Committees of the House  Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development entitled, “Report on the Baha'i Community in Iran”.

Budget Implementation Act, 2009  The second is she mentioned hope for people around the world. I hope the people who are near death in the Congo, Darfur and Burma, as well as the Baha'is in Iran, who are being persecuted and murdered, are not forgotten.

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Ahmadinejad, have been engaged in a massive repression of the domestic human rights in Iran, religious communities such as the Baha'i political dissidents. There have been an increased number of executions in the last year alone. There are a number of initiatives we can take in that regard on the human rights level.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I should explain that our centre has issued highly detailed reports on the death of Zahra Kazemi and on the persecution of Baha'is in Iran, which we believe are part of a truth telling process. Just as we've had truth commissions in other societies, I think Iranian youth need to go through this transformation by knowing the truth of the crimes that have been committed, which the state-controlled media, of course, does not tell them.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I gave my personal support to this committee's holding at least one or two hearings on this set of issues. We talked about getting into Iran a number of times, and I think this could allow for that, at least on the religious freedom side. The reason I think this is timely and would require consideration today is that the groups that would like to present include, I believe, Ahmadiyya, Ismailis, Baha'i, Christian minorities, and others, and they are prepared to fly witnesses in from overseas, at their own expense.

Human Rights  Mr. Speaker, one year ago, the UN was informed that Baha'is in Iran were being secretly monitored. Since then, Iran's Bahai's have been further persecuted, their rights have been violated and their lives have been in danger. The Government of Canada has been in place long enough to have an official position on this situation.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I'm assuming you're saying that because it is your belief that protests in the international community can have some practical impact back at home in Iran. Would a similar impact occur from protests relating to other types of human rights violations--for example, the executions of homosexuals or perhaps some kinds of religious persecution against the Baha'i minority, that kind of thing?

Baha'i Community  Speaker, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees all people freedom of religious expression. The people in the Baha'i community in my riding and elsewhere in Quebec and Canada are very concerned about the persecutions of members of the Baha'i faith living in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In addition to being persecuted, they are being deprived of the most basic rights, such as the right to higher education for young people and the right to own property.

Foreign Affairs  Speaker, I appreciate the comments from the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, but he must also recognize that this is Hitler's shadow stalking the earth, that this is the same regime in Iran that has denied the Holocaust and has state sponsored persecution of members of the Baha'i faith. Quite frankly, words are not enough. I ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs if, at the very least, he has called in the Iranian ambassador to Canada to express Canada's disgust over these actions in Iran.

Iran  Speaker, following consultations with members on all sides of the House, I seek the unanimous consent of the House to put the following motion, seconded by the hon. members for Rosedale, Red Deer, Beauharnois—Salaberry, and Richmond—Arthabaska: That this House express its profound concern over the recent grave attacks on the Iranian Baha'i community including the brutal execution of Mr. Rahu'llah Rawhani in July, arrests of 36 Baha'i academics, and confirmation of death sentences of two Baha'i men and the detention of 11 other Baha'i men for practising their faith; and calls upon the Government of Iran to end their oppression of the Baha'i community, ensure the safety and early release of all those Baha'i imprisoned in Iran, and respect the principles of the International Covenants on Human Rights to which Iran is a party.

Iran  Speaker, on July 21, 1998 Iranian authorities executed Ruhullah Rawhani for practising his Baha'i faith. There are presently four more Baha'is on death row. Would the Minister of Foreign Affairs please explain to Canadians Canada's position regarding Iran's abhorrent policies against the Baha'is?

International Circumpolar Community  Mr. Speaker, the February 18 legislative elections in Iran profoundly changed the balance of political power in the country. The reformers of President Khatami won a majority of the seats. Canada congratulates the people of Iran for honouring the democratic spirit of the elections and voting in such large numbers.

Supply  I believe in October last year the U.S. proposed fingerprinting Canadians who were born in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Yemen. Canada is a multicultural country. We have hundreds of thousands of Canadians who were born in those countries. When they crossed the U.S. border they had to be fingerprinted for no reason.

Anti-Terrorism Act  As we all know, the Middle East is a hotbed of international problems. In the early 1950s attempts were made in Iran to overthrow the shah. The CIA was involved. It brought back the shah but it failed to protect its interests in the Middle East in 1979 when the shah was thrown out by Ayatollah Khomeini.

Human Rights  Mr. Speaker, the Baha'is in my community and countless Canadians are repelled by the news of death sentences passed on Baha'is in Iran. A few days ago Iran raised the bounty on Salman Rushdie's head to $2.5 million.