Deepak Obhrai

[Australia, February 10th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are deeply saddened to learn of the many casualties resulting from the bushfires raging in Australia. The stories and images of lost lives, bereaved families and physical destruction of communities are truly horrific and heartbreaking.

On behalf of the Government of Canada, I convey to the people of Australia, but particularly to those who have lost loved ones in the devastation, our heartfelt condolences.

Canadians feel a particular solidarity with Australians at this time given our own direct experience with forest fires and the destruction they cause.

During this period of difficulty, I would also like to express our admiration for the firefighters and emergency services personnel, who are bravely putting their lives at risk to save others.

[Situation in Sri Lanka, February 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, as I have stated, we have been consumed with this issue for a while.

We have been engaged, as the government has stated. The Minister of Foreign Affairs even talked to the minister of foreign affairs for Sri Lanka as well.

We are also constantly engaged with the government and with the High Commissioner. At any given time, we have stated to them that there is a necessary need for them to get down to a dialogue. We were very unhappy when the peace process broke down and fighting was resumed.

There are two parties. One party is calling for the break-up. With the other party, we have a concern about human rights. We are calling on both parties to get to the table and to work for the betterment of Sri Lanka.

[Situation in Sri Lanka, February 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I know the member is a new to the House of Commons, and I congratulate him on his election.

I allude to that because if he were here in the last Parliament, I made many statements as parliamentary secretary on the conflict in Sri Lanka, calling for peace and for both sides to come to the table. This is not something, as he alluded to, that we got up one morning and started to do this. The government has been engaged in this issue for a long time. We have been talking to the Sri Lankan government on this issue. We have our ambassador actively engaged in that issue. In fact, I was part of the Sri Lanka-Canada Friendship Society to ensure that we were engaged with Sri Lanka.

The second part of his question was what would we do now that we had made the announcement. The Government of Canada is, as the Minister of International Cooperation has stated, working with agencies that have assured us that the aid will reach the people whom it is supposed to reach. That is why she listed the organizations. We will keep an eye on this.

We are engaged also with the government of Sri Lanka and with the other international partners to ensure pressure is put on to get to the table for a dialogue.

[Situation in Sri Lanka, February 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Kootenay—Columbia.

I join with my colleagues in the House of Commons to talk about the conflict in Sri Lanka. As has been stated in this House, this concerns Canadians very seriously not only because we have a large diaspora in this country, but this is a very important human rights issue.

Over a quarter of a century of armed conflict has had a profound and grim impact on Sri Lanka's civilian population. Because of this long-standing conflict, civilians have become the main casualties as indirect victims, and more sobering still, often as deliberate targets.

Let me say what this conflict is all about. This conflict has roots in the long-standing grievances of the Tamil community. These grievances, which have gone on over a long period of time after independence, have resulted in a lot of efforts by many Tamils, politicians and others. This organization was born but regretfully, this organization has taken a very serious and negative approach to solving the problem in Sri Lanka. In fact, it was listed by Canada as a terrorist organization. The minister of state has stated why Canada listed it as a terrorist organization.

Not only that, if we go back in history, this organization was responsible, according to its own statements, for the assassination of the Indian prime minister. This organization has been recruiting child soldiers. This organization has been responsible for suicide bombings. This organization has been recognized as a terrorist organization because of those things. Canada has signed on to the war on terror which naturally will compel us to look at this organization as a terrorist organization because of these activities.

What is of critical importance is that there are a lot of Sri Lankan Tamils sitting in the gallery and they will remember that this organization also assassinated those who opposed it, including Tamil politicians in Sri Lanka who were looking for a peaceful solution.

Now is the time, with all this human suffering happening, to speak out. I agree with the opposition that it is time for Tamil Tigers to lay down their arms and stand up for the people, if they want to stand up for their people, and to engage in a dialogue. That is why Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs has called for a dialogue.

Let me be very clear and blunt. At the current time, the Tamil Tigers are calling for the breakup of Sri Lanka, and the Government of Canada cannot accept that. We are calling upon the Tamil Tigers and the Tamil people and the diaspora here to apply pressure and return to dialogue. We understand that dialogue is not one way; it must be two way. In the same context, we are calling upon the Sri Lankan government to engage and ask for a ceasefire so that they can go back to the table.

As I have stated, the root cause of this was the grievances of the minority communities. Therefore, it is up to the Sri Lankan government to start building strong measures, to start building confidence for that day the Tamils can feel they are part and parcel of the Sri Lankan community, of the Sri Lankan country, and that they are not a marginalized community. We want the Sri Lankan government to start building.

Canada strongly supports the presence of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sri Lanka with the full mandate to report on the human rights situation. Once there is accountability and transparency on the human rights situation, and there are confidence building measures, the Tamil community will feel confident and a dialogue can start to take place. This is the key thing right now, because if the Sri Lankan government does not extend the hand of friendship and confidence building, the conflict will carry on.

From all the reports that have been coming in, we all know of the humanitarian crisis that is taking place because of the ongoing conflict. That humanitarian crisis has been stated by every member in the House as to what is happening there. Nobody is happy about it. The international community is extremely concerned. The Government of Canada is extremely concerned. In that respect, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has made a phone call stating our position very clearly and putting strong pressure on the government of Sri Lanka to take responsibility and do what it needs to do. There is a higher degree of responsibility on the government of Sri Lanka, because it is a democratically elected government which is supposed to represent everyone. The government should be taking a lead role there.

