Jim Karygiannis

[Situation in Syria, June 5th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, the member had his opportunity to speak but, as usual, in every fashion he does not allow others to speak and in every fashion he is very belligerent.

If I have unanimous consent, I will table the letter.

[Situation in Syria, June 5th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, the letter is right here. I even read it and I will read it again. I hope the member will listen carefully, as he has absolutely not listened. The letter reads:

They are asking the Canadian government to do the following:

1. Ensure that Canadian companies, such as Suncor Energy Inc., are not funding the present Syrian regime;

2. Call for a Conference of members of the Syrian Diaspora and others who are interested in developing a free and democratic Syria;

3. Offer to host the Conference in Canada under the auspices of the Canadian Government and assist with the funding of the Conference;

4. Expel the Syrian Ambassador to Canada; and,

5. Consider recalling the Canadian Ambassador to Syria.

That is the letter that the community has sent. This was sent by email to the minister on August 19, 2011. Our party has issued press releases asking for dollar to dollar contributions--

[Situation in Syria, June 5th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, it is almost 16 months since things happened in Syria. In January 2011, a series of protests began in Syria. Among other things, Syrian protesters called on the Syrian president and his government to bring in political reforms and stronger protection of civil rights. It was the beginning of the Arab Spring. Sixteen months later, we have a situation in Syria in which it is not any longer spring, but deep winter.

I mentioned in this House earlier tonight that in October 2011—October 18, as a matter of fact—I asked for unanimous consent for a motion to be passed. We asked for a motion for an emergency debate to be passed, and neither one of them flourished.

I even wrote to the minister on August 19, 2011, enclosing a letter from the Syrian Canadian Council, at which time they were asking the Canadian government to do the following:

1. Ensure that Canadian companies, such as Suncor Energy Inc., are not funding the present Syrian regime;

2. Call for a Conference of members of the Syrian Diaspora and others who were interested in developing a free and democratic Syria;

3. Offer to host the Conference in Canada under the auspices of the Canadian Government and assist with the funding of the Conference;

4. Expel the Syrian Ambassador to Canada; and,

5. Consider recalling the Canadian Ambassador to Syria.

That was August 2011, and to date I have not heard from the minister, not even a whisper and not even a return email. We did get a receipt that the minister did read it.

However, the Canadian-Syrian diaspora is asking for much more. They and our party as well have asked that CIDA match dollar for dollar whatever the community raises in order to help their loved ones back in places like Turkey, Libya and Jordan where they have fled, but again, nothing from the government.

There are people who have come to this country and have claimed refugee status for what is happening back in Syria. There are Syrians who were here in Canada before the atrocities started and have claimed refugee status, yet the government is not saying, “Yes, go ahead; we will accept your claim”. Instead people have to resort to courts, and courts are refusing their applications.

I even got an email this evening from a young man who is in Canada, Mike Wise. It states, “Today my house in Aleppo City was under fire and the Syrian army destroyed more than three buildings beside where my mom and sisters live. More than 44 people died under fire.”

The atrocities are perpetrated by the government of Syria, the Assad regime. It is not the first time he has done it, and his father did it before him. These atrocities need a quick response, and the quick response is that we should not have waited 16 months after it started to have a debate in this House.

The Government of Canada issues press release after press release, but has done absolutely nothing else except to address the situation. The Syrian community of Canada has asked the government to match dollar for dollar. We do not have a crisis on our hands of the kind we did in Haiti, and the Prime Minister is not going to go to the Red Cross and give money. It does not really matter, so the government is not listening.

The accountability has to start right here, tonight. The member for Mississauga South, I believe, says we must, and I will repeat the words, “be held accountable”. I think the Canadian people and the Syrian diaspora in Canada are holding us all accountable, especially the government, because the government waited for 16 months to have the Syrian debate in the House, has not answered the diaspora's calls for action and certainly has not answered its calls to match dollar for dollar, which is what they are asking.

The minister of immigration is not assuring the community that we will take seriously their calls to stay in Canada and to be protected. He is not taking it seriously by telling the courts or his bureaucrats to stop deporting people or to not to turn their claims away.

The accountability should start in this House. It should start right here, today, and the government especially has to be held accountable. It has waited long enough, and this is why things are as bad as they are in Syria.

