44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 24, 2022 11:00AM
- Oct/24/22 7:37:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think that the best thing we can do is listen to the Uighurs themselves.
I think that what is proposed in this motion, namely to welcome 10,000 Uighurs over two years does not have the unanimous support of Uighurs themselves. They do not think that is enough. The best thing we can do is listen to them and shape our policies around their needs. We do not need more proof. A genocide has occurred in Xinjiang. That has been proven and we recognized that genocide here.
Now we need to take action, and what I have seen here tonight are not people who are prepared to take action, but rather people who want to use the situation of the Uighurs like any other issue to advance their political agendas. I will repeat what I said. I find that unacceptable.
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- Oct/24/22 7:40:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in my introduction, I admitted that I felt a bit like an impostor since I did not follow the entire course of the work in committee. I was made aware of this political issue by my colleague from Lac‑Saint‑Jean, who has made the Uighurs a prominent part of his work.
To answer my colleague's question, I think what we need to do is focus on humanitarian concerns. Unfortunately, in the case of the Uighurs, political, strategic and economic issues are sometimes put before humanitarian considerations. As responsible politicians, we cannot turn a blind eye to such atrocities in the hope of recovering some aspects of international trade, so as not to offend a giant like China. We cannot do that. It is an appalling lack of courage. If there is anything we can do here, it is perhaps to find some courage to stand up to China and defend the Uighurs in the dignified way they deserve.
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- Oct/24/22 7:45:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what can we do? We definitely need to continue the work here, but I think in the short term the best thing to do is listen to people like Mr. Tohti who are being threatened. We must listen to the testimonies of the Uighurs being forced to live with this constant threat and we must continue our work here in the House to come up with solutions to keep Uighurs safe from a regime that has lost all touch with reality and human dignity. I think the best thing we can do in the short term is to listen to them carefully and to take into consideration the terrible situations they are going through.
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- Oct/24/22 8:21:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been a pleasure working with my friend opposite on the Tibet friendship group, and I thank him for speaking to the motion today.
The motion identifies the fact that Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims face an ongoing genocide. The member quite eloquently, especially in the final minutes of his speech, made precisely the case for that genocide recognition. There was a motion in this House a year and a half ago on which the government, speaking not of the entire Liberal caucus but the government, chose to abstain. At the time, the government said it was studying the issue.
A lot has happened in the last year and a half. The member mentioned the UN human rights commissioner's report as well, which is new since the House of Commons motion. Could he clarify, if he is able to, the position of his government on this motion and, flowing from that, whether the position of the Government of Canada today is that Uighurs are subject to an ongoing genocide?
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- Oct/24/22 8:53:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for sharing the wisdom he gained from his experiences in Rwanda with the House this evening.
Could he elaborate further on similarities between what happened in Rwanda and what is happening with the Uighurs in China right now? Could he look back at what happened there and possibly suggest some solutions?
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- Oct/24/22 9:10:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Peace River—Westlock for the work he does on human trafficking. He did not talk a lot about how perhaps the Uighurs have been subjected to that. He talked a lot about organ harvesting, and we know about that through the work of David Kilgour. We know it is happening and how atrocious it is.
I wonder if the member could expand a bit on any elements of human trafficking that there may be with the Uighurs in China.
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