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Context: House Hansard - 232 - Oct/16/23

Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ)

Oct/16/23 7:41:55 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to thank my hon. colleague for her very touching speech. I think it moved us all, no matter which party we represent in this House. Canada was one of the first countries to announce humanitarian aid, and I congratulate the government on that announcement. Now it is time to deliver that humanitarian aid. If there is no humanitarian corridor, this aid will not get to the people we want to offer it to, the people we want to help. That is why it is so important to have a humanitarian corridor into the Gaza Strip. How does the Canadian government plan to ensure that this humanitarian corridor is put in place?

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Hon. Ya'ara Saks

Oct/16/23 7:42:50 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the Minister of Foreign Affairs just returned home to Canada after days in the region working with our regional local partners as well as on a multilateral effort to get humanitarian aid into Gaza and create humanitarian corridors. We are deeply committed to this work, as much as we are committed to making sure that the hostages being held under Hamas right now are released. We have a collective duty as an international community to ensure that civilian lives are protected and to ensure that hostages are returned to safety.

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Hon. Karina Gould (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Oct/16/23 7:43:31 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, first of all, I want to thank my colleague for her courageous speech. I know that this is something that is deeply personal for her as an Israeli Canadian and that this past week has been exceptionally difficult for her personally, as well as for Jewish and Palestinian communities across this country. I wonder if the member could talk about what is important for us to do now here in Canada to bring communities together.

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Hon. Ya'ara Saks

Oct/16/23 7:43:58 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, today we announced the appointment of the new special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting anti-Semitism, the hon. former ambassador Deborah Lyons. One of her first tasks is to work with her special envoy counterpart on Islamophobia, because as the members of this chamber well know, this is a government that is committed to combatting hate and committed to creating safe spaces for all Canadians, no matter who they are, where they worship or how they identify. We will continue to do that work each and every day.

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Hon. Ahmed Hussen (Minister of International Development, Lib.)

Oct/16/23 7:44:48 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I am thankful for this opportunity to address my colleagues. I join the minister, the hon. member for York Centre, in condemning Hamas. The pictures of the attacks by Hamas on innocent Israeli civilians are horrific. I unequivocally join my colleagues in condemning Hamas and its blatant act of terror. Our priority is the civilians. Every human life is precious, whether it is Muslim, Jewish, Palestinian, Israeli or Christian. Hamas does not and will never represent Muslims and Palestinians and does not represent the Palestinian people and their legitimate aspirations. We must do everything we can to continue to protect both Israeli and Palestinian civilians. We will continue to work with our allies in the region and beyond to make sure that all civilians get the assistance and aid they need. The reality is that this humanitarian crisis is getting worse. We need unimpeded humanitarian access and an open corridor to make sure that life-saving food, medicine and water get to those who desperately need it now. We are working very closely with our international partners, trusted organizations like the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies, and groups in the region that have always served everyone. I have had a number of conversations with ICRC; MDA, the equivalent of ICRC in Israel; and the Palestine Red Crescent Society, to get a sense of the needs on the ground and the heroic work being done by humanitarian and medical workers. With regard to our support so far, we have wasted no time in taking action. We were the first western country to commit an initial $10 million to put much-needed aid and assistance in the hands of trusted organizations so they can deliver water, food and medicine to civilians in need. We will continue to work with our allies to call for the respect of international humanitarian law, which means allowing unimpeded access to medicine, food and other aid. I want to emphasize that in our domestic approach, we know that Muslim Canadians, Jewish Canadians, Palestinian communities and Arab communities are impacted by this. There are folks with family members who have been killed as a result of this conflict. Family members are experiencing grief because their loved ones are being held hostage by Hamas. Family members are really concerned about being caught in the conflict in Gaza and making sure they are safe. We must not let the actions of Hamas turn into hate in Canada. I unequivocally condemn the rising acts of anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim behaviour that we have seen in Canada in the last week. We must come together to call out hate in all its forms. I am so proud of the fact that our special envoys are working together. I spoke to both of them on the weekend. It is so heartening for me as a Canadian to see that our special representative on combatting Islamophobia and the newly appointed envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting anti-Semitism are not only working together but embracing each other to lead us forward and make sure that we are holding on to the diversity and inclusion that make Canada so strong. Canada only succeeds when Canadians can put aside their differences and work together for the betterment of all, not just in the good times but also in the difficult times. We are steadfast in coming together to assist the most vulnerable. I want to reiterate our government's active engagement on this issue. We will be there to support civilians. We will continue to monitor the situation. We will work with our partners, regional friends and allies and make sure we continue to work with trusted organizations that have served us well over the years to make sure that Canadians have the framework to help the most needy and vulnerable. Canada will continue to do that.

