Crisis in Sudan
Date: 2023_04_25
Chamber: HOUSE OF COMMONS
Mr. Kevin Vuong: I want to begin by thanking my Bloc colleague for splitting his time with me. What is happening in Sudan goes beyond partisanship. It is a critical issue and, for some, literally a matter of life and death. I am grateful to my hon. colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean . I want to thank him for the opportunity to rise and contribute to this emergency debate on an issue that directly impacts not just the Sudanese but also many Canadians, including constituents from my riding of Spadina--Fort York. As we all know, there is a brutal conflict that is evolving, two autocratic sides in Sudan, each trying to obtain control of the country. Many Canadians have roots in Sudan and have family members still living there who are deeply affected by the conflict. Over the past week, the people of Khartoum have spent their time in cover. They can hear the heavy artillery. They can hear the air strikes. Some are low on food and water and are contemplating a dangerous attempt to flee their city and somehow get to a neighbouring country. Aside from the 1,700 registered Canadians who are in this human tragedy, one wonders how Canada was not better prepared to extract our citizens and to assist other nations in relocating refugees to safer countries. Canada once held dear the 2005 UN principle of the responsibility to protect. The responsibility arose out of the 2005 UN World Summit, and it was heavily supported by the Canadian government of Paul Martin. R2P embodied a global political commitment to end the worst forms of violence and persecution. It sought to narrow the gap between member states' pre-existing obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law and the reality faced by populations at risk of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Canada seems to have also forgotten the debacle it faced in evacuating some 30,000 Canadians from the wharves of Beirut in 2006. Back then our government scrambled around for days struggling to find and rent ships to take our citizens to safe countries like Cyprus and Turkey and then back to Canada. Why then is Canada showing up a bit late again? When the fighting intensified, Canada was quick to close our embassy and suspend consular operations, as did other embassies, but now what? Is Canada taking a lead role in talks with other governments on evacuating its citizens or is it just adopting a wait-and-see strategy to see what develops? Many people do not have the luxury of time to wait and see what the government comes up with. Food and water scarcity drives home this point. Additionally, has the Government of Canada considered granting urgent refugee status to non-citizen Sudanese people who have ties with Canadian relatives so that they can escape the fighting? Although, on that front, history has not been kind to our country's ability to rescue people in serious danger. Ask the Afghans who put their lives on the line to assist our Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan and who are now still waiting to leave while the Taliban hunts them down. What then? What about the Sudanese? What more could or should Canada be doing? Well, some of my constituents have a few ideas. They are seeking immediate and tangible support for the Sudanese people in their quest to prevent military conflict in their homes. In just a few days of fighting, hundreds of people have died and thousands more have been wounded and displaced. The suffering of innocents will only continue to rise if the fighting continues unchecked. My constituents also rightly point out that the Sudanese people have played no part in this conflict. We have two forces fighting over their ability to rule a country when neither was elected by the people. The Sudanese people's peaceful protests for democracy go ignored and they continue to suffer for it unjustly. Moreover, for the many Canadians stuck in Sudan, they remain in constant fear and live in tremendous peril. Most have been without electricity and water for over a week and are caught in the middle of a violent battleground. Those who have found shelter have run out of essentials such as water, food and medicine. The Canadian government must act immediately to evacuate our citizens. Aside from that, Canada should work with the UN special representative, Volker Perthes, to ensure that the ceasefire is respected by both parties. Canada should commit to delivering food and medical aid through organizations such as the Red Crescent and the UN World Food Programme, which had paused its work in Sudan after two days of fighting. Finally, Canada should also provide emergency immigration measures and support for the Sudanese people who have been caught in the crossfire of the conflict, similar to what the Canadian government endeavoured to provide Ukrainians impacted by war. As a concerned constituent eloquently expressed, the "Sudanese people believe in freedom, peace and justice and peacefully fought for it through non-violent demonstrations. Sudan seemed on the brink of ushering in a democratically elected civilian government. However, those hopes have been dashed by a coup and, more recently, the violence by the army and the RSF." In conclusion, the Government of Canada must provide aid to Canadians and Sudanese people on the ground. It is not enough to tell people to shelter in place or look to the route of sponsorship, which could take almost a decade. Delaying further action will be disastrous and deadly, and time is running out.