Debates of Sept. 26th, 2023

Foreign Affairs and International Development

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Madam Speaker, that question is absurd. I would follow it up with this. How many people in the member's riding are getting dental care?

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

Madam Speaker, I want to pick up on the work that is done by our standing committees, in particular, the foreign affairs committee, which brought forward this report back in February of this year, to which there was a response in June.

I understand the member said the committee is once again looking at the issue with the intention of bringing forward another report. I made reference to our United Nations ambassador, Bob Rae, regarding some of the concerns he has expressed. Is that also something that is being talked about at the committee? Maybe she could expand on why foreign affairs is one of the important areas we should try to keep partisan politics out of as much as possible.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Madam Speaker, I agree wholeheartedly with the member that foreign affairs is one of the committees we should try to work well with together. One thing that I think is important to mention is that the committee has brought up the conflict we are seeing between Azerbaijan and Armenia several times. We will continue to look at this issue at the foreign affairs committee. We put a proposal forward to travel to the region to be able to see for ourselves what is happening on the ground, and the Conservative Party stopped that trip from going forward. If the Conservatives meaningfully cared about the conflict and the Armenians who are suffering right now, I do not understand how they can justify that decision.

To clarify, the foreign affairs committee will continue to look at this issue because, frankly, that is what that standing committee is for. It is a vital committee of this Parliament, and that is the important work that we will continue to do.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

I just want to begin my comments by speaking to the many Armenian Canadians who live in my riding of Vancouver Granville and expressing my own grave concern about what has been happening over the course of the last few days in Nagorno-Karabakh and in terms of the potential humanitarian catastrophe that may unfold. I want them to know that Canada, that I and that all of us in this chamber will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that a negotiated settlement, peace and security are brought to them. It is important for us to make sure that all Canadians and members of Parliament in this House speak with a united voice in ensuring that the Azerbaijani government refrain from activities and actions that pose risk to life, safety and the welfare of the civilian population. It is essential to show the human value of kindness, particularly humanitarian compassion, by allowing access, including via the Lachin corridor. This should be something that happens right away.

We are living in a world right now where military action and violence is becoming the way in which we seek to solve problems. That is unacceptable. Canada has always spoken for and must always speak for negotiated political solutions, and this is no exception. We have to make sure that we act in the best interest of civilians first. In this case, it is absolutely critical that the Azerbaijani government understand the importance of allowing humanitarian access to occur, of ensuring that humanitarian work is not prevented, as well as that civilians are protected and that this exodus that has been forced upon Armenians is stopped so that they can live in peace and security.

Military escalation is good for no one. It serves no purpose and adds no value at all. All it does is seek to cause further unrest in the world, which is already dealing with tremendous amounts of unrest. This is yet another deeply troubling global situation that we need to address.

Just yesterday, Canada took the step of announcing a new ambassador to Armenia. This is a strong commitment being shown to the region, to people on the ground and, in particular, to the Armenian community here. It says that we intend to stand firm in working toward peace in the region and that we are following developments occurring on the ground in the Lachin corridor not only from here but also with a team there that is going to be doing its part in ensuring that a diplomatic solution is preserved.

We have voiced as a country, in public statements, social media and everywhere we possibly can, how important it is to have activities that underline confidence in the peace process and that allow Armenia and Azerbaijan to work toward a peaceful and comprehensive solution. We cannot live in a world where peaceful settlements are replaced by violence or where a government can enact aggression on civilian populations unchecked. It is unacceptable and the potential for genocide, violence and mass harm to civilians is something that cannot be understated or ignored. It is so important for us to take a strong position in favour of peace and make sure that Armenian Canadians hear and understand this unequivocally: Not only are we concerned about what is happening, but we also know we must be tireless in the efforts to find a negotiated political solution to what is happening in Nagorno-Karabakh. We need to make sure that the Lachin corridor remains open, that there is no threat of closure again, that humanitarian work can continue and that civilians can continue or at least begin again to live with some measure of peace.

