hazylavender/hi huggingface dataset:
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Jenny Kwan: I thank the minister for her comments and some of the updates that I think many Canadians want to hear. On the issue around immigration, there are many Canadians who have loved ones who are Sudanese. Some of them may have an application in to sponsor them to come to Canada for permanent resident status, and others may have an application for a temporary resident visa. However, there are many others who have not had an application initiated. The announcement from the Minister of Immigration has been completely silent about supporting Canadians who have loved ones in Sudan who have not had any process initiated to try to bring them to safety. Would the minister support an immigration measure that would allow for Canadians with loved ones in Sudan to sponsor them to come to Canada?
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Hon. Melanie Joly: I think my colleague is referring to the fact that the Minister of Immigration announced that Sudanese nationals could apply for an extension of their status in Canada, and move between temporary streams, allowing them to continue to study, work or visit family, free of charge. I know that there is more to be done, to the member's point. In that sense, of course we are looking at different scenarios. I know my colleague, the Minister of Immigration is working on this and he has my full support.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Denis Trudel: we are here this evening, and it is indeed a rather sad evening. We certainly did not need another conflict in the world at this time. We just left the Tigray region and we are not yet sure that the conflict has ended. There is Haiti, where there is widespread violence. There is obviously Ukraine, Afghanistan and many other countries around the world. We are talking about helping people. The first thing that comes to my mind is that in war-torn countries women and children are the first to suffer. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and my colleague just spoke about the flow of refugees to the border with Chad. We know that rape often occurs in refugee camps. There are these types of dangers. My colleague spoke a bit about it, but what measures is Canada taking to prevent this type of crime, which is often committed in refugee camps in countries where there are conflicts like this?
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Ryan Turnbull: I think obviously the situational awareness of what is happening on the ground is quite challenging, when we are dealing with a country that is experiencing such hostilities, so I think Canada has to continue to work on a coordinated response through its various partners on the ground. Obviously, communication channels can be challenged, but I know there are quite a few stories I am aware of with people fleeing the country. I have a personal story and relationship with three members of an international development organization that contacted me just a couple of days ago. They were trying to flee the country, so I know of their journey. There are three of them from an organization called Inter Pares that was stuck in Khartoum in a hotel, and they were really looking to get out of Sudan, and they were fearful for their lives. I found the consular services, despite the fact of the changing situation, have been quite good about helping those folks get out of Sudan, so I--
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Ryan Turnbull: I appreciate the member's remarks and his commitment to advocating on this issue and looking to do whatever we can. I think we share that commitment in common, to ensure that the Sudanese people are supported. Our government, as members heard from the minister this evening, is looking at every possible measure that may be a tool to help the Sudanese people in this situation. I cannot speak for the minister, obviously, but I think they are looking at all measures.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Blake Desjarlais: in my previous comments, I spoke specifically about the requirement of ensuring that folks here in Canada and their loved ones in Sudan get the support they need and, in particular, about a constituent of mine who came to my office today, pleading for help for his family in Sudan right now. They need emergency support. They need to find safety. What does the member from the Liberal bench have to say to constituents of mine and right across this country? When it comes to them and their families, how will they get to safety and when?
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Ryan Turnbull: I appreciate the member's passion, obviously advocating for his constituents. I know I feel the same about my constituents. What I can say is that my experience working with the minister's office is that they have been quite responsive, including the parliamentary secretary. The consular services for people I have been helping to get out of Sudan have been quite good. In this case, the case that I know about, the individuals had to take a 34-hour bus ride to get to the port of Sudan and are now taking a ferry out, hopefully, sometime this evening to Saudi Arabia across the Red Sea, from where they will hopefully be able to fly home. I would encourage people to use ROCA and make sure they are registered. I know that Global Affairs Canada has been reaching out. It has reached out to over 1,700 people who registered, with 573 who requested assistance. Over 100 people have gotten out so far. Obviously it is an ongoing effort. It is a difficult situation. I feel my colleague's passion and fire for helping his constituents. I appreciate that very much.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Mike Morrice: Waterloo region is home to over 700 Sudanese people and their families, with many more with connections in Sudan right now. People like Suha Osman, a Wilfrid Laurier alum, and 18 family members of hers are in Sennar right now fleeing air strikes. At a time when six diplomats were evacuated on Sunday, while Suha and her family are still in Sudan with no way out, it is hard not to have the sense that some lives seem more important than others. Can the member for Whitby share more about what we all can do to ensure that every Canadian, all 1,700 who are in Sudan right now, gets to safety as soon as possible?
