Sarkis Assadourian

[Armenia, June 1st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, on April 23, 1996, the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion that stated:

—that the House recognize, on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of the Armenian tragedy which claimed some 1.5 million lives on April 24, 1915, and in recognition of other crimes against humanity, the week of April 20 to 27 of each year as the week of remembrance of the inhumanity of people toward one another.

This motion was passed unanimously in the House as a consequence of debate on the motion brought forward by the then Bloc Quebecois member of parliament for Ahuntsic.

Following the passage of that motion in February 1999, our colleague from Scarborough—Agincourt brought forward a private member's motion asking for similar recognition. I regret that the Department of Foreign Affairs came up with a totally unacceptable reply during that debate. As a consequence, the then minister of foreign affairs, Lloyd Axworthy, asked fellow Liberal members of parliament to form a committee to study this issue. It was more than a study. It was to confirm the fact that the genocide took place. For some reason the minister at the time did not see fit to call it genocide.

However, in reply to my question in the House on June 10, 1999, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs said:

On behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs I wish to inform the House that together with all Canadians we remember the calamity afflicted on the Armenian people in 1915. This tragedy was committed with the intent to destroy a national group in which hundreds of thousands of Armenians were subject to atrocities which included massive deportations and massacres.

Our government introduced Bill C-19, an act respecting genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, which was passed by the House on June 13, 2000. Subsection 6(3) defines crimes against humanity as intent to kill, in whole or in part, a national minority group.

It is the same answer I was given by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. It was defined in Bill C-19. It also happens to be the same definition of genocide as the UN's. I asked this question of the foreign affairs representative when I was on the foreign affairs committee. How come there is that same definition of genocide in room 705 across the street, but in the Chamber the same act of destroying national minorities, in whole or in part, is defined as a tragedy?

The answer that was given, which members can see in the minutes, of course, was that it had nothing to do with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. That gentleman could not answer my question about why it is that in this Chamber, destroying people in part or in whole is a tragedy, but across the street it is genocide. I am waiting for someone to give me the answer. Maybe we could all rest in peace, then, if we could know why there are two standards in the different rooms.

As I mentioned earlier, the Turkish ambassador was with us on May 28. He mentioned jokingly that he felt like a celebrity. There was a real celebrity in Toronto in the Scarborough area on May 25 when the Armenian General Benevolent Union, together with the Zorian Institute, organized a seminar. The speaker at the seminar was a Turkish scholar who accepts the fact that there was a genocide. He wonders when Turkey will do the same.

The scholar mentioned four reasons why Turkey cannot join the European Community: first, the treatment of national minorities, especially Kurds; second, the occupation of Cyprus; third, the Armenian genocide; and fourth, Muslim fundamentalists in Turkey who are getting stronger every day. His point was that Turkey will have to address these four issues before it joins the European Union.

He also said that in his mind many people such as scholars and intellectuals in Turkish universities and research centres have the same feeling, but they cannot speak up because of a fear of retaliation from the government, like we have seen in the past when even members of parliament were imprisoned. Scholars would be denied their chairs and funding and what have you in Turkish universities so that they would not be able to speak up on this issue. However, with Canada being a free country the gentleman felt free to express his point of view. I have to add that the hall was packed with 500 people who showed an interest in the gentleman speaking up. That was not the first time. There have been a few others in the past.

As I mentioned earlier, France recognized the genocide of the Armenians. The Turkish government was of course very angry and upset, which could have been expected. It was very disappointed and tried to cancel a contract with the French government. I have asked about a dozen people to tell me the monetary value of the cancellation, but so far no one can. Maybe there was an impact from it in the first few weeks, but I do not know of any dollar figure on how the French economy was damaged due to the fact that this recognition took place. The Turkish ambassador was called back from Paris to Ankara at the beginning of February this year, but I understand that he is now on his way back to France or is about to go to France. I think the issue is dead now. There are no more problems between France and Turkey because of France's recognition of this genocide.

If we recognize it in the House, I do not think there will be anything big. The House will not cave in. World War III will not be declared. It would simply be stating the historical fact that, yes, genocide took place.

