Paul Dewar

[Foreign Affairs, October 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, make no mistake. No one disagrees about the threat of ISIL and what it poses. It is the civilians in Iraq and Syria who are suffering the most.

When the minister came to committee a month ago, I asked him the following questions: Will they support immediate steps to support the set-up of refugee camps? Will they support the protection of minorities? Will they support victims of sexual violence and help for investigating and prosecuting war crimes?

The minister said yes to all four asks. The problem is that nearly a month later there has been no action on these four asks. Why?

[Foreign Affairs, October 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's involvement in Iraq is not combat or nothing. We can take steps to save lives right now. The minister knows this because he saw, alongside me, the desperate need for humanitarian assistance for displaced people in Iraq. We met children in refugee camps in Erbil who are looking urgently for Canada's help to survive this coming winter. They are still waiting.

The question is, why has the government failed to step up with new aid so that we can provide support for these kids, these families, right now?

[Foreign Affairs, October 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, a combat mission will not bring justice or aid to these civilians, but we can help do that right now.

The United Nations has said that actions of ISIL amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. It has asked for countries to help ensure that perpetrators are held to account.

Again, Canada has the expertise to do that. Again, the minister agreed. Where is the action to help investigate and prosecute these horrific war crimes?

[Foreign Affairs, October 2nd, 2014]

It is very simple, Mr. Speaker—

[Foreign Affairs, October 2nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, this new United Nations report documents a horrific pattern of sexual violence against women and children, including the sale of abducted women in Mosul.

These crimes are abhorrent, and Canada has the obligation and expertise to assist survivors.

It has been nearly a month since I asked the minister to help address sexual violence in Iraq. He agreed then, so where is the plan to provide help for these civilians right now? Where is that help?

[National Defence, September 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, U.S. Ambassador Heyman said on the weekend that it is a multi-pronged approach and that Canada can help to do what we can to help save lives.

We believe that is the case. The question is, what did Mr. Obama ask us to do, and did we offer or were we the ones who were asked?

[National Defence, September 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, even the minister himself, on September 9, said that we are not doing enough to help support refugees, as well as some of the other issues that we asked for support for.

Saving lives in Iraq must be our top priority. That is what Canadians want to see us doing, not playing politics. U.S. Ambassador Heyman said, this weekend—

[National Defence, September 29th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, what we do know is that when that party was in opposition, its members asked for a vote in the House every time we deployed troops. It is not just good enough when it is on their time and their dime; it is about when we send people abroad.

While we have been trying to get answers from the government on how many troops have been sent to Iraq, what they are doing, what their mandate is and what the assessment will be, we could have actually been saving lives. We could have been building refugee camps. We could have been supporting minorities who need our protection. We could have been doing that right now, instead of trying to figure out what the heck the government is doing over in Iraq with our troops.

Why are we not helping our people—

[Petitions, September 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, first I want to acknowledge the apology by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and thank him for doing that.

I have a petition from constituents and people from right across the country who are very seized with the issue of the missing and abducted Nigerian girls. They are calling on the government, and in fact the whole global community, to sustain the political attention to this very important issue.

They are calling on the Government of Canada to increase its investment in safe, quality education for all children in order to see that schools everywhere are free from violence and intimidation.

[International Develpment, September 26th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we are now hearing that the government offered the Americans our troops before we were asked. That is what I am hearing the parliamentary secretary say. While the Conservatives have no problem expanding our military role in Iraq, they have been failing to tackle the enormous humanitarian needs in this conflict. Over 2.2 million people in Iraq are in need of humanitarian assistance. At the committee on September 9, the minister promised that Canada would help support refugees for the coming winter, combat sexual violence and prosecute war criminals.

Why has the government walked away from those commitments? We have not heard announcements on these very important aspects of the mission.