Mr. Speaker, I think it is particularly important today, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, to be raising a petition about our collective failure to live up to the promise of “never again”. Despite the promise of “never again” after the Holocaust, there have since been many, many instances of genocides targeting minority communities. In particular right now, we have the ongoing genocide of the Uighur people.
This is a genocide that has been clearly identified by the Subcommittee on International Human Rights on an all-party basis. Petitioners, recognizing that, and recognizing various independent studies, reports, satellite imagery and so forth, are calling on the Government of Canada and Parliament to recognize clearly that what is happening in East Turkestan right now does constitute a genocide.
The evidence is there. The petitioners are calling on the government to recognize that and to recognize our responsibility to protect and respond through measures such as Magnitsky sanctions, which will hold perpetrators of this horrific violence accountable. We need Magnitsky sanctions targeting individuals involved in that violence, as well as measures to address problems in our supply chains, whereby we are importing products produced by slave labour.
Any measures that the government has announced up until now on this constitute window dressing and are totally ineffective at addressing the substantive issues. Petitioners are calling on the House and the government to act swiftly to recognize this genocide and seek justice for victims.