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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

May/6/24 9:50:57 p.m.
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Pursuant to Standing Order 45, the division stands deferred until Tuesday, May 7, at the expiry of time provided for Oral Questions. The hon. deputy House leader is rising.

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen

May/6/24 9:51:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I understand that you have received proper notice from all recognized parties, and if you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to see the clock at midnight.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

May/6/24 9:51:41 p.m.
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I have received notice from all the recognized parties that they are in agreement with this request. Is it agreed? Hon. members: Agreed.

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Mr. Ziad Aboultaif (Edmonton Manning, CPC)

May/6/24 9:51:46 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-289

Madam Speaker, the question before us is not just whether the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a terrorist entity. Its actions over the past four decades are such that such a designation is logical. It is also long overdue, and that may be why the government has so far refused to act. Having ignored past pleas from Iranian experts and from other Canadians, the Liberals are too embarrassed to admit their mistake and do the right thing. Following the protest in Iran, since the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, Conservatives have been calling on the Liberal government to support the Iranian people's fight for a free and democratic Iran by listing the IRGC as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code of Canada. The Liberals refused. The murder of Jina Mahsa Amini was just one on the long list of violations of human rights committed by the Iranian regime. The torture and death of Montrealer Zahra Kazemi, the execution of wrestler Navid Afkari, the imprisonment of lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and the shooting down of Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752, which killed dozens of Canadians, are examples of a regime that has no respect for its own citizens or for those of other countries. The IRGC is a part of this regime and is instrumental to its continued existence. The IRGC has terrorized the people of Iran for decades and has openly declared support for other terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas, both listed in Canada as terrorist entities. In June 2018, the government, including the Prime Minister, voted to list the IRGC as a terrorist entity. Despite the motion being approved by the House of Commons, and despite the IRGC downing flight 752 and killing Canadians, the government has yet to list this organization as a terrorist entity. To me, this is shameful. Does the government not understand that Canada needs to take a stand for what is right? This government's level of hypocrisy has been so big that it does not walk its talk. It does not do what it needs to do. It makes promises, and it breaks them. This is how hypocritical the government has been on this very important issue of protecting Canadians and on making sure that Canada stands where it is right to be. It was a little more than four years ago when the IRGC shot down flight 752, killing 176 people, including 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents. This was a mass murder of Canadians. Countries have gone to war over less than that. The families of those killed in that attack received sympathy from the Liberal government but nothing was done to bring the perpetrators to judgment. Nothing was done to stop them from operating in Canada however they see fit. There is no doubt that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism. There is no doubt that the IRGC is one of the prime movers of Iranian terrorist policy and action. There is no reason for Canada to sit by and do nothing. There are an estimated 700 Iranian Agents operating in Canada. If one asks Iranian Canadians whether they feel comfortable speaking up against the regime, they will tell one stories of harassment for their extended families, not only back in Iran, but also here on Canadian soil. Two years ago, CSIS confirmed that it was investigating what it saw as credible death threats against Canadians coming from inside Iran. In failing to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization, the government could be seen as not caring about the safety and security of Canadian citizens faced with this foreign threat. Certainly, the Liberal government has not sunk so low as to put the protection of terrorist organizations ahead of the safety of Canadians, has it? Finance Canada officials testified in committee that more than $100 billion is illegally laundered in Canada each year. A leading report recognizes that Canada has become known for snow-washing, given the prominence of money laundering here. I should not need to remind the Liberals that combatting money laundering is a federal responsibility. With his lackadaisical attitude, the Prime Minister has allowed criminal organizations, including the IRGC terrorist organization, to take advantage of soft-on-crime Liberal policies. Because of the Liberals' refusal to list the IRGC as a terrorist entity, we have no way of knowing how much of the Iranian regime's illegal money laundering in Canada goes undetected. Finance Canada officials have admitted that the government does not know whether the IRGC is fundraising for terrorist activities through the Canadian charitable sector. Simply put, the government is not doing its job. Common-sense Conservatives have put forward real solutions to mitigate money laundering in Canada. Conservative Bill C-289 proposes changes to the Criminal Code to make it easier to catch and convict criminals laundering money in Canada. That would include IRGC agents. However, the NDP-Liberal coalition voted against the bill. The failure of the government to take terrorism and money laundering seriously allows for murderous entities like the IRGC to operate freely in Canada. The government needs to wake up and finally list the IRGC as a terrorist organization. To do so would bring us in line with our allies, countries such as the United States, that understand the seriousness of this situation, even if Canada's government does not. Other countries understand that an organization that has involved itself in conflicts in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria, should not be allowed to freely export violence and chaos. The IRGC is open in its support for Hamas and Hezbollah, two organizations that have been recognized as terrorist entities. It does not make sense that the organization that funds the activities of Hamas and Hezbollah should not be called to account for its terrorist actions. What we are discussing here is an organization with a history of exporting violence and mayhem as it seeks to destabilize other countries in the region. Not only that, but this is an organization that is used as a tool of state-sponsored torture and oppression against its own citizens. We have talked about this in the House before. The will of the House is to have the IRGC listed as a terrorist organization here in Canada. Apparently, though, despite the overwhelming evidence, that is not the will of the Liberal government. I do not understand the reasons for its inaction. It is not as if it believes that it should sponsor terrorism and terrorist organizations. If it does not believe the reports from CSIS or Finance Canada, it should say so. Canadians deserve an explanation for years of Liberal inaction. The time for empty words and hollow announcements is over. It is time for the government to take action, support the Iranian people's struggles for freedom, do the right thing, and list the IRGC as a terrorist entity in Canada.