These types of challenges that happen, although they may seem a world away for many of us, have a profound impact on diaspora communities and on the Armenian community here. It is really important for us to realize how important it is to remain in constant dialogue with that community here. They need to hear that this chamber and members of all parties understand the severity of the consequences of what is happening on the ground, the impact on their families and the potential impact on their community here. These dialogues must be met not only with profound compassion and understanding but also with a willingness and a desire to keep on the path of being an active player in the region and to keep being active in our engagement.

The thing we are hearing today and the magic, sometimes, of issues such as this is that it allows us all to come together to say that we must, as a country, keep on this course. I have been really gratified to see our minister and our ambassador speaking out to say how important it is for that engagement to occur and continue in a thoughtful way, so we can keep pushing the cause of negotiated settlements, of finding peace and of long-term permanent solutions.

The idea that every few months or years, a flare-up such as this one can cause profound humanitarian anxiety, civilian unrest and hardship to civilians is unacceptable. Global conflicts, small or large, require us to put our time, effort and energy into finding peace.

The 2020 ceasefire agreement calls on Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia to fulfill their obligations under the terms of that settlement. These obligations should not be taken lightly by anyone. They should not be taken as recommendations. These are requirements.

Our opportunity, as Canada, particularly now that there is a new ambassador who is going to be on the ground in place, is to remind people of the importance of this and to be actively engaged, as we are.

The idea of dialogue, of making sure we support the EU's work that is under way right now, is important. It is important for this House to send a unified message that, in fact, all Canadians believe that the right answer is a negotiated settlement and that we are willing to support those who are doing the hard work of building peace.

The idea of humanitarian work, humanitarian aid and a humanitarian approach is critically important in our dealings with other governments and in how other governments need to think about the way in which they behave.

I have said this multiple times in this House and outside: There is no good that comes from governments attacking civilian populations. I think we would all agree on that. This is a case where, periodically and episodically, we see an ethnic population being attacked unnecessarily, with no reason and sometimes with the purported idea that they are fighting against terrorism or there is a desire to cleanse or to remove criminal elements. That is not on.

We know the reality of what is happening on the ground. We all see it, and we all understand it. We hear it from the Armenian community, as well as from the Azerbaijani community in Canada. They are deeply concerned about escalation in their country and their region, and they have the desire to be able to live in peace and security.

I heard from Armenians who live in my riding and Azerbaijanis who live in my community, who say unequivocally that they have a desire to see peace. They have a desire to see their region be peaceful, and they continue to have friendly relations here in Canada. They say how important it is for this to be communicated to that part of the world, how important it is for people on the ground in Armenia and Azerbaijan to see that these communities should and must be able to live in peace as neighbours.

There is much to be gained from Azerbaijan acting in a way that brings peace and from finding peace for the entire region and for the peoples who live there. These peoples seek one thing, which is to be able to live with peace, security and the capacity and the ability to be able to plan for the futures of their families.

[Sylvie Bérubé, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague said that he was on the committee, and the Canadian government claims it wants to support Armenian democracy. However, the current situation is very worrying, as the current Armenian government has also lost all credit with the public. It lost in 2020 and has done virtually nothing since then. I would like my colleague to explain this unpleasant situation as far as Armenia is concerned.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Mr. Speaker, there is no question that Canada has been working and continues to work for the country in the region. Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs announced the appointment of a new ambassador to continue this work on Canada's behalf. We will remain a partner for the country in the region.

Clearly, the situation there today is very dangerous for the people in the region. It is very important for Canada to be a partner to the country and to continue the work it has already begun to achieve peace in the region.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question based on a very serious concern that has been shared with me by members of the Armenian community regarding Canada's openness to a review of the ban of drone technology. This technology was used in drones that Turkey provided to Azerbaijan, which targeted Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It is very concerning to Armenians, as well as members of the Greek community, my community, that Canada is reviewing this ban.