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Ryan Turnbull: again, I feel for every single person who may be stuck and wanting to get out of Sudan. I think the minister's office has been very good about setting up the coordinated response to get people out. We have to recognize that the situation is evolving. It is challenging; it is dangerous. We really have to work through our international partners and find people ways out that are safe. I agree with the member that it is challenging. Certainly from different people's perceptions we can see things happening slower or faster, but I think we have to understand that it is a difficult situation and the minister's office is working through the partnerships that it has to do its very best.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Damien Kurek: I am glad this important debate is able to take place. This House has indicated in the past that it would support sanctions for the Wagner Group. There are some possibilities it may be looking at, I believe, according to comments made today. Would the member from the Bloc support ensuring sanctions are applied, and applied quickly, if in fact it does become the case that the Russians endeavour to influence or start to pick sides and increase the violence in Sudan, which would risk greater peace and stability in the region?
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe: I thank my colleague for the question. We will definitely support every initiative on sanctions, especially for the Wagner Group. Today, Ukraine's ambassador to Canada appeared before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development to answer our questions. She said that, first, there are not enough sanctions and that, second, they are being poorly applied. It is great to impose sanctions, but they should at least be effective and produce results. The government is bragging about bringing in several sanctions in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. From what I understand, however, after more than a year of war, these sanctions do not seem to have done anything to improve the situation in Ukraine. It is one thing to impose sanctions, but they need to be effective and there needs to be enough of them to truly change things.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Heather McPherson: my colleague's comments on the sanctions are important for us to keep in mind today, because it would be very difficult for Canada to find an adequate way to sanction in this particular situation. The question I have for him is about one of the things I am quite seized with. In 2014, under Stephen Harper, a law was repealed and took away the duty to protect local embassy staff. What happened in Ukraine and Afghanistan is that the staff who supported the Canadian embassy were left behind, and we are seeing that again. That has not been changed. I have raised this with the minister multiple times. This has not been changed. I wonder if the member could talk about the fact that right now while we have been able to evacuate the Canadians from the Canadian embassy we have not been able to help our local staff.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe: it is really sad. I thank my colleague for that important question. It seems as though this government and the previous governments never learned from the past. Where is the sense in making sure that we are able to evacuate Canadians who are working in embassies in places where there is a crisis or armed conflict, when we are leaving behind the people who work with those Canadians, who helped them day after day and who likely became their friends over time? They are Canada's friends. They are friends of the people working in the embassy, and we are leaving them behind. Is that fitting of a G7 country? I completely agree with my colleague. That is unacceptable. It is sad, and it makes us angry to see this kind of thing happening. It is unacceptable for a country like Canada to do this kind of thing.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Arielle Kayabaga: I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleague for his speech on this issue that is very important not only to Sudanese Canadians, but also to our communities. Large Sudanese communities have contacted me since the conflict began. They had a lot to say about the women and children caught up in this conflict. In the past, the Bloc Quebecois has not always voted in favour of measures that target immigration to Canada and help bring people from all over the world to Canada. Will my colleague now seize the opportunity to state before everyone that it is important to support people who get caught in the middle of conflicts and, above all, to support immigration throughout Canada and Quebec?
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe: first, I would like the member to name the bills that the Bloc Quebecois voted against. What I just heard is not true. Second, the members of the Bloc Quebecois were among the most vocal supporters of bringing Ukrainians to Canada, because the government was not doing its job. That also applies to the Afghan refugees. Whenever there is a humanitarian crisis anywhere in the world, the Bloc Quebecois is always the first to stand up and to tell the government that it must do its job and bring those people here. We should not be hearing such nonsense. That is appalling. It is disgraceful to bring up such nonsense during an emergency debate like this one.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Arielle Kayabaga: I would like to thank my colleague for making very important comments on this important debate we are having tonight on supporting Sudanese people in this conflict, as well as bringing Sudanese communities home. I lived in war, so I know how war affects people. It directly affects women and children. Can the member opposite talk about some of the important measures that we need to continue to support in the House, all measures, to make sure we are supporting every single person who is vulnerable, including women and children?