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

May/6/24 10:01:30 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-350

Madam Speaker, I think the member just gave an excellent and powerful speech about the importance of listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization. I know from talking to community members across Canada that there is wide support for the proposal. There are many different communities that see the negative impacts of IRGC violence: the Iranian community, the Jewish community, the Iraqi community, the Lebanese community and the Yemeni community. Communities in South America are also talking about how the Iranian regime is spreading its violence and collaborating with authoritarian regimes in South America. We are going to vote on the motion on Wednesday. I think it is going to pass, based on what the opposition parties have said. We will see what the government does. At the end of the day, what we need is executive action or the passage of my bill, Bill C-350. It is not good enough to just pass a motion. After the motion is voted on, and if it passes, what should we expect the government to actually do? A motion like this one passed before, six years ago, and the government has done absolutely nothing in six years. We will pass the motion, I hope, on Wednesday, but we need to hold the government's feet to the fire because what really matters is whether something actually gets done.

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Mr. Ziad Aboultaif

May/6/24 10:02:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan for the excellent question and his work on these issues and many other issues of human rights and security for all communities in Canada. Based on the record of the government, I will not hold my breath. I cannot be optimistic about what it is going to do, because it has not been respecting the will of the House in terms of what it should act on. The other motion has been here for almost two years, and it still has not acted on it. There is hope and a call for the government to act, to hear the will of Canadians through the House on what we know of the suffering and the complaints, as well as the will of the communities in Canada that are calling on the government to act on this issue to list IRGC as a terrorist organization and to make sure it follows the talk. That way, we will not end up with the same situation we have right now.

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Mr. Sébastien Lemire (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ)

May/6/24 10:03:54 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would simply like my colleague to tell us what the next steps will be, what we can expect. More importantly, what action will the government take on this issue?

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Mr. Ziad Aboultaif

May/6/24 10:04:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the real expectation of the government is to do what governments do. Therefore, the government is going to have to put forward and implement the proper mechanism to make sure the will of the House and the will of Canadians are followed and listened to. It is only in the government's hands, because it is the government; it should be able to use the proper tools to make sure that things fall into place so Canadians are protected and the IRGC is listed as a terrorist organization. Then the rest of the work can be done.

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Mr. Garnett Genuis

May/6/24 10:04:52 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on the subject of the violence being caused by the regime in Tehran, I also want to use this opportunity to highlight the case of Toomaj Salehi. He is a rapper who has been given a death sentence in Iran because of his participation in protesting. It is really horrific to see the number of people who have been killed who had simply wanted to raise their voice and express their ideas and hopes for a different political future for their country. They are people of all ages, including many young people, who are being killed or facing death sentences. In this case, it is a very well-known rapper. I want to add my voice to the many who have called for his release. Cases such as this underline how utterly barbaric and inhuman this regime is and how critical it is that the regime has to go. The first victims of the Iranian regime are the Iranian people, brave young people such as Toomaj, who have spoken out and are now facing this horrific state reprisal. Our thoughts are with him and his family, and we continue to call for his release. Does my colleague have a comment on that?

