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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 219

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 18, 2023 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 219 - Sep/18/23
Hon. Pierre Poilievre (Leader of the Opposition, CPC)
  • Sep/18/23 3:30:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, moments ago, the Prime Minister made me aware of intelligence from his authorities linking the Indian government to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Before going any further, let me offer my condolences to the family of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the loss that this represents and the outrageous murder that brought it about. If these allegations are true, they represent an outrageous affront to Canada's sovereignty. Our citizens must be safe from extrajudicial killings of all kinds, most of all from foreign governments. Canadians deserve to be protected on Canadian soil. We call on the Indian government to act with the utmost transparency as authorities investigate this murder, because the truth must come out. We must know who performed the assassination and who was behind the assassination. The Conservatives will continue to work to get these answers. All Canadians now stand with diaspora communities of Indian origin. It is now in this time that the official opposition makes an appeal for calm. We are all Canadians. This is our country. We must be united for our home and for each other. Let us all lock arms and join hands in condemning this murder, standing with the family and friends of its victim. Let us all put aside our differences to stand up for the rule of law, one law for all of our people, a law made in this chamber by Canadians for Canadians.
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Context: House Hansard - 219 - Sep/18/23
Mr. Jagmeet Singh (Burnaby South, NDP)
  • Sep/18/23 3:33:41 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what we have just learned today in the House is something that shocks the safety and security so many Canadians rely on. It is outrageous. It is shocking and it is going to have deep and devastating impacts for Canadians. I want to also begin by acknowledging the family of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a family that is now learning that the loss of its loved one was potentially directly related to Indian government involvement. I spoke with Hardeep Singh Nijjar's son, and I could hear the pain of that loss in his voice. I can only imagine how much more painful it is going to be, knowing this potential connection. On a personal reflection, I want to share what this means to the Sikh community. I grew up hearing many stories that said that if someone raised concerns about human rights violations in India, they might be denied a visa, or that if they went back India, they could suffer violence, torture and even death. I grew up hearing those stories, but to hear the Prime Minister of Canada corroborate a potential link between a murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil and a foreign government is something I could never have imagined. To understand what that means to the community, this is a place that so many people around the world have sought as a refuge. People have fled persecution in their home countries, where they were threatened by torture, violence and death, to come to Canada, a beacon of safety, a place where they could be safe and free from violence, and where they would be able to speak their thoughts, speak their minds and not worry that they would wake up dead the next day or that someone they loved would be tortured or killed. The safety and security so many Canadians feel has now been rocked. It has been shocked and destabilized. I want to send a message directly to activists across our country who have fled persecution and who speak truth to power, knowing of the real, dire consequences to themselves and potentially to their families. I want to speak directly to people of Indian descent who have come to Canada and who spoke justice and spoke truth to power, and who challenged the oppressive practices of India: caste violence, violence against women, systemic abuse of minority communities and systemic abuse of the poor. I want to speak directly to those activists. Governments around the world are trying to silence them. The Indian government, and the Modi government specifically, is attempting to silence them, but truth cannot be silenced. Justice cannot and will not be silenced. We know that the practice of the Indian government has been one of division, violence, persecution and attacking those who are critical of the government. It is now an important time to send a clear message as a democratic country and a country that respects the rule of law. What will be our response? I want people to know that, as leader of the New Democratic Party, I will use every tool at my disposal to ensure that Canada uses every tool and every power of a democratic nation to bring those responsible to justice. We will ensure that no rock is unturned, that every possible link will be examined and that a public inquiry should also turn its eye to this with the full rigour of that public inquiry. We need to know the truth. We need to know all potential links, and anyone and everyone responsible should be brought to justice using the full power of a democratic nation. I call on our allies to condemn this violence, this direct violation of a sovereign nation's rights, and to condemn this act in the harshest terms possible. This will require all democratic nations to come together to send a clear message about what it means that a foreign nation killed a Canadian on Canadian soil. This is something all democratic nations have to stand up and denounce clearly. Finally, I want to send a clear message to many people who are still learning of this and will be angry and are going to be afraid. I understand why they would be angry and afraid. I call for everyone who is hearing this news now to come together, not in anger but in love of justice. There is a Sikh practice that the love of justice is what we should focus on, not the anger, the frustration and the fear. We should focus on the love of justice, and I will do my part. We will do our part in the chamber to ensure that justice is served, using every tool a democratic nation can. [Member spoke in Punjabi] [English] I want Canadians to know that they can trust that New Democrats and everyone in the House will fight with everything we have to ensure that this serious, reprehensible matter is treated with the utmost seriousness and focus, and that we bring justice.
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