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Vuong: there is a lot that the government points to in the work it has done, as it cites its feminist policy, and that is great. What I really want to zero in on right now, as I am sure my colleague knows, is women and children, who are probably the most vulnerable and most at risk right now in Sudan. However, it is not just those who are attempting those desperate trips to try to escape the violence, it is also Sudan's neighbours, the people of Eritrea, South Sudan, Ethiopia and so on, who themselves do not necessarily have the resources, which is why I focused a lot of my comments on the importance of Canada stepping up, as we are a G7 country and better endowed with the resources to help those who are truly in need, particularly women and children.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Garnett Genuis: I thank the member for his work on this important subject. I know he previously served in the military and spoke about the responsibility to protect. I wonder if he can share with the House some more thoughts on how we can give life to this idea of responsibility to protect, because it seems to me that, as we develop these doctrines, we make these promises, these bold ideas about international crimes, responsibility to protect, outlawing genocide and so forth, and we continually see cases of failure to respond to it. It seems that the more doctrines are created, the more we back away as an international community from recognizing crimes when they are happening because they would create an obligation to act. How do we really give life and meaning to the responsibility to protect? What can we concretely do to strengthen its effect?
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Vuong: I know my colleague had previously raised the topic of targeted sanctions, from the Wagner Group to, frankly, the individuals who are leading on both sides of the conflict, the people of the Sudanese army and folks in the Rapid Support Forces. Targeting those sanctions is important to ensure that we are really tackling and focusing on the individuals who are driving this violence and not catching any innocents in the crossfire. I know that in Washington, for example, the Americans have already levied sanctions, but this really needs to be a whole of the western world approach, where it is consistent and coherent across all those countries that share our values of democracy.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Laurel Collins: like the member, I am extremely concerned about the deteriorating situation in Sudan and the increasing likelihood of civil war. I was in northern Uganda working for the UNHCR in 2010 when a lot was happening with Sudan and South Sudan. UNHCR officials are now preparing for the exodus of around 270,000 people. I am extremely concerned about the lack of communication from the Government of Canada to Canadians on the ground. Canadians are worried about their family members. While Canadian diplomatic staff have been evacuated, many Canadians remain with no safe route out of the country. There seems to be a recurring theme with the government abandoning local staff, first in Ukraine, and now in Sudan. it also abandoned some of the people in Afghanistan who helped our Canadian military. Canada says that it is an international leader, but now we are relying on other countries to evacuate citizens. Could the member speak to how the government needs to explain why this is a recurring issue and how to stop it?
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Vuong: I agree with my colleague that we have a duty to protect embassy staff. They are individuals who, frankly, have put themselves at risk working alongside our officials in their countries, from Afghanistan to Sudan. To abandon them is wrong. I obviously cannot speak for the government, but I would strongly advocate that it really look at reinstating that duty to protect embassy staff.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe: let us look at this government's track record in dealing with international crises. The government let down the people of Afghanistan and those who helped the Canadian army, such as Afghan interpreters. It let down Ukrainians because it took three months to set up a program. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada did not have the proper computer system to implement the program. What is it doing in Haiti right now? The government talks like it is some kind of human rights superhero, but when it comes time to act, it turns into Tom Thumb. That is the government's track record. I would like my colleague to show that the government is all about image and is not taking any action.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Vuong: I am afraid I have to agree with my colleague. The track record is not great. There are people who have served side by side with my colleagues in the Canadian Armed Forces and are now being hunted by the Taliban. Leaving them behind is tragic. It reflects extremely poorly on our country and our ability to honour our international commitments. It is my hope that with respect to Sudan, the current government can change that. I am going to use this opportunity to reiterate some things. We should offer emergency immigration measures and support to Sudanese people caught in the crossfire, as was offered to Ukrainians. As well, we should not wait to grant urgent refugee status to non-citizen Sudanese who have Canadian relatives. We can do that now and quickly.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe: I really appreciated my colleague's speech, because she seems to have hit the nail on the head. She told us that, in terms of international relations, this government only seems to care about trade these days. In a fantastical, completely insane and almost schizophrenic turn of events, this government sent the Minister of International Development on a diplomatic mission to Qatar, a dictatorship that tramples on human rights, in order to sell arms there. This is the latest star on the report card of this government, which is reaching new heights of hypocrisy in international relations and international development. The only question that comes to mind is the following: Does my colleague have any confidence whatsoever that this government is doing a good job, considering its record since 2015?
