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Results: 211 - 225 of 544
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, Canada expects the end user of all exports to abide by the end use terms in issued export permits. I requested a review of the situation and department officials are actively requesting more information on these allegations. I can confirm that no new export permits have been issued for Saudi Arabia.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, our government is absolutely committed to advancing the cause of workers' rights through NAFTA and the NAFTA negotiations. In fact, we are very proud in these negotiations to have put forward the most progressive, the strongest labour chapter that Canada has ever put forward in a negotiation. We are very aware that it is unfair to expect our workers to be part of a race to the bottom and to compete against workers with lower standards. That is what we are saying at the table.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, I can assure the hon. member and all Canadians that the rights of workers in all sectors in Canada are very important to our government during NAFTA negotiations, including workers in the aluminum industry. It really is a very important issue to us. We know that there is a protectionist administration in the United States, but we are working for our workers.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, we are there to help our dairy farmers and the entire Canadian dairy sector. As for dairy products, I am confident that Canada meets all of its trade and international commitments. I would like to remind everyone that the United States has a five-to-one surplus in their dairy trade with Canada.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for York Centre.
Let me start by being unequivocal and firm. Our government clearly condemns the human rights violations of the Rohingya and the violence and persecution that has forced almost 480,000 Rohingya to flee. In a matter of weeks, nearly half the population has left its home out of fear of persecution and as a result of acts of violence. This is unjustifiable. This is ethnic cleansing.
Make no mistake. The plight of the Rohingya is a priority for Canadians, for the Prime Minister, for our government, for me personally, and for our officials in Yangon.
As many members know, this tragedy is just the most recent chapter in a long and complex history of violence in Rakhine State.
For decades, the Rohingya have been the victims of widespread, systematic discrimination and human rights violations in Myanmar. The Muslim Rohingya are an ethnic and linguistic minority. The government does not consider them one of the country's official ethnic groups, and as a result, Myanmar does not grant them citizenship. They are mainly considered economic migrants from Bangladesh and commonly deemed to be illegal Bengalis. That is why Canadian aid programs are trying to get these people recognized and ensure that their status in Myanmar is respected and valued.
In Rakhine State, tension has been brewing between the Rakhine Buddhist majority and the Rohingya for a long time. Unfortunately, that tension often leads to acts of violence. For example, in 2012, inter-ethnic unrest led to the forced displacement of 120,000 Rohingya, who have since been living in makeshift camps where their movement is restricted and they are entirely dependent on humanitarian aid.
In October 2016, things got even worse for the Rohingya when police officers were killed during attacks attributed to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army at border posts in northern Rakhine State.
The security operations that followed were grossly disproportionate, and the Rohingya suffered many human rights violations, including arson, rape, and torture. Tens of thousands of people fled to nearby Bangladesh or were displaced within the country, which has led to today's humanitarian crisis.
Canada has taken every opportunity to advocate for the Rohingya people, including in conversations with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and the commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
The Prime Minister and I personally conveyed this message in meetings with Aung San Suu Kyi in June 2017 during her official visit to Canada.
On September 16, I attended and addressed a rally organized by the Burma Task Force in Toronto. At that rally, I echoed the remarks by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that the situation in Rakhine State “seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”, and I condemned that.
On September 18, my colleague the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie attended a round table on Rakhine State hosted by the U.K. foreign secretary at the UNGA.
In recent weeks and at the UNGA last week, I have spoken about the plight of the Rohingya with my counterparts from Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, United States, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Turkey, and the EU. I have also spoken with Kofi Annan, whose report was discussed earlier in this House, and the Prime Minister spoke very clearly about this issue with Aung San Suu Kyi on September 13.
When I spoke about our concerns about the plight of the Rohingya with Federica Mogherini, the EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, I told her about conversations I had had with Canadian Rohingyas at this demonstration. She said that Canadians are so amazing, that we have in our country refugees from every country in the world. That was a very poignant remark, because I think we Canadians do feel a special obligation toward persecuted minorities around the world. I think one of the reasons is that, apart from the indigenous peoples in Canada, all of us originally came here from somewhere else.
I am so proud that we are having this debate tonight. I am so proud that the voices on all sides of the House are raised in support of the persecuted Rohingya. That says something about us as a country, and I want to commit to Canadians that we are fighting that fight.
I also want to say that our government is very aware that it is a Muslim minority that is being persecuted. We supported a motion opposing Islamaphobia in our country, and we are very aware that in the world today, both in Canada and abroad, many Muslims are a particular focus for persecution. That is something Canada speaks out against.
Our goals today are very clear. The first is to end the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya. The second is to work very hard to allow Canadians and Canadian humanitarian assistance to be provided to the persecuted Rohingya, to see with Canadian eyes what is happening and to support these deeply suffering people. The third is to work in concert with our international allies to do everything we can to allow the Rohingya to return to their homes in Rakhine State and to live there free from persecution and fully enjoy their human rights.