Does the member support keeping the ban in place on this technology, which we know was used for deadly drone activity, yes or no?

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I think it is very important that any time Canada is involved in anything related to the sale of arms, to arms agreements, etc., that they not be used outside the purpose for which they were intended or used to harm civilians.

I think we have to really think very carefully and act in a way that gives us confidence that what we are sharing, particularly with NATO partners, is not misused. We have an obligation to do everything we can to preserve civilian life.

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

Mr. Speaker, the member did not answer the last question that was asked.

The fact is, during the second Nagorno-Karabakh war, drone technology was vital to enabling the Azerbaijani aggression. That drone technology came from Canada. At the time, concerns were dismissed by the then foreign affairs minister, who said, “we're [just] talking about a few cameras”. He said they were just a few old Polaroids. No, this was vital drone technology that was used.

I ask the member to answer the question: Does he agree with the former minister of foreign affairs that they are just a few cameras and no big deal, or does he think that it was a grave mistake for Canada to allow the export of this drone technology?

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite knows very well that we have a strong policy related to our arms control. He also knows our position on Turkey vis-à-vis this issue. He knows the actions that we have taken in the past, and he knows that we have been unequivocal in that.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues for raising this important issue, which is deeply impacting the security of the Caucasus and Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

We have heard from the Armenian community, which has members all across the country and certainly also in my own riding of Ahuntsic-Cartierville. My heart and my thoughts are with them.

Of course, my heart and my thoughts are with members of the Armenian community in Ahuntsic-Cartierville and across the country, as the situation in Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and the Caucasus is extremely difficult.

We have been following this very closely, and we continue to call on Azerbaijan to stop the hostilities. The Lachin corridor must be reopened. There must be freedom of movement for humanitarian supplies and aid, and civilians must be protected.

We call on all parties involved in the 2020 ceasefire to fulfill their obligations. I raised this issue just this morning at the meeting of the OSCE and last week in the context of the UN General Assembly. I also raised the issue with the chair of the OSCE, North Macedonia, when I was in North Macedonia. I raised it with the president of the EU council, Charles Michel, when I was in Slovenia three weeks ago at the Bled convention, and I also raised it with Secretary Blinken last week.

This is an issue that is close to my heart and that is very important to the government. I have engaged with the government of Azerbaijan and with the government of Armenia, and later today I will be talking to my Armenian counterpart. Canada stands ready to continue supporting measures to stabilize the current situation as well as negotiations for a comprehensive peace treaty through the promotion of confidence-building measures around the principles of the non-use of force, territorial integrity and self-determination.

We firmly support a comprehensive negotiated political solution. The European Union is playing an important role to foster peace, and Canada is proud to support its work. We will be deploying Canadian experts to join the EU mission to support peace and security in the region, and we are also increasing our presence in the region, as we announced last summer. This is in line with the recommendations made by Stéphane Dion, the special envoy to the Prime Minister on this issue. Just yesterday, we announced the appointment of a new ambassador to Armenia, Andrew Turner. Mr. Turner is a seasoned diplomat who has spent his career developing a deep understanding of the region and of the realities of the Armenian people. I look forward to working with him as we support Armenian democracy and the Armenian people.

In 2021 and 2022, Stéphane Dion, the Prime Minister's special envoy to the European Union and Europe, led a mission to explore options for Canada to better support Armenian democracy. His report, which was published in April 2022, contained 11 recommendations, including a recommendation that Canada continue to support Armenia's parliament and civil society. Since then, Canada has committed to establishing an embassy in Yerevan, which is now scheduled to open no later than the end of this year. Yesterday, we announced the name of our first ambassador to Armenia, Andrew Turner.

On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to thank the members of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development for the diligence and commitment undertaken in their work. I will also mention the report that was tabled in the spring regarding the situation in the Lachin corridor. I would also like to refer to the response to the committee's report that my team and I issued in June.

I will be pleased to answer all questions from my colleagues in the House, since the issue of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh is one that I am following very closely.

