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Madam Chair, it is a top priority. I raise it with all my counterparts. That is exactly why I went to Europe. That is why I am here with my colleagues, talking about different options.
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Madam Chair, I do not think we are reading the same Ukrainian press.
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Madam Chair, they are NATO, like-minded countries in Europe, Qatar, Kuwait, Pakistan, the U.S., and I could go on.
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Madam Chair, we do not recognize the Taliban as a legitimate government. That is why we have no engagement with them. We work with neighbouring countries to make sure we can repatriate 40,000 Afghans.
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Madam Chair, let me be clear. We are concerned with Russia's actions in three specific regions: the Ukraine, with its military buildup; the use, through Belarus, of weaponizing migrants to impact Baltic states; and finally the involvement of Russia in—
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Madam Chair, we always work with partners to make sure we improve our alliance and make it stronger. Of course, I have had many conversations with the Secretary General when it comes to that very issue.
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Madam Chair, yes, we did and we are doing so.
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Madam Chair, I am in constant consultation with my ambassadors, with my team and with my deputy minister, who sits in front of me. I must say that the question of Russia is clearly a priority, and we will make every—
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Madam Chair, I am always in contact with our diplomatic corps. I believe in their work and I am always there to make sure they can operate in a secure environment. I will always defend them as the chief diplomat.
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Madam Chair, that is exactly why I had the chance to talk with the Secretary General of NATO. Together, we met with the troops. I was very happy, because they are all from Valcartier, the Royal 22e Régiment, right now. That being said, we will be there as a steadfast ally leading the mission and showing the world what Canada can do on its military front.
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Madam Chair, all allies agree that we need to send a strong message to Belarus, and that the action of weaponizing migrants by the Belarus regime is not only reprehensible, it is unacceptable.
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Madam Chair, we will always be there to support our allies within the alliance of NATO. That is why I had very important conversations with my colleagues. I had the chance to meet with my Lithuanian and Latvian counterparts, and we are very preoccupied with the security of the Baltics. I want to reassure my colleague, because we have military troops in Latvia doing what the member is referring to,…
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Madam Chair, in order to be very specific for my colleague, I want to know what strategic partnership she is referring to and what two other countries she is referring to.
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Madam Chair, I want to thank my colleague for his excellent question and congratulate him on his re-election and his skilful use of the French language. I did just get back from Latvia. I had the opportunity to meet Canadian troops who are currently there on a very important mission to send Russia a very strong message that we will be there as NATO members to protect the borders of eastern Europe.…
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Madam Chair, I would like to thank my hon. colleague not only for his re-election, but also for the fact that he will be parliamentary secretary to a fantastic minister. That is humility and audacity together. I want to echo the facts that he outlined when talking about the importance of Asia. Canada is a Pacific country. We know that. We have a very important Pacific coast, therefore our engageme…
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Mr. Speaker, please wait a moment. My colleague, the President of the Treasury Board, is bringing me a lectern. I appreciate this opportunity to participate in today's debate. I have great respect and appreciation for this important democratic exercise. I will be speaking for 10 minutes, and then I will be happy to take questions. As the world is pivoting and we see a rise of authoritarianism, the…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all the brave women and men who are part of Operation Unifier. Indeed, my colleague is right. We have been in Ukraine for many years training thousands of military personnel for the Ukrainian military. We will continue to do that. Right now, we are working with many colleagues and looking at all options possible.
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Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned many times, we will use all the tools in our tool box to deter Russia from acting. That being said, I want to also say to my colleague that the question of working with the U.S., the U.K., Ukraine, Germany and many other countries is fundamental because we must de-escalate the conflict. That is why we have been able to work with partners on this very issue. I have also …
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Mr. Speaker, I had the chance to talk with Secretary Blinken about this very issue three times over the past three weeks. Obviously, for us Ukraine is a fundamental priority. We will make sure we work with like-minded countries to hold Russia to account and deter any military action on Ukraine.
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Mr. Speaker, as my colleague well knows, the IRGC Quds Force is listed as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code. That being said, I must say that I have had many conversations regarding the downing of flight PS752, even recently, with my Ukrainian, Swedish and U.K. counterparts. We will act together to make sure we are able to seek justice from Iran on this very important issue.
