Mr. Speaker, the second petition I am tabling deals with immigration from Hong Kong. In particular, it concerns people who have offences against them in association with their work for the democracy movement, who essentially have been charged by Hong Kong's politicized judiciary simply as a political tool for silencing them. Those charges could lead to their ability to immigrate or otherwise come to Canada being negatively affected.
The petitioners note that on many occasions, peaceful protesters in Hong Kong have been charged and convicted of penal offences through a judiciary that is neither impartial, fair nor free and that the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act renders foreign nationals who have committed or been convicted of a foreign offence outside of Canada inadmissible on grounds of criminality.
The petitioners are calling on the government to change that, to recognize the politicization of the judiciary in Hong Kong, to affirm a commitment to render all national security law charges and convictions irrelevant and invalid in relation to section 36 of IRPA. They are also calling on the government to create a mechanism by which Hong Kong people with pro-democracy-movement-related convictions may provide an explanation for such convictions, on the basis of which the government can grant appropriate exemptions.
The petitioners also want to see the government work with like-minded allies, such as our Five Eyes partners, France and other democracies, to waive criminal inadmissibility of Hong Kong people convicted for political purposes who otherwise do not have a criminal record.