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

Mr. Speaker, the minister has asserted the importance of the principle of non-aggression. Of course, we have seen significant aggression from the Azerbaijani government. I wonder what the minister thinks the appropriate response to that aggression is from the international community. Of course, we need to talk about human rights protection and humanitarian issues, but in terms of how we respond to aggression in order to deter future instances of aggression like this, what is the appropriate response in this case?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, of course, our colleague heard my speech, and we are calling for Azerbaijan to end its hostilities. At the same time, of course, we need to put pressure on the country to ensure the 2020 ceasefire agreement, which was based on three fundamental principles. The first one is the non-use of force, the second is territorial integrity and the third is making sure the principle of self-determination is respected. We call on the Azerbaijan government to respect the ceasefire. We will be working with the EU to make sure that we can implement the ceasefire and make sure that, on the ground, it is respected. That is why, for the first time in our history, Canada will be participating with the EU's monitoring mission on the ground.

As I have mentioned in the past, the issue is that Canada did not have any diplomatic presence in the region. Armenia was served out of our diplomatic mission in Moscow, and Azerbaijan out of our diplomatic mission in Turkey. We want to change that situation, because we need to make sure Canadian diplomats are able to assess what is going on on the ground, that they have ears and eyes in the region. That is why we are opening a new embassy in Armenia. We will continue to work with the EU, but we will also work with the U.S. and other like-minded partners on this issue.

[Yves Perron, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for her speech and her remarks. Her last answer suggests that Canada is going to enforce compliance with the ceasefire, reinstate the humanitarian corridor and so on. Based on the minister's last response, I gather that Canadian involvement on the ground may even be possible.

That is fine, but are any discussions in progress about imposing economic sanctions on Azerbaijan? Are any bilateral discussions under way with our European Union partners, among others? Can we expect such discussions to happen quickly?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is an important question. Concerning sanctions, we always try to act in co-operation with a number of other countries. Putting pressure on the country concerned is important. Everything is on the table, and sanctions are always a tool that can be highly effective.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I and the member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie wrote to the minister last week when the escalation by the Azerbaijani government began. We asked her to sanction Azerbaijani officials who were responsible for tens of thousands of Armenians' fleeing their homes, fleeing for their safety, and who were responsible for the deaths of over 200 Armenian civilians and the escalation in violence.

We have not heard back from the minister about that letter, and I would like to hear directly from her whether or not she will be supporting the request by the NDP to put sanctions on those Azerbaijani officials responsible.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, of course, I value the opinion of my colleague, and of course I will be answering her letter, which I will read in the coming hours.

That being said, on the question of sanctions, which is the same question our colleague from the Bloc Québécois just asked, as I mentioned, everything is on the table.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Lethbridge.

What is going on in the Caucasus today is of grave and deep concern. Just over a century after a horrific genocide, the Armenian genocide of 1915-16, the world still has not learned from the lessons of the past. Just over a century later, we are witnessing a major humanitarian crisis unfold in Nagorno-Karabakh, in the western part of Azerbaijan. Tens of thousands, if not over 120,000, civilians are being slowly starved to death in that corridor because of the blockage of that corridor.

The former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo, wrote a report recently in which he said, “There is an ongoing Genocide against 120,000 Armenians living in Nagorno- Karabakh”. That should raise alarm bells for all of us here in Canada, with Canada being a signatory to the 1948 genocide convention. Many people think of a genocide as an active, physical slaughter of innocent civilians, but the 1948 genocide convention contains many other reasons for an event's constituting a genocide. It can mean taking away children from a particular group. It can mean destroying the means of life for a particular group, either in part or in whole. It does not necessarily require mass killing.

By blocking the Lachin corridor, the Government of Azerbaijan is putting at risk the lives of some 120,000 civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh. They are putting at risk those lives through starvation, a silent killer. Starvation, in many respects, as Mr. Ocampo has written, “is the invisible Genocide weapon. Without immediate dramatic change, this group of Armenians will be destroyed in a few weeks.” This was written several weeks ago and should be of great concern to us.

