Mr. Speaker, I regret to inform you that none of my Bloc Québécois colleagues will be attending the reception hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Cuba-Canada.
This is unusual, given the deep friendship that Quebeckers and Cubans have always had. The reason we are not attending is to support Toufik Benhamiche, a Canadian citizen from Montcalm who has been held against his will in Cuba since July 7, 2017, when he was involved in an accident while on an excursion with his family.
Mr. Benhamiche has done no wrong. Even Cuba's highest court has recognized that he was a victim of a flawed judicial process.
Nothing is more important than justice, and Mr. Benhamiche, an exemplary citizen, is being deprived of it. For that reason, even though we wanted to attend tomorrow's event, we will not be going, and we invite all members of Parliament who care about justice to show solidarity for Mr. Benhamiche and his family members by not attending.