Cheryl Hardcastle

[Disaster Assistance, October 4th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I want to start out with a salute to everyone in Windsor—Tecumseh who is dealing with the aftermath of flood damage.

The Prime Minister stated that he was glad to see relief in the weather forecast for flood victims, but what about financial relief? The Conservatives drastically cut federal emergency funding in 2015.

Will the Prime Minister restore emergency relief and come to the aid of these residents?

[Business of Supply, September 29th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I will try to make this quick. I am trying to get my head around the disappointments that are happening in this chamber today. I just heard one member extrapolate data to justify denying human rights. Now, I am hearing another member tell us that he is proud of his government's transparency.

I have a quick question for the member. Can he give us some details about the military permits that were just released for the military dictatorship of Thailand?

[Business of Supply, September 29th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my hon. colleague if he could expand a little on how this issue of human rights deserves to have its own committee so that it can adequately address the weaponization he referred to in his speech.

[Business of Supply, September 29th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague's work in advancing the conversation and advancing awareness around human rights and the government's role and responsibility, and what regulation looks like for things such as weapons sales, has been so important and inspiring to me.

This is an example of something where it seems a lot of times that statistics and datasets are what are most important to government bureaucracies. We have an opportunity here with a standing committee to be able to address these issues effectively, to advance human rights, and to really look at the impact of our decisions for all of these industries. Whether they are Canadian industries that are located here or abroad, this is something that is very important for a standing committee to address.

The motion achieves that, and in a timely fashion as these issues escalate.

[Business of Supply, September 29th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, that is a wonderful demonstration of some of the rhetoric I was talking about, because those words are very clear distinctions about our priorities in human rights.

I stated at the very beginning of my statement that we have pressing issues that are growing. There is a lot we know. Why is it that open transparency about asserting our democratic and human rights responsibilities cannot be had by a standing committee that would discuss all that?

I will not get into more about asserting our sovereignty, but we have ample opportunity to redeploy the use of those vehicles right here in Canada. I can talk about the mismanagement of a lot of issues in that file, but we have a lot of opportunities here. We need a committee that meaningfully discusses all of that stuff and does not just try to hide behind promises made during the campaign, saying, therefore, we do not have to uphold human rights issues.

If we look at the text of this opposition day motion, it is a situation where everyone can assert human rights and open transparency about our role and responsibility as a government, and not hide behind campaign words, twisting words and promises around because they may not be convenient—

[Business of Supply, September 29th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to proudly support our party's opposition day motion to create a House committee to provide parliamentary oversight of arms exports. This is a long-pressing issue that has become increasingly urgent, given the utter lack of transparency of our government's current system, as well as the increasing number of disturbing allegations that Canadian weapons are being used to commit human rights violations in countries where we have no business selling weapons, like Saudi Arabia, Yemen, China, and South Sudan.

Part of my duties as an NDP MP is my engagement in and monitoring of the international human rights file. Therefore, I would like to speak to our motion from the perspective of human rights, which is, I believe, the most important perspective. I know this perspective is something that many members would not argue with, and I know I am not alone in believing that human rights takes ultimate priority, as demonstrated by the throngs of people here in Ottawa today participating in the One Young World summit. That is extremely affirming for someone like me, who wants to go forward and not be cynical about how we embrace and advance transparency and accountability on something that directly impacts human rights.

The main reason we are debating a motion like this in the House is the outcry about Canada's decision to green-light the sale of $15 billion's worth of weaponized vehicles to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a country that, as many know, is one of the most brutal and despotic regimes on the planet, on par with North Korea.

Distressingly, Canada is now the second-largest arms dealer in the Middle East, after the United States, as my hon. colleague noted and Jane's, the defence industry publication, reinforces, Moreover, reports have emerged this year that Canadian-made tactical equipment was used by Saudi forces in raids against dissidents. Military gear, stamped “Made in Canada” was found “at the scene of a deadly raid against Shia civilians in the Qatif region of Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province”, according to Cesar Jaramillo, the executive director of Project Ploughshares.

Unfortunately, the situation is not just limited to the Saudis. Canada's government will not even confirm whether the Minister of Foreign Affairs issued an export permit for military sales to Thailand earlier this year, a country ruled by a military dictatorship. Just yesterday, Amnesty International had to cancel the public launch of a report on torture in Thailand after police in Bangkok warned the rights group that its representatives might be arrested and prosecuted for visa violations. Let us just think about that.

Activists are alleging that the Saudis sent Canadian-made vehicles into Bahrain in 2011 to help quell a democratic uprising. Canadian-made weapons have also made their way into South Sudan during a period in which grave human rights abuses have been committed. High-level reports from the United Nations and Human Rights Watch are sounding the alarm, including to our own Subcommittee on International Human Rights.

According to Global Affairs Canada statistics, Canadian arms sales to China, a country with a notorious human rights record, soared to the tune of $48 million in 2015. As is often pointed out in House, including as recently as this morning by the member for Winnipeg North, we have a troubling situation in China. In China, there is no freedom of speech or freedom of conscience. Human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists are routinely arrested, subject to arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, politicized prosecution, and torture by authorities in response to their work. This is according to Human Rights Watch. Yet, for all this, China takes a back seat to Saudi Arabia in terms of human rights violations.

I would like to give a brief rundown on the appalling human rights record in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I use the word “brief”, as I could easily spend the remainder of my day cataloguing the endless horrors that constitute this regime's human rights record.

In January of this year, Saudi Arabia carried out a mass execution of 47 imprisoned civilians convicted of terrorism in 12 different provinces in the country. Forty-three were beheaded, and four were executed by firing squads. Under Saudi Arabia's reading of Islamic law, such attacks are interpreted as banditry and carry automatic sentences of death followed by public displays of the bodies.