The International Court of Justice has ordered Azerbaijan to remove the blockade. Instead, Azerbaijan has established a checkpoint on the road and has begun blockading even humanitarian aid being delivered by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The BBC has reported that people have been fainting in the bread lines. Other witness accounts have shown that people are slowly starving to death. However, because of world events, this humanitarian crisis in the Caucasus has gotten little attention.

The reason for today's concurrence debate in the House is to draw to the attention of the world the fact that this humanitarian crisis is unfolding and needs to stop. We call on the Government of Azerbaijan to immediately reopen the corridor, not just to humanitarian aid but also to passenger traffic and commercial traffic. We call on both sides in this conflict, the representatives of the Government of Baku and representatives of the community in Stepanakert, to immediately meet to sort out an agreement on transportation that would allow the corridor and alternative supply routes to reopen to ensure that food, medicine and other goods could flow into the region to ensure that 120,000 people are not slowly starved to death.

I want to finish my speech by delivering a message to both communities involved in this long-standing conflict. Canada was once a country where sectarian violence ruled the politics of the day. It was not that long ago, in the 19th century, that various sectarian elements in our society put forward their sectarian interests and used violence to advance their political causes.

It was not that long ago, in the mid-19th century, that Protestants and Catholics would be at each other's throats in a violent way, never co-operating on anything and, instead, using violence to advance their means, using discrimination and other forms of non-democratic tools to get their way and achieve their political ends. Thankfully, through a lot of hard work, dialogue, constitutional change and discussions that took place over many decades, we were able to leave that terrible time behind.

So too with the linguistic divide that once existed in this country between anglophones and francophones, we ultimately resolved our differences through constitutional change and legislative changes that endure to this day. It has not always been perfect, as we see with the continued debates on language that take place here and at the provincial level.

Nevertheless, we have achieved a remarkable degree of social peace and cohesion in this country by moving beyond these sectarian and linguistic divides toward a Canada where people can achieve the good life and a resolution to their differences through democratic dialogue and not through the end of a sword. Such, I hope, will be the ultimate result for the peoples living in the South Caucasus in that part of the world. Such, I hope, will be the end result for Armenians living in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis living throughout the region.

We call on the Government of Canada to be more categoric and clear with the international community on the need for Azerbaijan to lift the blockade to allow the free movement of goods, of people and of humanitarian aid. We call on the government to be more clear in calling on both parties, those in Stepanakert and those in Baku, to come together to iron out an agreement to allow the free movement of goods, people and humanitarian aid. We do that with a sense of urgency, because while this conflict has been going on for some time, it has become especially more urgent since Azerbaijan concluded its hostilities against Armenia a couple of years ago. I hope that in this time of conflict in Ukraine and other parts of the world, the world will not turn a blind eye a mere 107 years after another genocide took place in that part of the world.

For all those reasons, I call on the Government of Canada to use its diplomatic resources, to use its influence here and abroad, to deliver a clear message to the Government of Azerbaijan that this blockade of the Lachin corridor is completely unacceptable and that it is leading, in effect, to an ethnic cleansing through the means of a silent killer: starvation.

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

Mr. Speaker, as I am sure the member is aware, members have commented on the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development and the valuable role it plays in dealing with international issues, such as what we are debating today. In fact, this debate originated from a motion for concurrence on a report from a standing committee.

The question I have for the member is with respect to the committee itself and the makeup of the committee. I am interested in knowing his personal perspective. To what degree does he feel this particular standing committee continued to depoliticize some of these international issues to better reflect the values that Canadians hold when it comes to international affairs?