I would like thank the leaders of all five parties who me gave unanimous consent to present this issue again. In that spirit I would like to ask for unanimous consent that the House accept Motion No. 285.

[Armenia, June 1st, 2001]

moved:

That, in the opinion of this House, the government should: ( a ) recognize as genocide the killing of 1.5 million innocent Armenian men, women and children in the period 1915 to 1923; ( b ) condemn the genocide of the Armenians and all other acts of genocide as the ultimate act of religious, racial and cultural intolerance; ( c ) recognize the importance of remembering and learning from the mistakes of history; and ( d ) follow the recommendations of the Third Report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, in the Second session of the 36th Parliament, regarding the establishment, within one year, of a research facility on genocide.

Mr. Speaker, first I would like to acknowledge the members of the Canadian Armenian community sitting in the gallery, members of the Armenian Cultural Association of Ottawa, His Excellency the Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia and of course His Excellency the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey. This is not the first time these two ambassadors have come together. On May 28, when we had the independence day celebration, the ambassador of Turkey certainly was a celebrity in the crowd of Armenians. I congratulate him for attending the reception along with the Armenian ambassador.

Before I go further in explaining my motion, I would like to give a historical background of the Armenian nation. Armenians have over 3,000 years of recorded history. As a matter of fact, on May 16, in room 200 of the parliament buildings, the Armenian community celebrated the 1,700th anniversary of Christianity by Canada Post issuing a stamp commemorating that fantastic event.

In the last 2,000 years or so Armenians have had four kingdoms. The last king died in Paris when he went to Europe seeking the help of Christian Europe, so to speak, for the defence of Armenian rights in Asia Minor. Soon after that Armenians lost their independence of their kingdom in a region called Al-Ladhiqiyah, which is located on the northeast corner of the Mediterranean Sea. From the 13th century to the 19th century Armenians had a good relationship, on and off, with their neighbours and communities.

However, in the early 1800s many Armenian intellectuals went to Europe to study and educate themselves further. They went back to Armenia at the end of the Ottoman Empire and asked for the same rights for their fellow Armenians in the region that they had had in Europe. The Red Sultan saw this as a threat. As a result of the activities of the Armenians who were demanding human rights, the Red Sultan decided to initiate the first major massacre of the 19th century, which occurred in 1895 and 1896.

That was followed, in the early stages of World War I in 1915, by what was known as the final solution by the party in Turkey at the time. I should point out that this was before Ataturk came to power in the early 1920s. As a result of the arrest of a group of intellectuals on April 24, 1915, Armenians were deported from their homeland. They were murdered and slaughtered. We acknowledge their murder and slaughter but we do not characterize it as genocide.

In Syria, in the Middle East, there is a town called Deir ez-Zour. Deir ez-Zour is the Auschwitz of the Armenian nation. Everyone knows about Auschwitz, but few people know about Deir ez-Zour, and fewer people yet have been to Deir ez-Zour to see the ruins and the remains of the Armenian nations as they were in 1915 to 1923.

The turning point for Armenian genocide was in 1965, the 50th anniversary of the genocide. At that time, despite the fact that Armenia was part of the U.S.S.R., the Armenian government was brave enough to establish the first genocide memorial in the world. That focused the attention of everyone in the world, especially the Armenians living in Armenia. They go there every year on April 24 to pay their respects to the victims of genocide.

The year 1965 also happened to be a turning point in the diaspora for genocide activities to make sure they were recognized by the world community.

In this country in 1980 the Ontario and Quebec parliaments passed resolutions recognizing the genocide and asked the federal government to follow suit and recognize genocide. I am glad to say I have been involved with this activity since 1965, that is, for the last 35 years. So far our activities have been fruitless in this parliament and other parliaments around the world, but I have to admit that Armenians throughout the world are making progress.

A few years ago a United Nations committee recognized the genocide and what happened to the Armenians. International bodies recognized that what happened to Armenians was genocide. The latest parliament to recognize the Armenian genocide was Italy's. However, the most important thing at this stage is this: I want to acknowledge the national assembly of France, both its lower and upper houses, and the president of France, Mr. Chirac, for France's recognition of the genocide of 1915 and for passing a law. As I understand it, people cannot deny the genocide, just as the Holocaust cannot be denied. People who do can be charged with misrepresenting history.