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Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)

Oct/16/23 7:50:00 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I thank the minister for his comments this evening. I want to underline our belief in the importance of humanitarian access. In the past, we have heard stories of humanitarian crossings being targeted by Hamas. Two years ago, we heard testimony on this at the foreign affairs committee, so no doubt access will be challenging, but it is certainly very important. I want to ask the minister about the Iranian regime's role in supporting Hamas. What level of coordination does the minister see the Iranian regime being involved in with these recent horrific terrorist attacks? What additional steps should Canada take to hold the Iranian regime accountable?

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Hon. Ahmed Hussen

Oct/16/23 7:50:50 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, our focus has of course been on making sure we work with our friends and allies to help everyone affected by this conflict. I share the concerns of my colleague with respect to Hamas and its actions. We were all horrified by the terrorist attacks that Hamas launched against Israeli civilians in the south of Israel. I share the concerns of my colleague with respect to anyone, any entity or any country that would aid a terrorist organization.

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Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe (Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ)

Oct/16/23 7:51:32 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank my colleague for his speech, which was excellent, as his speeches always are. We have seen demonstrations in recent days that have included unacceptable actions and slogans. That kind of thing has no place in a country like Canada, and I say that as a Quebec sovereignist. I have a question for my hon. colleague. Is it not important for us all here in the House to be united, not divided? Is this not the time for all the representatives of Canada's 338 ridings to band together, stand shoulder to shoulder and ensure that no one tries to score political points on human tragedies? Instead, we need to unite, lead by example, and perhaps prevent certain acts in our communities that have no place here.

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Hon. Ahmed Hussen

Oct/16/23 7:52:30 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I absolutely agree with my colleague. We should be united around the principle that every human life is precious. We have to condemn terrorism in all its forms. We have to make sure that we are always calling for the respect of international humanitarian law, and we have to stand up for the rights of civilians to be protected in conflict. That is what we stand for and that is something we can all agree on here in this chamber, across party lines.

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Ms. Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, NDP)

Oct/16/23 7:53:07 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I have many constituents who are very worried about their loved ones. Some of them are Canadians who are in Gaza at the moment, and some of them have sponsored family members who have yet to make it to Canada. They are trying to find a way to get to safety. Many of them cannot access GAC services for evacuation. Others are simply looking for a pathway that could help them get to a corridor of safety. What is the government doing to provide evacuation for Canadian families abroad, individuals abroad who have permanent resident status and loved ones who are waiting for their sponsorship to be completed so they can get to safety?

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Hon. Ahmed Hussen

Oct/16/23 7:54:01 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I thank my hon. colleague for raising a really important question. Many of us in our roles as members of Parliament have been dealing with constituents who are concerned about loved ones affected by this conflict, some who have loved ones trapped in Gaza and others whose extended family members, friends and loved ones are being held hostage by Hamas. The fact of the matter is that our government has been really prioritizing this issue. My colleagues, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of National Defence, have been working non-stop on this issue, and I am happy to report to Parliament that a number of those efforts have been successful, enabling Canadians to be evacuated back to Canada, in some cases from the West Bank to Jordan and in some cases from Israel back to Canada. Those efforts are ongoing and we will do everything we can to help Canadians evacuate from Gaza, West Bank and Israel.

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Ms. Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, CPC)

