CPAC - Wednesday, May 22, 2024 - 02:00 p.m. (ET) - Segment #1

[Music playing] O Canada Our gnome home and native land True patriot love In all of us command Car ton bras sait porter l'épée Il sait porter la croix Ton histoire est une épopée Des plus brillants exploits God keep our land Glorious and free O Canada We stand on guard for thee O Canada We stand on guard for thee >> The Speaker: Let the doors be opened. Statements by members. The honourable from Nippian. >> Last weekend I had the pleasure of hosting day along with hundreds of Buddhist Canadians. Known as Buddha day is one of the most important Buddhist festivals. The festival commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and passing. I would like to recognize and thank the spiritual leaders, Ottawa Buddhist society of Canada, Buddhist monostare for participating. Thanks for the performances by groups, and also thanks to children, and the choir group of Buddha light association for their wonderful association. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. >> The Speaker: The honourable member from souris-moose mountain. >> Speaker, last night presented with the knight's cross of the order of merit of Hungary. This honour is given in recognition of Candace's value-creating activities in order to preserve the identity

of Hungarians in Canada and strengthen their cultural, linguistic, and spiritual community as well as the dedicated work to strengthen bilateral relations. Candace grew up in Moosemen, Saskatchewan. Can days was given the role of Hungarian honouree council in Saskatchewan and continues to celebrate her heritage and traditions through a variety of initiatives. She was instrumental in the restoration of the Hungarian reform church, a local landmark that helps to preserve the legacy of the Hungarian community. Congratulations to you, Candace, and thank you for all you continue to do on behalf of Hungarians in Saskatchewan. [ Speaking French ] >> Voice of Interpreter: >> Mr. Speaker, on the 19th of may, we commemorate the Pontic genocide paying tribute to the 350,000 lives lost, from 1914 to 1923. A population of 700,000 people disappeared. Pontic families massacred, a community that had been existence for 2,600 years wiped out. Pontic women, children, and elders murdered. This was genocide. [ End of Interpretation ] It was part of the broader Greek genocide and conducted in parallel of the Armenian genocide. It is our moral obligation to stand in solidarity with the survivors and the descendents to wear business to their suffering and ensure the truth of these atrocities is never obscured or denied. The it reaffirms our commitment to truth, accountability, and justice. I appeal all Canadians to sign House of Commons petition -- [ Speaking French ] >> Voice of Interpreter: >> The Speaker: The honourable member from Mirabel. >> Mr. Speaker, the name Luke echoed several times in this chamber. He is synonomous with integrity, courage, and humanity. He saw his professional life and health destroyed after doing the right thing, denounce wrongdoing within the federal government. Unfortunately instead of punishing the guilty parties, the system punished him. Him like so many others, a disgrace, Mr. Speaker. That should scandalize this house. Over the past year in support of my bill C-290, Luke has given powerful testimony to better protect whistleblowers. A few days ago he was provided a distinct awarded annually to recognize and honour an individual who served the common good by announce breaches of trust to the public and the taxpayer. Mr. Speaker. I invite the house in joining me to congratulate Luke and honouring whistleblowers. Thank you. You are the heroes of democracy, and we will not give up for you. [ End of Interpretation ] >> The Speaker: The honourable member. >> Mr. Speaker, may 18, last Saturday, was Tamil genocide awareness day. [ Speaking French ] >> Voice of Interpreter: Tamil genocide commemoration day. 15 years ago on the same day there was a massive massacre. [ End of Interpretation ] This despite the fact the Sri Sri Lankan government declared no fly zones. In a day and age where 120 armed conflicts are ongoing in 35 countries recognizing the Tamil genocide is essential. To bring peace and stability, we need justice. It's for this reason that we recognize the Tamil genocide, it's for this reason that Canada last year applied strict sanctions against Sri Lankan officials. We all hope for a day where we have peace and security where all live free of war. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. >> The Speaker: The honourable member from Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia—Headingley. >> Kiri for short owned the cork and flame restaurant in St. James. He loved his customers which they loved him. He greated them with a smile. He loved going table to table just to chat at the end of lunch or dinner, a tray of desserts would often show up, complements of the house. Every Christmas he donated hundreds of food hampers to families in need. He loved the community and they loved him back. Tragically on January 24th, Kiri was murdered in cold blood at his restaurant.