At this point I would like to ask for the unanimous consent of the House to table documents from the French national assembly, the Zorian Institute and the Armenian World Alliance.

[Armenia, May 30th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, on Monday evening members of parliament and diplomats joined with the Armenian ambassador and members of the Armenian community to celebrate the 83rd anniversary of the independence of the Armenian first republic.

Today, Armenia is a proud and independent country controlling its own destiny on the world stage. Following the genocide of the Armenians during the turmoil of the first world war and its aftermath, independence was gained from the Ottoman Empire on May 28, 1918.

Tragically, freedom was short lived. December 2, 1920 was the beginning of 70 years of tyranny at the hands of the communists. The 1918 independence, though brief, was the foundation of the modern Armenian state. Armenia regained its independence on September 21, 1991, following the collapse of the U.S.S.R.

Today, the survivors who immigrated to Canada and the contribution they and their children have made to our nation enrich our society in many diverse ways. Canadians of Armenian descent continue to use their talents to build a better Canada through the arts and sciences as well as in business and in every walk of life.

[Trade, May 29th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Industry. Presently there are more restrictions on interprovincial trade than there are on international trade. Interprovincial trade barriers impede the free flow of goods and services between Canadians and stifle the economic development of Canada.

Could the minister tell the House what efforts have been made by the Canadian government to promote the removal of impediments to interprovincial trade in these changing economic times?

[Trade, May 16th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Secretary of State, Asia-Pacific.

Nortel Networks corporation in my riding of Brampton Centre has signed a $275 million U.S. contract with China Unicom to supply equipment for a wireless network in China.

What is the Government of Canada doing to assist companies like Nortel to secure trade and investment opportunities in China?

[Human Rights, May 1st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

April 24 marked the 86th anniversary of the Armenian genocide of 1915. What is the minister doing to promote understanding of this tragic event and its important message to mankind that crimes against humanity are society's worst scourge and must not be allowed and tolerated in a civilized world?

[Motion No. 285, April 30th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I think you would find unanimous consent to move the following motion. I move:

That Motion No. 285 be reinstated at the end of the order of precedence for the consideration of private members' business.

[Armenia, April 23rd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, April 24 marks the 86th anniversary of the Turkish genocide of the Armenians. Over the past 86 years the prayer of millions of Armenians around the world has been a simple one: please do not forget our suffering, please do not forget our humanity.

This weekend I joined with members of the Canadian Armenian community at the Armenian General Benevolent Union and again at the Toronto Armenian Association to share in commemorative ceremonies of the Armenian genocide.

Gradually the truth is being recognized. On January 29, 2001, the government of France became the first of the G-7 nations to officially recognize the Armenian genocide of 1915 with the adoption of law 2001-70, joining many other nations in shedding light on one of history's darkest crimes.

In 1996 the House designated April 20 to 27 of each year as the week of remembrance of inhumanity of people toward one another. During this week let us honour the victims of genocide and of crimes against humanity. Most importantly, let us recognize these horrors and pledge to eliminate this evil from our society forever.

[Supply, April 3rd, 2001]

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order and my question is actually for you. I wonder if it is possible for the Speaker to rule on having an inquiry, which is requested by me, regarding the opposition party leader's deal with the then member of parliament, Jim Hart, to pay him $50,000 to resign his seat so he could run in that riding. I wonder if this is a subject for inquiry.

[Budget Implementation Act, 1997, April 2nd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member spoke about our dollar being low. However I am sure he knows our dollar is doing very well, thank you very much, compared to all currencies for the last few years.

Today I was following the debate in the U.S. on softwood lumber. A spokesman from the U.S. government complained that the Canadian dollar was very low and that exporters and manufacturers on the Canadian side were taking advantage of the low dollar and shipping goods to the U.S. at a cheaper price.

I wonder if the hon. member recognizes that. I hope he would not ask the government to artificially increase the value of our dollar to compete with the American dollar. I think he would agree that there is a benefit for our manufacturers and exporters when our currency is lower than that of the countries with which we compete, especially the U.S.