Oct/16/23 7:55:04 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I am going to split my time with the hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills. I stand in this debate with sadness and anger as a Canadian, as a member of the House and as a Jew. Jewish Canadians are not only mourning; they feel that they are under threat. It is our duty here to provide reassurance and protection to those who feel vulnerable, whether within the Jewish community, among the Muslim community or in any other community. It is unfathomable to me that in 2023, anyone should fear sending their kids to school or being near a place or in a place of worship, at a community centre or in a business owned by an identifiable group at the centre of this war. It is a complete perversion of the rights and freedoms afforded to anyone in this country, and it requires more than just words like “stay vigilant”. It requires action. It requires action from every level of government. The outright slaughter of babies, of mothers, of Holocaust survivors and of hundreds of innocent civilians should be easy to condemn, a simple moral test that too many have failed, because the visceral language of the entitled creates a fetish of blind demonization of one party in this conflict, even in the face of such obvious carnage. Instead of condemnation, too many Canadians stood and celebrated in demonstrations, dancing in the streets branded in Hamas propaganda. Too many more sought to justify, minimize or rationalize the brutality. I would remind the House, in this vein, that the 1988 Hamas covenant and the revised charter from about five years ago must not be ignored in the conversation. The original charter is rather clear on Hamas's genocidal intentions. It calls for the complete destruction of Israel as an essential condition for the liberation of Palestine and the establishment of a theocratic state based on Islamic law. It states the need for an unrestrained and unceasing jihad to obtain that objective and the outright dismissal of any negotiated resolution or political settlement of Jewish or Muslim claim to the land. It is by every account anti-Semitic. What happened in Israel on Saturday is true to Hamas's explicit charter edict, their objectives and their ambitions. On October 7, Hamas carried out the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. They intentionally targeted innocent mothers, children, babies, elderly Holocaust survivors, entire families and innocent civilians carrying out their daily lives until they were so brutally cut short. Among them were Canadians, with five murdered and three others believed to be captive. The gruesome attacks unleashed a carnage so unspeakable, so unthinkable, that it would not be believable unless it was captured on video and put on the Internet, as we see. They are not militants. They are not government. They are not a resistance movement. They are as the member for Carleton said: Hamas is a “sadistic criminal terrorist death cult, and it must be defeated.” Israel has the right and obligation to do just that. As a defensive operation to destroy Hamas and its military capacity in Gaza continues, the pleas for restraint, compromise and peacebuilding are destined to fail with the genocidal aims of Hamas, as in their charter. With that, it is the government's responsibility to ensure that Canadians are evacuated from the region, that missions serve those abroad who need help and that it advocates for the safe release of hostages. I would add this final critical point. If there is one thing we can take away, it is for the government to finally, as it said it would, criminalize the IRGC, the funder and convener through which the regime in Iran is fighting a proxy war to proliferate terror not only on Israelis but on those in Gaza and around the world. We will not let the government have a free pass on this, for it is too common for Israel to have friends when it is easy and much harder for those friends to stand up when times get difficult. For the destruction of terror in Hamas, in the Iranian regime and around the world, and for the security of our ally, Hamas must be destroyed. Things will get harder.

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Ms. Leah Gazan (Winnipeg Centre, NDP)

Oct/16/23 8:00:12 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I just want to share with my colleague how deeply troubling the events have been. Certainly, with my family history, having lost my whole family on my father's side in the Holocaust, what is going on is very troubling. I learned many valuable things from my father, and I was very touched by Vivian Silver's son's comments about his mother, who is currently a hostage with Hamas. He said, “You can't cure killed babies with more dead babies. We need peace”. He spoke about the fact that vengeance is not a strategy. As somebody who is an intergenerationally impacted member of the Holocaust, having grown up with no family because of war, I am wondering what she thinks of Vivian Silver's son's comments about what is currently happening in Gaza.

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Ms. Melissa Lantsman

Oct/16/23 8:01:26 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, Vivian Silver, alongside Judih Weinstein and the daughter, Tiferet Lapidot, of Canadians, the three hostages we know of, should be the government's primary priority right now. We must secure the release of those hostages, not only to ensure that Canadians come home safely from the grips of Hamas, who have terrorized the region as a whole, terrorized Israelis and terrorized Palestinians, but to ensure that there is no regime out there that would look to Canadians as currency. To make sure that there are no Vivians in the future and that Canadians are not taken hostage, we have to have a strong stand on this; we have to do more.

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Mr. Garnett Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, CPC)

Oct/16/23 8:02:30 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-353

Mr. Chair, my colleague has put forward a bill in this House, Bill C-353, that deals specifically with this issue of hostages. Of course, many of us are seized with concern about the situation of these hostages, including Canadians. I wonder if the member can share a bit about the private member's bill she put forward before this situation happened, what the provisions of that bill are and the impact it would have in Canada's playing a stronger role securing the freedom of hostages.

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Ms. Melissa Lantsman

Oct/16/23 8:03:07 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, we will have the opportunity to speak to that bill. Hostage diplomacy is becoming all too common in this world. We have seen it before with Canadians; we see it now with Canadians; we will likely see it in the future with Canadians. It is incumbent on the government to make sure that hostages have an open line of communication with family by establishing a liaison and, more importantly, that we co-operate with those who provide the information for the secured release of those in arbitrary detention or those in a hostage situation. We want to give the ministerial authority to be able to do that, whether it is a monetary compensation or whether it is something based in citizenship, and I look forward to the support in this House for that bill.