It is important for all of us to hold Aung San Suu Kyi to account. That is what the Prime Minister has done in his conversations with her. That is what I have done in my conversations with her. That is what we have done in our public statements.
It is especially important for all of us to also hold to account and put pressure on the military leadership of Myanmar. It is very important that the military in Myanmar understand that the world is aware of the military's role in this ethnic cleansing and that we will not stand for it. That is something the government is doing as well.
I want to assure Canadians and all members of this House that Myanmar currently faces an arms embargo from Canada. That embargo is very firmly and clearly in place.
Finally, I want to reiterate the extent to which I personally, my colleagues, the Prime Minister, and our government welcome the opportunity to have this debate, welcome the opportunity to have this conversation, and really welcome the very strong show of support that we, collectively, are giving to the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority by, all together, with one voice, stating that we stand for them.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his engagement on this issue and for his engagement in having the debate tonight in this House. As I have said, I think it is very important for us to be showing our cross-party support on this issue.
As I said, I think we very much share the view that it is important, even as we hold Aung San Suu Kyi to account, that we also put pressure on the military leadership of Myanmar, and our government has definitely been doing that, including directly to the military leadership.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Speaker, it was an aspirational list of our goals. I will be candid, because I think it was implicit in the question, that these are hard goals to achieve. I recognize that. I think it is important for all of us, even as we advocate strongly and fiercely for the Rohingya, to be clear that this is hard, this is difficult. It does not mean that we should not try to do it, and we do need to be working hard. I certainly have felt that, in my conversations with our international colleagues, we can at least hope that this concerted international pressure may be starting to have an effect.
As for increasing our humanitarian support for the Rohingya refugees and humanitarian support for those in the region, that is certainly something that we are very urgently looking into.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Madam Speaker, one thing I want to tell people is that many of the foreign ministers I spoke to last week and this week recognize the Canadian leadership, particularly those from the Muslim world, who said they were glad to hear Canada's voice raised on this issue.
On the steps we are taking, as I said, we are urgently looking at humanitarian assistance and seeking access for our diplomats to the Rakhine State so that we can see first-hand what is happening. Also, in concert with our allies, and I talked about this with Rex Tillerson last night, we are thinking about ways that we can step up that pressure on the military leadership.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, I want to assure Canadian workers in the auto sector, and in all sectors of our economy, that we are strongly and in a very prepared and confident way defending their interests at the NAFTA negotiating table. That is why we have put forward the strongest, most progressive labour provisions ever put forward by Canadian trade negotiators.
When it comes to autos, I held a consultation on Friday afternoon with representatives of the auto sector. This is very much top of mind for us.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, as I already mentioned, Canadian workers in each and every sector are important to our government. We are working very hard and very constructively at the negotiating table.
That is why we have a chapter on workers' rights that is very robust and progressive. Regarding the auto sector, I had a very constructive consultation session with auto sector leaders on Friday. I can assure Canadians that the auto sector is paramount to our government.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, we are here to help our dairy farmers and the Canadian dairy industry as a whole, as well as to defend supply management.
I would like to remind everyone that American dairy producers enjoy a five to one trade surplus with Canada, and that is what we are saying at the negotiating table. We are committed to working with our farmers, industry groups, and our American counterparts to continue to promote Canada's agricultural interests. We will vigorously defend our national interest.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the member opposite of something our chief negotiator said in a scrum yesterday, which is that at the negotiating table we have not yet received U.S. proposals on the dairy sector. Therefore, it is important for people to understand that.
When it comes to our dairy farmers, we will defend their interests vigorously at the NAFTA negotiating table. We are committed to working together with farmers, industry groups, and American counterparts to promote Canada's agricultural interest. We will fiercely defend the national interest and promote our values.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, with regard to Catalonia, Canada has a friendly relationship with Spain. This is an internal Spanish matter. It is our hope that this internal matter will come to an harmonious and respectful end in accordance with Spain's constitutional framework.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for York Centre for his hard, committed work on this issue. Our government deplores the actions of the Maduro regime, as I believe that all members of the House do. That is why, on September 22, we were pleased to announce strong, targeted sanctions against 40 leading members of the Maduro regime.
Last week in New York, I attended the Lima Group meeting of like-minded countries committed to the restoration of democracy in Venezuela, and I was pleased to announce that Canada will host the next meeting of the Lima Group. We will not stand by as the Government of Venezuela robs its people of their fundamental rights.
View Chrystia Freeland Profile
Lib. (ON)
Mr. Speaker, Canada and our government strongly and vigorously defend our national and economic interests.
Our main objectives for the negotiations are clear: protecting NAFTA as job creator and economic driver, reducing red tape to make things easier for small and medium-sized businesses, making NAFTA a more progressive agreement, and maintaining the elements of NAFTA that are key to our national interests. That is what we will do.
Results: 211 - 225 of 544 | Page: 15 of 37

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