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Madam Chair, I would like to mention to my colleague that it is not New Zealand. It is Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. That being said, I would also mention that Canada is not in the business of making nuclear submarines.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, we have many sanctions. I want to continue to list some of them. My colleague mentioned Magnitsky. There are 30 individuals who have been listed under the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act, which the member was referring to as the Magnitsky act, upon whom sanctions have been imposed. This system is being used by the government, and we have a rigorous proc…
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Mr. Speaker, of course, there are different acts that provide sanctions the Government of Canada can use. I would like to mention that right now there are 1,446 listings under the Special Economic Measures Act. Of those 1,446 listings, Belarus has 77 individuals; Myanmar has 124; China has five; Iran has 202; Nicaragua has 24; Russia has 210; and I could go on.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to reassure my colleague that we are very much aware that using sanctions against individuals in certain contexts to deter their actions, or to deter the actions they can have on the part of their states, is a very effective tool. That is why, even recently, we made sure to put sanctions on people in Nicaragua, to make sure that we were sending a clear message about what was go…
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Mr. Speaker, we can be proud of the way Canadians responded to the Syrian crisis in 2015. We can be proud that Canadians opened their arms and their hearts and welcomed Syrian refugees. I know that we can count on that same generosity with the Afghan refugees.
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Mr. Speaker, I did not hear my colleague ask a question. However, the name of that little boy was Aylan Kurdi. He had a name and an identity, and that was a tragedy. I would like my colleague to apologize to the House for referring to this tragedy as though it were a mere partisan ploy during the 2015 election campaign.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like my colleague to tell us why, in their own election platform last August, the Conservatives did not have plans to bring in 40,000 Afghan refugees. Why were they against the refugee program that was proposed by the government?
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Mr. Speaker, as I told my colleague, we will always be there to protect Canadians, in Afghanistan or elsewhere in the world. That is a priority for our government.
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Mr. Speaker, any Canadian who is imprisoned anywhere in the world is a priority and has access to consular services.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague needs to understand two things. First of all, the situation in Afghanistan is very difficult right now in terms of safety and security. That is why my deputy minister went to the region to try to find solutions to bring in the 40,000 refugees as quickly as possible. In the meantime, however, my job is to speak with other countries—
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Mr. Speaker, of course we have the resources. When we welcomed 65,000 Syrian refugees, we were successful and we had the resources. My esteemed colleagues should be proud, because not many countries in the world would be prepared to receive 40,000 Afghans. We can be proud because we are ready to welcome them and we will be proud to welcome them.
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Mr. Speaker, I would reply, why not?
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Mr. Speaker, there are several. Many of them have a connection to Canada. However, because Canada left Afghanistan in 2014, many interpreters also have a connection to several other countries because they were often serving other members of NATO, the military alliance Canada belongs to that was present in Afghanistan. I also want to let my colleague know that a number of countries are in a situati…
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Mr. Speaker, that would be a question for my colleague, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, but with regard to the consular services that were offered and are still available. However, the diplomatic mission in Kabul is no longer—
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Mr. Speaker, of course, conditions in Afghanistan were difficult and have become even more so since the Americans decided to leave the country.
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Mr. Speaker, I was not in office at the time. However, I can tell my colleague that when the Americans decided to leave Afghanistan last August, Canada had long since left Afghanistan, in 2011, and its remaining soldiers left the country in 2014.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not know where my colleague is going with his question, but Canada is clearly a member of the Five Eyes, and we co-operate on a range of issues.
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Mr. Speaker, I wish to reassure my colleague that, yes, we still have a good relationship, not only with the Biden administration, but also with Congress and all Americans.
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Mr. Speaker, we did raise the question of critical elements with the Biden administration. It is very important. It is important that, throughout North America, we believe in the importance of the auto sector and its supply chain, which goes to the critical elements sector. Of course, we will make the right investment to make it happen. Canada can be extremely proud of having these resources in ou…
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Mr. Speaker, I think the numbers show themselves. The employment sector right now is stronger in Canada than in the U.S. and many other countries. I also know that many companies are willing to invest in Canada and have been doing so. Six months ago, I was with the Prime Minister talking with the aerospace sector, and billions of dollars are being invested across the country in this sector.
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Mr. Speaker, our employment numbers are even better than those of the U.S. My colleague should look at the figures. At this point, we have been able to get 106% of all the jobs back since the beginning of the pandemic. That is because we have a great environment for investment in our country and we are also able to attract many companies to invest.
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Mr. Speaker, I was having technical problems, not with the vote we just had, but with the previous vote on the motion moved by the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan. I would like to change my vote and vote in favour of the motion.
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