As far as we are concerned, the Tamil Tigers should lay down their arms and start talking, but the Sri Lankan government must ensure that the Tamil community feels that they have a voice they can trust and can have a dialogue carry on to ensure that they are inclusive members of the democratic process in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is a democratic country. It has had democratic elections. I have been to Sri Lanka and have met Tamil politicians who are all working to ensure a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka. They can be included. I am sure the Tamil diaspora in Canada would be the first to support peace returning to their country, one country, Sri Lanka, working with everyone so that their relatives and everyone there can participate in the democratic process.

It is critically important that both sides start talking now. That is the position of the Government of Canada. That is the position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Minister of State of Foreign Affairs for the Americas also elaborated on that. Of course we understand a humanitarian crisis is taking place and as the Minister of International Cooperation has stated, we have responded to this with the announcement of $3 million in assistance.

Yes, there is a problem. Yes, the Minister of International Cooperation has asked, does aid get into the region? There is no point in giving aid if it does not get into the region. We are working with our partners to ensure that aid gets into the region, but at the same time, we cannot overlook the other factors, such as the bombing of hospitals and the attacks on civilians, which cause serious concern.

Canada at this time is calling on the Tamil Tigers and the government of Sri Lanka to engage in a dialogue.

The issue of Canada listing Tamil Tigers as terrorists is something of the past. What is currently important is to get to the table and talk and stop the humanitarian crisis, stop the killing of civilians that is taking place so that aid can get into the area.

Canada supported the Norway process. We are very disappointed that the peace talks have collapsed and they have not moved forward.

We will continue working with the regional partners, with our international partners, with everyone here to put pressure on both sides to come to the table. Ultimately, if they do not come to the table, if they do not come to a peaceful resolution--and they already signed a peace agreement in Norway which was not kept by both parties--this time the international community must be very strong on both sides to ensure that they adhere to peace, and not just sign a piece of paper and then have these crises take place, as is what happened with the Norway process.

Once more, I must very clearly emphasize the Government of Canada's position. As the minister said today, we call on the Tamil Tigers to lay down their arms and engage in dialogue with the government of Sri Lanka. We call on the government of Sri Lanka to get on to the human rights issue and to get on to the peace process. We need to have the peace process so the humanitarian crisis is stopped.

[Zimbabwe, February 4th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, recently an agreement for unity government was struck between the parties of Morgan Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe. While this is a positive development, the people of Zimbabwe need real change.

Since the signing of the global political agreement on September 16, 2008, Canada's position has been very clear. Effective change in Zimbabwe requires actual political shift by the country's leadership. This extends to the Government of National Unity as well.

Canada has been and will continue to be insistent upon this point. In September, Canada imposed targeted censures against Zimbabwe's ruling elite and associated entities. These censures will remain in effect until Zimbabwe has demonstrated positive shifts in policy that result in improvements in freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Canada continues to stand in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe.

[Foreign Affairs, January 30th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this is a very complex family dispute with no easy solution.

As the member has stated, I just visited Saudi Arabia in December and I met with the Saudi authorities and visited Ms. Morin and her family.

We are bound, however, by both Saudi law and our own adherence to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, under which children cannot leave without the father's permission.

With the assistance of Saudi officials, we are working to facilitate an agreement between Ms. Morin and her husband for a positive resolution to the case.

[Sri Lanka, January 29th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, Canada is deeply concerned by the civilian casualties caused by the continued fighting between the government forces and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.

We call on all parties in this conflict to end the violence, to allow full, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian workers, and to ensure the safe and voluntary movement of civilians from the combat zones.

The Government of Canada further calls upon the government of Sri Lanka to start building confidence measures to ensure Tamil aspirations are met through peaceful engagement and inclusion within the democratic process.

The root cause of this conflict must be addressed to ensure the return of peace. The Government of Canada, therefore, calls upon all Sri Lankan citizens, Sinhalese, Tamil and others, to work together to build a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka.

[Economic and Fiscal Statement, December 2nd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the answer is simple. At that given time we did not make a deal with the Bloc. We said, “Look at the options”.

The point is that the opposition parties made the deal immediately after having an election, and Canadians thought about it. That is the question. We came back with an increased mandate from the Canadian people. At that given time that party was going downhill.

[Economic and Fiscal Statement, December 2nd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, those are games that those parties play. The memeber's leader told his own caucus that he had already talked to the separatists long before this. I do not know what the member is talking about.

I will tell the member that the government believes in the tax cuts it has implemented. We have already reduced the GST by 2% and we have created pension income. We have addressed the issues the seniors brought to us. We have been addressing the issues. We have been working with the auto industry and with the Liberal government in Ontario to come up with solutions.

The government has been proactive, which is the problem that party was having and the reason it came up with a plan.

[Economic and Fiscal Statement, December 2nd, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, I will concede that the Bloc did give us a plan and we listened to that plan. We asked the other parties to give us a plan but they did not. We asked them to work with us but they would not. Why? It is because they wanted to play this power grab game.

What the leader of that party said to his caucus was that the plan was in the offing long before the stimulus issue came out. The Canadian people should not be fooled. The plan was on the table and it was hatched by that party long before the economic update. Those members should not lie to the Canadian people.