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Mr. Ben Carr (Winnipeg South Centre, Lib.)

Oct/16/23 8:03:57 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to thank my colleague from Thornhill, as well as colleagues on the opposition side, for their support for our community and me personally over the course of the past number of days. I have heard varying perspectives in this chamber today on the conflict in Israel and Gaza. I am wondering about one of the things I heard. A member from another opposition party talked about and characterized Israel's response as one of “revenge”. I took exception to that. I am wondering if the member could comment, from her own perspective, as to whether she feels Israel's response is one of revenge or one that is occurring in terms of its right to defend itself.

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Ms. Melissa Lantsman

Oct/16/23 8:04:43 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, we have said in this House before that Israel absolutely has the right to defend itself. Vengeance would mean that Israel does proportionately exactly the same thing as what was done to Israel. That would never happen, because that was done by the monsters in Hamas. That would mean that Israelis would engage in rape, decapitation and complete humiliation of their victims. That is not what a democratic ally and our friend Israel would ever do.

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The Chair

Oct/16/23 8:05:19 p.m.
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Before we go to the next speaker, I just wanted to thank everybody for being in the gallery today. As much as we enjoy that you are here listening to this debate, you are to keep your thoughts to yourselves so the debate can happen on the floor. Resuming debate, the hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills.

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Hon. Michael Chong (Wellington—Halton Hills, CPC)

Oct/16/23 8:05:45 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, Canada must stand with the state of Israel. The events of October 7 were the biggest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. On that day, Hamas launched a terrorist attack and invaded Israel. Some two and a half thousand Hamas terrorists broke through the border, attacking Israeli military bases and massacring Israeli citizens. The latest count indicates that 289 IDF soldiers were killed and over 1,100 Israeli civilians were killed. Thousands more casualties took place as IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians were injured. The over 1,100 Israeli citizens who were killed were not killed inadvertently or accidentally. These 1,100 civilians were deliberately and systematically targeted and murdered by Hamas. They were gunned down execution style, just like the mobile killing squads of the Nazis, the Einsatzkommando, who executed some one and a half million Jews by firing squad during the 1941 Aktion campaign in Eastern Europe. It was the Holocaust by bullets before the Holocaust by gas chambers that murdered an additional four and a half million Jews. On October 7, whole families were executed, innocent babies were killed in their cribs and the dead were mutilated. Some of the dead were paraded through the streets of Gaza. The war that began October 7 is an existential threat to the state of Israel. The very state of Israel is threatened by this war, particularly if Hezbollah in Lebanon and the IRGC in Iran start participating in attacking Israel. One of the belligerents in this war, Hamas, has targeted Canadian interests. Five Canadian citizens were murdered by Hamas and another three are missing, presumably being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. We, in this House, call for the immediate release of these hostages by Hamas. We will not forget about the five Canadians who were murdered by Hamas. We will not forget what will happen to the three Canadians currently held by Hamas. There has been widespread condemnation from western democratic leaders of Hamas's barbaric terrorist attacks, including Canada's democratic leaders. There has been widespread solidarity expressed by western democracies for the state of Israel at this difficult time. This institution, the Parliament of Canada, projected an image of the Israeli flag on the Peace Tower as a sign of our solidarity. The coming days and weeks will be a test of western condemnation of Hamas and a test of western solidarity with Israel. In the coming days and weeks, Israel will exercise its right to defend itself under article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which states, “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations”. In the coming days and weeks, we should be clear that Israel has the right to eliminate Hamas as a threat from the Gaza Strip and to liberate the hostages Hamas has taken. As casualties mount, we should resist the temptation to call for a ceasefire until the Israel Defense Forces achieve its goal of eliminating this existential threat to the state of Israel. This is a war. It is a legal war under international humanitarian law. Under the law of armed conflict, it is a justifiable war against a terrorist group, a group that the Government of Canada has officially listed as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code of Canada. The state of Israel has the right to prosecute this war at the time and pace of its choosing until it has accomplished its goal of eliminating this existential threat. Israel has the right to determine, within the bounds of international law, how it will prosecute this war. It has the right to determine the pace of this war. It has the right to determine the timing of this war, including when the war ends. Palestinians are also victims of Hamas. The suffering of the Palestinian people is a real tragedy. A million Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza. Every innocent human life, whether it be Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish, Muslim or any other faith, is of equal precious value. We must do everything in our power to preserve this precious life and to minimize the suffering of innocent civilians.

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