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Mr. Ziad Aboultaif

May/6/24 10:06:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we have had experience here with Montrealer Zahra Kazemi, the execution of wrestler Navid Afkari and the example of lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh. There are so many examples of how far this regime is willing to go in order to punish the people who say no, those who are looking for freedom, for a better life for their own peers, inside and outside Iran. We know about the suffering and the fear; many do not even want to go back to visit with their parents or their families back home, and they fear that the regime has agents on Canadian soil and other international grounds to go after their own citizens who speak of freedom. The regime has no limits whatsoever regarding who they want to reach and how far they are willing to go. That is why the problem is at our doorstep right now; we must, for once, protect Canadians on Canadian soil. We need to protect our own people, our own house, because that is the minimum the government and all of us can do.

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Mr. Garnett Genuis

May/6/24 10:07:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the member has spoken a lot about this tonight already. I know one of the key issues the Iranian community in Canada has been highlighting is foreign state-backed interference. The most pressing security threat to our country right now is foreign states interfering in Canadian affairs. Of course, the Iranian regime is a major player, and there are many other players we have discussed over recent months and years in the House. We have seen interference in our democracy through foreign state interference. What is much more pernicious are the threats of violence toward Canadians, especially targeted at members of diaspora communities. A few years ago, the Iranian regime was responsible for shooting down a flight, PS752, with many Canadians on it. Many in our region of Edmonton were impacted by this in particular. One young man, whose wife was killed, spoke out about what happened, and he faced threats here in Canada. Imagine someone speaking out about their wife being murdered by this regime and then facing threats here in Canada. This underlines how critical it is that more action be taken on foreign state-backed interference to protect the Iranian community and many different communities facing attacks from beyond our shores.

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Mr. Ziad Aboultaif

May/6/24 10:09:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it has been long overdue for the government to act on some serious issues such as this one. There is enough indication by CSIS, by Finance Canada and by our security forces that this is very serious, and it must be dealt with at the highest level of responsibility by the government. We will be waiting, after the vote, for the government to tell us the plan for how it can do this, how it will list the IRGC as a terrorist organization and what the mechanism is to be able to free up Canadians and to protect Canadians on this soil.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

May/6/24 10:09:53 p.m.
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It being 10:10 p.m., it is my duty to interrupt the proceedings at this time and put forthwith every question necessary to dispose of the motion now before the House. The question is on the motion. If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.

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Mr. Garnett Genuis

May/6/24 10:10:25 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to request a recorded division on this motion.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

May/6/24 10:10:29 p.m.
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Pursuant to Standing Order 66, the recorded division stands deferred until Wednesday, May 8, at the expiry of the time provided for Oral Questions.

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Mr. Sébastien Lemire (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ)

May/6/24 10:11:00 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have the opportunity to question the Minister of Sport again and I am grateful. It is a disappointing and undeniable conclusion: The government failed in its mission to protect athletes over the past decade. Since the revelations of alleged sexual assault committed by members of Canada's national junior hockey team in London in June 2018, the inaction of government authorities has been glaring and disappointing.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

May/6/24 10:11:28 p.m.
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I must interrupt the member for a few seconds to ask that there be less noise in the lobbies. Suddenly there is a lot of noise. The hon. member for Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