Accountability should start in the House and it should start right here today. The government has to be held accountable. It waited long enough and that is why things are as bad as they are in Syria.

[Situation in Syria, June 5th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, the difficulties in Syria started in January 2011, and 10 months later, in October 2011, I put forward a request for a unanimous motion that read as follows:

That this House condemn the brutal attacks on members of the Syrian movement for democratic change and accountable government by the Bashar al-Assad regime; call on Bashar al-Assad to meet the Arab League 15-day deadline to enact a ceasefire and begin a dialogue between government officials and opposition representatives; accept the United Nations Human Rights Council's commission for inquiry into the violence of Syria to find out exactly what happened and to put an end to civilian deaths; and, ensure that the perpetrators of these attacks are brought to justice and bear the full weight of the law.

That was in October 2011. I would ask the member, what has changed from then until now? Today the government has asked for an emergency debate, but we could not have that debate back in October 2011. What has changed is that after all this time, inaction from the government has brought more killing to the people in Syria.

Why is the government not listening to the requests of the Canadian Syrian people? They are asking CIDA to match dollar for dollar the money that they are raising in order to look after their loved ones in Turkey, Lebanon and other countries.

[Situation in Syria, June 5th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, I have two questions for the hon. member.

First, this situation started in January 2011, a year and six months ago. Along the way a request was made for us to have an emergency debate and members of her party declined it. That request was made on October 18, 2011. What has changed from now till then, that her party assumes we should have the debate now but not back then?

Second, she said, “the Middle East is a powder keg and we need to be ready”. That is her statement word for word. What exactly does she mean by that? Does she mean ready to go to war? Does she mean boots on the ground, military intervention? Could she please explain that for me?

[Situation in Syria, June 5th, 2012]

Which comment—that you won't match dollar for dollar, or that you can't read?

[Situation in Syria, June 5th, 2012]

Madam Chair, the Syrian community in Canada has repeatedly asked the government to come up with a formula to match funds, dollar for dollar, on what they raised.

Letters have been sent to the Minister of External Affairs as well as to members of the government, but there has been no response to date.

We have seen that the government reacted urgently in Haiti. The Prime Minister even made his own pledge at the Red Cross.

If we have done that with other countries, with Burma and with China, why is the government not doing it with Syria? Is it because there are not enough Syrians in Canada to make their vote worthwhile? Is it because the Conservatives are ignoring them? Is it because they do not know how to read letters?

[Immigration, June 4th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the government is closing the visa section in Buffalo after spending more than $1.5 million on renovations and signing a 10-year lease, which would put taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars for the rent of empty offices. The government is spending money like there is no tomorrow. The Buffalo visa office is one of the most effective in the world. It has been shattered, eliminating walk-in services for everything from lost passports to visa applications, leaving Canadian citizens and new immigrants at risk.

What else is the government planning to do? When will the government get its priorities straight?

[Restoring Rail Service Act, May 29th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, indeed, in one year three unions will have been legislated back to work: Canada Post, Air Canada and now the Teamsters.

If we look at what happened with the post office, there was such a big wedge driven in between the employees and Canada Post that relations, even after almost a year, have not gone back to normal. It is the same with Air Canada. There are pilots today who are looking at options. They are saying that they were forced back to work and are using work to rule in order to not fly a plane.

I can assure my colleague that not only the Teamsters and Canadian Pacific will be at odds for a long time, but other companies in other jurisdictions will say that they have the government to protect them, that those people will legislate anybody back to work. That will be the history and the morality of the Conservative government of today.

[Restoring Rail Service Act, May 29th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, negotiations were in place. Canadian Pacific all of a sudden decided to thumb its nose at the Teamsters union and walked away. What happens? The Conservative government steps in to legislate them back to work.

It is interesting. I met workers on the line in Toronto, Scarborough and in Winnipeg. I heard the same story, that should something happen while they were driving the train if they did not have the appropriate sleep or rest, who would stand up and take the risk? Who would step up and be responsible? They are responsible, but when they go in and say that they cannot do the shift, Canadian Pacific steps up and says that it will take care of them later on.

Therefore, negotiations have to take place and the government should stop being on the side of Canadian Pacific, with the greed of the company.