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the committee has been seized with the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh for some time, but the crisis has accelerated in intensity in the last several weeks as a result of an ever-tighter blockade of the Lachin corridor. This is a mountainous region of the world where there are not a lot of supply routes from the outside world into the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. One of the few supply routes into the region is the Lachin corridor, which has been blockaded by Baku authorities for some time. Russia, which is supposed to be the peacekeeper in this long-standing conflict, has not paid sufficient attention to what is going on and has failed to uphold its commitment to both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

As a result, the humanitarian crisis has accelerated. There are reports that up to a third of the 120,000 people living in Nagorno-Karabakh are malnourished and at risk of starvation.

[Mario Simard, Bloc, Jonquière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague for his speech. I just want to say that, in all his interventions, he is generally a very moderate person, even though, from an international relations perspective, he has experienced his share of unpleasant situations, like threats from China, for example. I want to emphasize very strongly that he is a person I consider to be moderate and discerning.

Earlier, in his speech, the member for Montarville said that he could not understand why we were debating this urgent situation this morning. The offices of the member for Montarville and the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan were in discussions about bringing this issue up in committee again, so we are struggling to understand why it was so urgent to raise it this morning. That was not a great example of collaboration, and some of our colleagues were caught off guard.

I wonder if my very wise colleague could explain this situation to us.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I think what is happening right now in Nagorno-Karabakh is extremely serious. The matter is urgent, and I think we do have to discuss it in the House of Commons.

I think it is a grave enough issue to bring to the attention of the world through the floor of the House of Commons, which is why I support moving concurrence in this report. The crisis that has unfolded began late last year, with the Government of Azerbaijan blockading the Lachin corridor, but it has accelerated in recent weeks as the blockade has gotten ever tighter and as the reports of malnourishment have begun to leak out.

I will finish by saying this. When a former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mr. Ocampo, says in a report, “There is an ongoing genocide against 120,000 Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh”, we need to listen and we need to act.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we heard, in the earlier comments from the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, conversations around procurement and drones in particular, talking about the destruction that they wrought in the region. I think that procurement of military weapons is a very important question, and yet, when New Democrats brought a motion to the foreign affairs committee to finally fix the munitions act, section 11, the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan voted against our amendment to the munitions act.

I am wondering if the hon. member would now like to reflect on the use of procurement and the collateral damage that is wrought by cluster munitions that could potentially be wrought in the region.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will just briefly say that Canada has to balance our approach with upholding our commitments to the NATO alliance, particularly in joint operations that involve NATO allies that may not be a signatory to that particular treaty.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is with great sobriety that I stand in the House today to discuss the issue with regard to the ongoing conflict that is taking place with the Azeris going after the Armenians who reside within the Nagorno-Karabakh region. We are receiving news day by day of grave atrocities that are being committed at the hands of the Azeris. There are people who are starving. There are people who have lost their lives. There are people who desperately need medicine and are not being granted that. There are individuals who are separated from other loved ones because of this conflict.

This conflict, of course, has gone on for quite some time, but most recently its intensity has heightened to a significant extent. Therefore, it is with that heightened crisis that my colleagues and I stand in the House today and advocate on behalf of the people of Armenia for peace to be restored to the region. It is our belief that Canada, as a peacekeeper, does have an important role to play in a diplomatic regard, and so it is to that end that we stand today in this place and advocate.

The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in this region of Nagorno-Karabakh has a long history. Two major wars have been fought just within the last three decades, so it is not without its complications or many different angles to be considered. However, at the end of the day, the thing that must be accounted for is the fact that there are innocent people residing within this region who are being put in harm's way and being prevented from being able to access the necessities of life, and that must weigh heavily on the conscience of every single member of Parliament.

I had the opportunity to travel to Armenia in 2017 and to see first-hand some of the conflict that has taken place in the past and that is taking place now. Of course, in 2017, things were very different than they are now. I would never dream of going into this particular region at this point in time, but when I went in 2017, there was certainly a military presence, both from the Armenian side and from the Azerbaijan side, and I had the opportunity to actually walk that military line and see the separation, the topography and geography, and how this is all situated.