His assailant was on probation with a record including court order breaches, drug possession, possession of a weapon, uttering threats, and obstructing or resisting a peace officers. His death is a symptom of all that is wrong with our revolving door criminal justice system. We will miss you, Kiri. My condolences to his family. May his memory be a blessing. >> The Speaker: The honourable member from west Vancouver-sunshine coast-Sea-To-Sky country. >> Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize a local hero. Chris Evans was on his work to Squamish and detected smoke in the distance. He saw a house on fire with a car in the driveway. Fearing that meant someone may be inside the house, he knocked on the door. Hearing no response, he quickly jumped into action breaking down the door to search the home to see if his suspicions were true. He found nine-year-old sleeping on the second floor. Chris was able to wake up a disorientedoriented Armen and evacuate him out of the building. Perhaps it's a coincidence he shares a name with the actor who plays Captain America because that day his actions were heroic. I hope all members of this house will join me in applauding this extraordinary act that gives new meaning to being a good Samaritan. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. >> The Speaker: The honourable member from Kingston and the Islands. >> Mr. Speaker, held annually May 25th, world Africa day celebrates the continent's rich culture. At the same time it provides an opportunity to reflect on the challenges many regions in Africa face and how we can help. Harnessing the humanizing power of art to be a catalyst for change, Heather Haines founded the art of courage, a platform to create awareness, educate, and advocate to raise founds change lives. Heather operates through her art and heart and today the organization has grown to support over a thousand people, primarily women and children, in Goma democratic republic of Congo. Today we welcome Heather Haines and the art of courage on display in the speakers gallery from 4 to 6:00 p.m. I encourage all members to stop by and learn of the work Heather and her colleagues have been participating in over 15 years. >> The Speaker: The honourable member from Thornhill. >> The application from the prosecutor to elect Israel's democratically elected leaders to protect their countries from terrorism is outrageous. The false equivalency between the elected leaders of a democracy and the genocidal Hamas terrorists should be a wakeup call to all western countries as a distortion of history. Conservatives reject it. What is even more appalling is that the Prime Minister opted against taking a clear stance in rejecting it by playing both sides. The Prime Minister is allowing terrorism to win and enabling the violence rampant in our streets and the chaos happening on our campuses. The arrest warrant is based on a falsehood trying to invert history and the Prime Minister should for ones, just once take a clear position. He should denounce the warrant and state what side Canada is on. I know that he can't do it, and now everyone else does too. [ Speaking French ] >> Voice of Interpreter: >> The Speaker: The honourable member for St. Laurent. [ End of Interpretation ] >> Greeks across Canada and around the world commemorated the 105th anniversary of the Pontic genocide. It was a destruction of the Greek community in the Pontic genocide region and the result oa government decree that led to the -- between 1914 and 1923. I would like to thank the association of Montreal, the Helena Canadian Congress, and all other associations working hard to ensure we never forget. I would like to thank the Congress for initiating the petition of the Greek genocide recognized by the government of Canada and I encourage all Greek Canadians to sign it to have your voices heard. Today I rise to pay tribute to the victims, survivors, and families of the Pontic genocide. >> The Speaker: The honourable member from Kenora. >> After nine years of this NDP-Liberal government, Canadians have having to cancel a summer vacation as the price of a road trip is unaffordable.

Copyright protected and owned by broadcaster. Your licence is limited to private, internal, non-commercial use. All reproduction, broadcast, transmission or other use of this work is strictly prohibited.

Transcripts