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Heather McPherson: one of the biggest challenges I have is that in 2015, when the government was elected, we had a Prime Minister who said very clearly that Canada is back; it was sunny ways, with the whole tapping of the chest thing. I believed him because I was not a member of Parliament. I was a member of civil society, and all the things the Prime Minister said I wanted to believe. I wanted to believe the cuts and damage that had been done during the Harper decade were over, that Canada was back and that Canada was going to re-engage in the world and take back our place. I prefer the Conservatives because, frankly, they tell us they are not going to do anything. They tell us they are going to be useless, and that is better than a government that tells us it is going to do something and then does not.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Garnett Genuis: it is a pleasure working with the member on certain issues. I think she would agree that we agree sometimes and disagree other times. This is an important topic we are debating tonight. I want to come back to something she raised at the beginning of her speech, which is the Wagner Group and the motion she put before the House regarding it being listed as a terrorist organization. I wonder if she can share a bit more about how she sees the agenda of the Russian government, in Africa with the Wagner Group and in other ways, contributing to destabilization and conflict, and why it is so important that the government follow through on the motion of the House and list the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization, a point we agree on.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Heather McPherson: I think this is a massive problem we are not addressing. We are seeing the Wagner Group and Russia infiltrate a whole bunch of countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. We are seeing China, with its belt and road initiative and other initiatives, doing the exact same thing. While they are making inroads in some of these countries, we are pulling back. I think that dynamic is very dangerous when we look at global dynamics in this multipolar world we are in. If Canada wants to be part of major discussions happening around the world, we cannot turn our backs. There is a reason we did not win the Security Council seat. It is because we made choices about which countries to ignore. We prioritized. How do people think it feels to be someone in a country in sub-Saharan Africa watching millions and millions of dollars of support go to Ukraine, when in their country people are starving to death and do not have access to clean drinking water and there are no vaccines? How do we think people feel when we hoard vaccines to the point that we have to throw them away and they cannot vaccinate people in their countries? We are backing up at the wrong time. We are backing up when we should be moving forward.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Arielle Kayabaga: I have not had many opportunities to work with the member, but I have seen her show up on the international issues in a very strong way, and I appreciate the way she has shown up. Today, a group of Sudanese women released a statement. They said a couple of things that they want to see the international community do and support because of the impact this is having on children and women. As I have said in the House before, I myself am a product of war. I came out of a conflict, and I know the impact this has on children and women. Can the member opposite comment on whether she is going to support this statement?
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Ms. Heather McPherson: first of all, one thing that is key, which I meant to mention in my speech and am really grateful to the member for bringing up, is that women need to be at all of the tables when we are talking about resolution and peacekeeping. That is fundamental. We know that peacekeeping only happens when women are at the table. That is a fundamental thing. If we have a feminist foreign policy and a feminist international assistance policy, women's voices need to be at the forefront.
Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Damien Kurek: it is such an important issue that is being debated into the late hours of this evening. The question has been asked a number of times specifically about the listing of the Wagner Group as a terrorist entity. I know it is something that was brought forward and that this House passed, and it speaks to some of the challenging political circumstances and specifically how the Russians and the dictatorship there could be exercising influence that would destabilize not only Sudan but the region as well. Could the member comment on the importance of taking that strong stand, listing the Wagner Group as a terrorist entity and making sure sanctions are applied to the greatest extent possible to help address this?