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Mr. Sébastien Lemire

May/6/24 10:11:41 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, despite the promises made by the previous minister of sport in May 2023—a year ago almost to the day—about establishing an independent public inquiry as everyone has been demanding, months have passed without any significant progress being made. Worse still, with the change of minister, the hope those promises created is fading. The measures put in place so far, while laudable in their intent, are proving insufficient. The code of silence still reigns supreme in sport, and the entire ecosystem forces many athletes to remain silent, depriving them of the opportunity to speak freely about the abuses they have suffered. Independent third parties, so-called ITPs, represent a deterrent to disclosing any wrongdoing against people in the world of sport. One of the root causes is the frenzied rush to perform well, which is dictated by the funding and pressure of marketing bodies like the Canadian Olympic Committee or the International Olympic Committee, which interfere shamelessly in our sport system in Canada. Sports federations, under increasing financial pressure, exert intense pressure on coaches, who in turn pass this pressure on to the athletes. This excessive pressure compromises the mental and physical well-being of athletes, compromising their passion for their chosen sport. The Canadian sport system, which is mainly run by dedicated volunteers, deserves careful attention from governments. It is vital that they be given the means to prevent abuse and protect current and future athletes. The many scandals involving abusive coaches, including Bob Birarda, Bertrand Charest, Dave Brubaker and many others, underscore the urgent need to act. Their predatory behaviour has caused irreparable harm to young athletes and has tarnished the reputation of Canadian sport. The Liberals, the leaders of the current government, have failed in their duty to be vigilant and to protect our athletes. It is time to recognize the flaws in the system and undertake serious reforms to ensure that every athlete can grow in a sport environment free from pressure and abuse. Our athletes deserve better. It is our collective responsibility to make that happen. When will there be a public inquiry into abuse and mistreatment in sport? I will add that the current Minister of Sport committed, last December, to striking a voluntary commission. Although imperfect, such a commission would have allowed the matter to come before the public again. Victims could have testified about the harm and suffering they endured and they could have denounced the abuse. It has been six months. This commission was supposed to be launched a month later. We are still waiting, just as we are still waiting for the previous minister's commitment regarding a public and independent inquiry. When will the government take action on the public inquiry into sport?

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Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity, Lib.)

May/6/24 10:15:12 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have this opportunity to address the House of Commons on this very important matter. I thank my colleague for his work on this very relevant issue. Our government firmly believes that Canadians deserve a sport system that reflects and celebrates the values of equity and inclusiveness. Over the past few years, we have made significant progress. Credit is owed to the athlete survivors who courageously shared their stories with the media and with House of Commons and government committees. Although it should not have been necessary, their advocacy turned this conversation into a national priority. We very clearly heard the call for systemic change in sport. Sport systems in Canada and around the world are going through a period of upheaval. Trust in our sports organizations and leaders has crumbled. Since June 2022, two parliamentary committees have studied maltreatment in Canada's sport system. We announced the launch of an independent and impartial commission on the future of sport in Canada. The commission will provide a forum to shed some light on the experiences of survivors, to support healing and to explore how to improve the sport system in Canada. The commission will be trauma-informed. It will be centred on survivors and based on human rights. The commission will consist of three individuals and will be headed by an independent legal expert, who will be appointed commissioner. This person will be independent of both the government and the sports system. The commissioner will be supported by two special advisers, one with lived experience or expertise in victims' rights, child protection or trauma-informed processes. The other advisor will have expertise and experience in sports. The commission will report publicly on its findings and make recommendations in two specific areas. The first will outline action that can be taken to improve the safety of sport in Canada, including trauma-informed approaches, to help athletes heal from maltreatment in sport. The second area will include action that can be taken to improve the sport system in Canada as a whole, including issues related to policy, funding, structures, governance, reporting, accountability, conflicts of interest, system alignment, culture and legal considerations. Following public engagement and a preliminary public report, the commission will hold a national summit where participants can deliberate on the commission's preliminary findings and recommendations to inform its final recommendations.

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Mr. Sébastien Lemire

May/6/24 10:18:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Milton. I think that was a genuine response that I got here in the House of Commons, which is quite rare. That being said, it is not the step towards an independent public inquiry that I had hoped for. We believe that an inquiry is a necessary step towards structural reform. An independent public inquiry would identify the shortcomings in the current system and propose concrete solutions for guaranteeing a safe and healthy sporting environment. It is shocking that, two years after the Hockey Canada scandal, the minister has not supported survivors' and advocates' calls for a national inquiry that meets judicial standards, with the power to compel documents and subpoena testimony from organizations, including the current Minister of Sport and Physical Activity for her role over the decades at all levels of this ecosystem. In that context, I would like the minister to explain how she intends to handle this conflict, given that she is, after all, judge and jury of her voluntary commission. These questions remain unanswered.

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