Madam Speaker, I am presenting a petition on behalf of petitioners, who requested that it be presented today, February 6, in honour of the life and work of Ghaffar Khan, who is a close friend of Mahatma Gandhi and a champion political and spiritual leader known for his non-violent opposition and lifelong pacifism in the search to end colonial rule in India.
The petitioners summarize by saying that the husband of a Canadian citizen was deported, and they plead with Parliament to ask the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to reunite Canadian citizen Sophia Papp with her husband, Zain Haq, who was deported for non-violent protest and civil disobedience for defending old-growth forests and for climate activism.
I should mention that this was an e-petition signed by more than 4,000 people who have come to know and love this brilliant young man from Pakistan, who is a Canadian in all but citizenship. He is married to Vancouver resident Sophia Papp, who at this moment, with her entire family, is in Pakistan with her husband.
The petitioners plead for Parliament and for the minister to take immediate action to reunite Sophia Papp with her husband, Zain Haq, through his admission to Canada.