Pursuant to Standing Order 93(1), the House resumed consideration of the motion of Mr. Kent (Thornhill), seconded by Mr. Kmiec (Calgary Shepard), — That, in the opinion of the House, the extreme socialist policies and corruption of President Nicolas Maduro and his predecessor President Hugo Chavez have imposed considerable suffering on the people of Venezuela and therefore the House call upon the government to: (a) develop a plan to provide humanitarian aid directly to Venezuela’s people, particularly with respect to alleviating the severe shortages of food and medical supplies; (b) condemn the continued unjust imprisonment and treatment of political opponents who, as reported by Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States on March 14, 2017, “fear repression, torture, and even death”; (c) call upon the Government of Venezuela to respect the right of the people of Venezuela to hold a free and fair referendum to restore democratic rule in their country; and (d) recognize that Canada’s foreign policy should always be rooted in protecting and promoting freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law; (Private Members' Business M-128)
The House proceeded to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the amendment of Mr. O'Toole (Durham), seconded by Mr. Genuis (Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan), — That the motion be amended by replacing the word “referendum” with the word “election”.
The question was put on the amendment and it was agreed to on the following division:
YEAS: 282, NAYS: 3