Hélène Laverdière

[Democracy in Ukraine, October 18th, 2011]

Madam Chair, the NDP strongly supports this motion. The NDP is really concerned about the politically motivated persecution of Ukrainian opposition members and, in particular, the former prime minister, Mrs. Tymoshenko.

We in this room are not the only ones to be concerned about the current situation, nor are we the only ones to say that this trial was politically motivated. Amnesty International, which is a very trusted organization, said:

The prosecution against Yuliya Timoshenko is politically motivated. The charges against her are not internationally recognizable offences, they are attempts to criminalize decisions that she made in the course of her work.... Poor political decisions of this kind – if that is what they were - should be punished by voters, not through courts.

We fully agree. In fact, we have been concerned for some time about the situation. In September the NDP finance critic and the foreign affairs critic sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs to underline our concerns on that issue. We are quite happy for this opportunity to discuss this very serious issue today.

As we all know, democracy is far more than casting a vote every four, five or seven years, depending on the regime. Democracy includes fundamental respect for institutions. In this case we can see a clear disrespect for normal institutions and the division of power. The persecution of Mrs. Tymoshenko is a politicization of the judicial system, not only her persecution but the persecution of other opposition leaders. It should be a wake-up call for all of us that our institutions can be so fragile and have to be protected seriously.

Democracy also includes respect for political rights. Here again we see a clear violation of those rights. As well, democracy includes respect for diverging views, such as in the media. More and more in Ukraine there is a shutdown of media that show different versions of things, and of course, opposition parties. Democracy is that and a lot more.

I started by saying that democracy is not only about voting, but democracy is also about the right to vote. There are serious concerns about the October 2012 election in Ukraine. How is this election going to proceed if the main opposition leaders cannot participate in the said election? What kind of democratic election can that be?

We are all here today because we deplore this situation, but we are not the only ones. The EU has condemned the situation, as have the Americans. However, we should do more than deplore and protest.

We Canadians have such strong links with Ukrainian people. Their brothers among us have helped build this country. We have more than 120 years of a strong relationship, so we do care about what is happening in Ukraine. We do not want Ukrainians to lose all the benefits of the Orange Revolution. We do not want violence to erupt in Ukraine. This could happen; repression moves quickly. We want a democratic and prosperous Ukraine.

We should do more than stand here worrying and saying this is not good. We should communicate our concerns to Ukrainian officials. We should discuss with partners in the EU and our neighbours to the south to see what avenues there are to convince current Ukrainian authorities that they are going down the wrong path. We should also help in Ukraine. We should support, for example, human rights groups. We should support a training formula. We should support pro-democracy organizations.

We already give $22 million a year to Ukraine. I am not saying we should stop giving this money, far from it, but we give it mainly in the business and agricultural sectors which are very important. If the situation gets worse, those sectors are going to suffer too. Maybe we should do a bit more on prevention. Maybe we should work more upstream and put all our efforts and money toward ensuring a healthy Ukrainian democracy where human rights are respected, where there is a clear division of power and where the prime minister does not hold all the power over parliament, government and everything else.

This is something we should clearly think about. We should think about redirecting our aid money to support on the ground human rights organizations and pro-democracy organizations. We should be looking very closely at the proposed Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement to see if we should move forward in the current circumstances and if so, if we can include in the agreement some safeguards and guarantees regarding human rights and the rule of law.

[Democracy in Ukraine, October 18th, 2011]

Madam Chair, I would like to thank my colleague for his eloquent presentation. Could he speak a bit more about diplomatic measures that Canada could take to resolve the situation and exert pressure on Ukraine?

[Foreign Affairs, October 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, the Conservatives denied the request of the opposition members to hear His Excellency the Ambassador of Tunisia, who was in the room. The hon. member for Mississauga—Erindale said that the government would strenuously object. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the government's policies on the elections in Tunisia.

Since when does the government get to decide who the committees can hear from? Since when are public servants the only ones allowed to testify?

[Nobel Peace Prize, October 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to rise today to honour the three women recipients of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakkul Karman.

They were awarded the prize “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work.”

The important strides in peace-building these women have made remind us that Canada must live up to its international obligations under UN Security Council resolution 1325 to involve women at decision-making levels in conflict resolution and peace processes around the world.

The award is a victory for the many women working worldwide for peace, democracy and social justice. On behalf of the official opposition, I wish to extend our warmest congratulations to these three exemplary women.

[Afghanistan, October 4th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence says that he was not kept in the loop about all of the details of the Afghan mission.

In the book titled The Savage War, the minister talks about the decision to strike a committee concerning the mission. He said, “It wasn't discussed with the broader cabinet, no.” And he added, “I didn't know all of the specifics.”

How can Canadians trust this government? How can they trust a minister who is kept in the dark by his Prime Minister?

[Afghanistan, October 4th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister does not trust his own Minister of National Defence. He did not update the minister on important decisions being made about the war in Afghanistan. Yesterday, we learned that he kept the minister in the dark about the mission.

How can Canadians trust the Minister of National Defence when the Prime Minister himself does not trust him?

[Libya, September 26th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for the question. It is certainly not simple. As I was saying, the situation on the ground needs to be addressed immediately and we need to start building that country's institutions as soon as possible, because it will be a rather complicated task.

As for the most immediate needs for things like hospitals, food and water supplies, and so on, Canada, as always, must work with its partner countries and, more importantly, with the United Nations agencies that can coordinate the effort on the ground. Canada must support those efforts as much as possible.

As for a longer-term vision, there is the possibility of a first phase for the creation of institutions and for national reconciliation. A situation like the one Libya has endured for the past 40 years will, of course, leave its marks and leave some scars. We need to ensure that those marks and scars heal properly so that the country can rebuild itself. In that respect, what is most important is that we listen to the people of Libya so they can see the help and expertise we can offer them.

[Libya, September 26th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, we are convinced that we must change the focus of the Canadian intervention and put all our energy—and that is where we disagree—on reconstruction, democracy-building, humanitarian aid, intervention and overall support for Libyans in their current efforts.

[Libya, September 26th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the short answer to that question is yes, we do have a moral responsibility to act.

Indeed, people like Dr. Bengezi are heroes who are helping on the ground, and Canada has to be there to help them.

The military intervention costs about $10 million a month. That is what we think because we never really got detailed numbers.

Now that the situation is that there are still pockets of insecurities, but the terror has ended and the situation is relatively calm in most of the country, why do we not use that money instead to help people like Dr. Bengezi, to help the people on the ground, the women, the children, the nurses, the doctors and everybody who is putting forth all their efforts to try to put an end to the tragic humanitarian situation and then rebuild that country?

[Libya, September 26th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for this very pertinent question. I talked about humanitarian aid and touched briefly on the issue of rape as a weapon of war. In a society such as Libya's, it leaves marks, both psychological and social, because ostracism goes hand in hand with rape. It can destroy entire families. Not only does it harm the victims, but it has a dramatic effect on their entire social circle.

How can children who have seen bombardments and people who have lived in terror for years not be affected psychologically after that? From a more medical or physical point of view, there are fairly disturbing connections. Almost everything is in short supply and some infrastructures have been destroyed. That is why it is vital to resolve these conflicts. Otherwise in six months, in one or two years, there will be even greater problems. We must take action now.