. Never mind what it is trying to do to Israel.

Again, we have to condemn Ayatollah Khamenei for his ongoing attack by words right now against the State of Israel, how he wants to carry out a genocide against the Jewish people, and how he calls Israel a “cancerous tumor” that must be removed from the landscape of geography. He believes that the State of Israel should be pushed right into the Mediterranean Sea. That can never happen. That is why it is important that we continue to stand strong against Ayatollah Khamenei.

We have a situation where the Government of Canada is engaging in normalizing relations through the diplomatic corps with Iran and actually talking about reopening our embassy in Tehran. Two meetings have already taken place this year between high-level diplomats. People from the Iranian regime have actually been here in Ottawa meeting with Global Affairs Canada.

We cannot allow that to happen just because the government wants to do business with an organization, a country, that has carried out capital punishment, including under President Rouhani, at an alarming rate, second only to China in the number of people killed. This is a regime that continues to violate the human rights of ethnic and religious minorities. I have been talking with the Baha'i. I have been talking with the People's Mojahedin Organization and with the Kurds in Iran.

It is disgusting what is going on there now and how the regime is treating the Kurdish community within Iran. It has already isolated the Kurdish community from an economic standpoint so that it is not allowed to export or import any goods. People from the Kurdish community step forward and try to move goods over international boundaries. Those porters, called kulbars, are like Sherpas. If they are caught, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard shoots them on sight. It is not an arrest. It is not a seizure of goods. It is killing the individuals who are trying to keep food on the tables of the people in the Kurdish region of Iran. That, again, speaks to how notorious and disgusting the Iranian regime is.

We on this side of the House do not believe that we need to re-engage with Iran. We have to continue to stand strong against it. We have to make sure that it is isolated, that sanctions are maintained, and that we do not allow billions of dollars to flow back into the Iranian regime, which has allowed it to create this unholy alliance with Russia and Bashar al-Assad in Syria and cause all this heartache and turmoil in the region.

I have restarted, along with my friend from Scarborough—Guildwood, Canadian Parliamentarians for Human Rights and Democracy in Iran. We can work together as parliamentarians across party lines to ensure that human rights and democracy are respected, that we continue to denounce the Iranian Islamic republic, and that Ayatollah Khamenei and President Rouhani are sanctioned under the Magnitsky Law the way they should be.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

It being 6:30 p.m., pursuant to order made Tuesday, May 29, 2018, it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of the business of supply.

The question is on the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

All those in favour of the motion will please say yea.

[Some hon. members]

Yea.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

All those opposed will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

In my opinion the yeas have it.

And five or more members having risen:

[Mark Strahl, Conservative, Chilliwack—Hope, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I would ask that the vote be deferred until Tuesday, June 12, at the end of the time provided for oral questions.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Geoff Regan]

The recorded division on the motion stands deferred.