Freedom of speech does not exist in Saudi Arabia, nor is there freedom of press. Authorities will arrest, prosecute, and imprison government critics, including bloggers and other online commentators; political activists; members of the Shia minority; human rights activists and defenders, including women's rights defenders. This is something that has been noted by the respected Amnesty International.

Reports of people being tortured while imprisoned are common. Routine punishments include public lashings, with prisoners being sentenced to upwards of 1,000 lashes. Prominent blogger, Raif Badawi, for instance, was sentenced to 1,000 lashes last year, with of 50 these being administered this last January.

Blogger and human rights activist, Mikhlif al-Shammari, was sentenced by a special criminal court to two years in prison, as well as 200 lashes. He has been arrested several times in recent years for his work on democratic reform and human rights within the kingdom. One of the crimes he was charged with was tweeting his intention to pray in a Shia mosque.

Worse still, Saudi Arabia is one of the most notoriously misogynist countries in the world. Women are not allowed to drive. They cannot open a bank account or get a passport, among other things, without written consent from a male family member. They are not allowed to walk down the street in broad daylight without being accompanied by a male relative or guardian, not to mention the fact that domestic violence is on the rise. While there are laws prohibiting spousal abuse, they are not enforced.

I mentioned earlier the prominent Saudi blogger, Raif Badawi, a uniquely courageous man by any standard, who received a public flogging of 50 lashes in Jeddah this past January. This flogging was the first installment of his sentence of 1,000 lashes. Members might ask what his crime was. It was criticizing prominent religious leaders on his blog.

Earlier this year, Mr. Badawi's sister, Samar, was also arrested and interrogated before being released. I have met Mr. Badawi's wife, the formidable Ensaf Haidar, and their children, who have been granted asylum in Canada. It distresses me to think of how Ms. Haidar must feel about the Canadian government's support for the $15-billion deal to sell weaponized vehicles to that country. What a distressing, ironic, and discouraging situation it is for her, and a thousand other people just like her who know from firsthand experience what it is like. After all, the Prime Minister has stated publicly that he will not intervene on behalf of her husband with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, while at the same time, he has personally intervened and expended a good deal of political capital in making sure that the $15-billion deal goes through.

Furthermore, Saudi Arabia's crimes extend beyond its border. The country is without doubt guilty of war crimes in Yemen, where it has been spearheading a coalition of nine Arab states attempting to affect the outcome of the country's civil war, according to the American journal, Foreign Affairs.

The UN Human Rights Council is set this week to discuss a Dutch resolution calling for an impartial monitoring body to travel to Yemen to collect evidence of human rights abuses there. Since peace talks were suspended in August, the UN has reported a sharp increase in civilian deaths.

I cannot believe I am asking this, but honestly, is this the sort of situation in which Canada should be involved, either directly or indirectly? I will answer my own question. No, emphatically, it is not. Let us have the confidence to assert our sovereign identity.

Human rights are not optional. Governments, like individuals, are defined not by their words or intentions, but by their actions. I therefore hope that in the matter of Canadian arms sales abroad, and indeed across our country's approach to international relations more broadly, that our reality soon becomes more closely attuned to the rhetoric—

[National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act, September 27th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I was glad to hear my hon. colleague speak about learning and building on legislation of this nature from the Five Eyes allies. The glaring difference is that in Canada we contend with Bill C-51. Therefore, the opportunity we have with the legislation needs to be responsive and allow this proposed committee to be as strong as it needs to be because of Bill C-51.

Is there a concern in order for us to raise the level of openness, accountability, transparency, and responsibility, in light of the global situation and our place in the world? How can we make this bill stronger? As it stands right now, the committee's oversight would not be great, not as great as compared to the review for counterparts, which exist now with the SIRC or with the CSE commissioner. My hon. colleague has discussed some of the amendments that could be brought forward in order to fortify this bill and really make it important for this opportunity that we have.

I would like to hear a bit more about her thoughts on the limiting of the effectiveness for the Liberals to really seize the opportunity to have amendments to the bill so it is accountable and regain that trust after Bill C-51.

[Foreign Affairs, September 26th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, while the Liberal government opens the door to an extradition treaty with China, it seems someone forgot to tell the Minister of Foreign Affairs. On Friday, the minister angrily denied that any negotiations were taking place. He said, “There is no negotiation”.

Is the cabinet divided or is the minister confused? We just heard the Minister of National Defence, to make it worse, answer that regarding dialogue, it was about rule of law and human rights.

Canadians need and deserve a clear answer. Is the government in talks with China over a proposed extradition treaty, yes or no?

[Public Safety, September 23rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, new reports about the RCMP and CSIS involvement in torture abroad are horrifying. Not only did Canadian security officials know torture was occurring, but in some cases they even provided the torturers with the specific questions.

Canadians do not accept this human rights abuse under any circumstances. Therefore, why do the Liberals still sanction the use of information obtained through torture?

[Police and Peace Officers' National Memorial Day, September 23rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, as we mark Police and Peace Officers' National Memorial Day this Sunday, let us remember today in this chamber. Let us honour the bravery, dedication, and selflessness of all officers across Canada, including those who have suffered injury and those who have paid the ultimate price while protecting us.

It is well known that the concern and welfare of others exemplifies the law enforcement community. This extraordinary commitment is displayed in the very poignant demonstrations of solidarity when large numbers of officers from across the country come together to honour the passing of one of their own.

We have observed this profound gesture far too many times. Four officers have died in the line of duty in Canada this past year.

Let us then acknowledge the crucial role that police officers play in safeguarding our rights and freedoms. Let us pay tribute to the lost lives of officers in this country and beyond and thank their families for their incredible sacrifices on behalf of our safety and welfare.