More important, I not only had the opportunity to see that, but I had the opportunity to visit with the people of the region and to hear their stories of wanting to preserve their language, their way of life and their culture, and wanting to be respected for that. I heard the stories of people who have gone through one atrocity after another and who have been proponents of peace. Unfortunately, the other side, Azerbaijan, does not want to grant that to them, so those folks who live within the specific region of Nagorno-Karabakh are forever living in this place of unsettledness, unrest and fear.

During my time there, I had the opportunity to go into several homes. These were not homes where people were living; they were actually homes that had been vacated. The reason they had been vacated was that they were on the line where war had taken place. I can remember explicitly walking into one home and there were actually pictures hanging on the wall. There were two photographs that caught my attention, and there were actually a couple of drawings done by children; they were coloured in. It was evident that a family had lived here. There were beds with old mattresses and there were still a few plates and different necessities within the kitchen. Other than that, it was largely vacated. As I wandered through the home, I entered into one room where there was actually a bloodstain on the floor and blood spatter on the wall, which was stained there. I asked my guide what had taken place and he went on to tell me that there was in fact a family that had lived in this home and this family was actually attacked. They were an innocent civilian family, but unfortunately resided in a region that Azerbaijan wanted to control.

As a result of that, life was lost. As a result of that, a house was turned into wreckage. As a result of that, the remaining individuals within this family who survived the attack, though there was loss of life, were displaced and moved into another region of Armenia where they would be safer.

For these folks to live in this type of upheaval, to live in this type of fear and to exist in such a state, is not okay. For Canada to stand idle and remain quiet on this matter is also not okay. We cannot find ourselves silent. If we do, I fear that we are then perhaps siding with the enemy.

It is important for us to speak out on behalf of those individuals who are innocent and on behalf of those individuals who simply want to live a good live, preserve their language, culture and way of being, and be respected and honoured within their historic homeland. That right is currently being robbed from them.

There was a peace agreement that came about. In fact, there was a peace agreement, but then it was called off, and then there was another peace agreement, but that was called off. This is the history of the region. What is so grave about what is taking place right now is the fact that Azerbaijan is going into this region and attacking innocent civilians. Azerbaijan has blocked access to necessities such as food, medicine and the movement of people.

The reason this matters is because these individuals are not there taking up weapons of war. Rather, they are simply trying to exist and live a peaceful life. They want their children to go to school. They want to own businesses and to be able to pay their bills. They want to be able to sow seed into the ground and reap a harvest. These are normal individuals who are looking to live life, but due to the disruptions within the region and the attacks coming from Azerbaijan, these folks are being put in peril's way.

Again, I would plead with the House that, sure, Canada could just sit on its hands, allow for this to transpire, allow for the loss of life to take place and allow for these folks to no longer be able to enjoy life, or the House could make a statement to advocate for these individuals and advocate that their freedom be restored and their homelands be honoured.

Of course, I am advocating that we do this in a very diplomatic way, but nevertheless, diplomacy and inaction are not the same thing. They are not synonymous. I would argue that right now, Canada is simply existing in a realm of inaction, but we have an opportunity to change course. My fear is that, if we do not do something, we will have a repeat of what happened 107 years ago when the Armenian people found themselves at the hands of a genocide.

We are already being warned by experts that this is where this is going. This is headed in the direction of annihilating a people group, which is genocide. Based on that evidence, based on those experts who are taking intel from the ground and feeding it to us at the House of Commons, I would plead with those in this place that now is the time to act. We should not allow for loss of life to ensue so much so that we are finally compelled to act, but rather out of a place of deep love, respect and honour, out of a desire for peace, and out of honour for our legacy as a country that is known for peacekeeping and peacemaking.

I would plead with those in the House that we agree to take action and that we agree to engaging in diplomatic conversations about what it takes to establish peace. I would ask that the House go so far as to consider sanctions because action must be taken. Innocent lives are at risk, and Canada does not stand for that.