On Tuesday, the committee heard from Alex Neve, Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada, on the persecution of the Coptic Christian community in Egypt.  Neve provided three reports to the committee.

Links:

• Broken Promises: Egypt’s Military Rulers Erode Human Rights
• Women Demand Equality in Shaping New Egypt
• 10 Steps for Human Rights: Amnesty International’s Human Rights Manifesto for Egypt

Neve also noted concern for Naser Al-Raas, a Canadian tortured in Bahrain, in imminent danger of being returned to prison.

On Thursday, the committee heard from Colonel Wesley Martin, U.S. Army (retired), who appeared as an individual.  He presented information on Camp Ashraf, Iraq, and detailed recommendations for the protection of the 34,00 men and women there.  Two committee members, Wayne Marston (Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, NDP) and Hon. Irwin Cotler (Mount Royal, Lib.), stated they would like to see the subcommittee reach a decision on recommendations at its meeting on Tuesday, December 13.

As well, Irwin Cotler moved the motion by Russ Hiebert (South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, CPC) from the previous parliament, which included reference to Ms. Shin Sook-ja and her two daughters, who may still be imprisoned in North Korea.  The motion was adopted by consensus.  Mr. Cotler noted that the adoption of the motion would be announced at the Council for Human Rights in North Korea meeting in Toronto on December 9.

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Is it because the 100,000 people annually who are killed by asbestos are nameless to us that we will sell this poison globally? Is that why we do not care, in this country, to end this trade?

I would be grateful for the member’s thoughts.

Mrs. Carol Hughes: Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, I think the government of the day is not putting faces to the victims, which is extremely sad.

My friend writes me often to update me on her husband’s case. They are tuned in right now. Julius’ fight is our fight. He and his wife want to ensure that others need not to go through what they have gone through, attempting to seek treatment and having the door closed on them. They also want to ensure that the government stops exposing workers to this deadly substance. Martina is tireless in her attempts to get Julius the best care possible. It is a difficult task and she is well aware of the way the conditions play out, barring a miracle.

I just want to leave members with a couple of words as they consider their position on this motion. I truly hope that the members on the government side are listening, because they will not hear a better plea, at least in my opinion, than this.

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There was no sense that we were building a strong relationship with that new government. I wonder if the member has a sense that we are building that now. Again, I apologize for bringing back what the Prime Minister’s comments were at the time. We certainly took a lead in Libya, but in Egypt we did not. I am wondering if the hon. member thinks that will affect our ability to influence the government to protect the lives of Coptic Christians.

Hon. John McCallum: Mr. Speaker, my colleague has a really good point. I had forgotten about that, but I do remember that comment by the Prime Minister back then that “you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube”. It hardly seemed an enthusiastic endorsement of the Arab Spring in Egypt. I seem to remember our leader was a little more positive than that, but the Prime Minister is the one who really counts in foreign relations.

One cannot undo what happened in history, but clearly that comment and the lack of enthusiasm that he displayed would not be a positive in our ability to exert influence on Egypt. But we have to work with what we have and do our best even where we are.

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I ask my hon. friend, the member for Pierrefonds—Dollard, what more can we demand of the new government in Egypt?

I hope she would agree with me that we should demand that international observers be present in the elections as they take place.

Ms. Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe: Mr. Speaker, I agree with the hon. member. Our demands, our calls for an investigation and our public stance are a first step. Undoubtedly, much more needs to be done and other questions need to be raised about our role in similar international situations and the role we will actually play.

Now, this will not happen in the 30 seconds I have left, unfortunately, but since there seems to be a consensus tonight, I imagine that we will be able to sit down together, in a non-partisan fashion, and advance a cause that is obviously important to us.

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I am sorry that Canada is the only country so far that has raised it. I think the United Nations and other nations should come to the aid of Coptic Christians. This is a significant issue, and we have seen it all too often. We topple a dictator, be it a Ceausescu or be it a Tito, and then we see ethnic cleansing, then we see sectoral violence, then we hear things being said such as, “We rejoice at the loss of a dictator, but where are the voices of the international community to protect the religious rights, the human rights of women, persecuted Christians, persecuted Muslims, persecuted Baha’i, and persecuted Tibetans?”

Where will the government’s relative priorities be in dealing with the new government in Egypt?

We have a new ambassador, a fine person by the way; I commend the government again. Ambassador Drake is a brilliant choice, a person with a terrific background. He is just going to Cairo now to set up shop. What is his top priority: protecting Coptic Christians or protecting Canadian trade?

Mr. Brad Butt: Mr. Chair, I think that was the best question of any I have had tonight. I want to thank the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for being a strong, non-partisan advocate on this because this is not a partisan debate tonight. This is about showing our solidarity for Coptic Christians in Egypt. That is why we called for this debate and it is why we are having it.

I suspect the main role of the new ambassador will be to voice Canada’s grave concerns over the way religious minorities are treated in Egypt. Yes, there will be trade discussions, but I am fairly sure the number one message our new ambassador will send is that Canada will not stand for religious minorities in Egypt continuing to be persecuted and attacked. That is the number one priority. That is why we are having this debate tonight. That is the message we are sending to Egypt by members being here tonight. I thank members of the House for being here tonight and participating in this very important debate.

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I want to ask the hon. minister about the other religious groups that are being abused, such as the Baha’i in Iran and the Tibetan monks who are increasingly turning to the desperate tactic of self-immolation. In the context of this debate, what can Canada do, other than creating an office?

I must say that I am skeptical about creating an office. All of our diplomacy should be directed toward human rights, not segmented into one small office.

Hon. Julian Fantino: Mr. Chair, I thank the hon. member for her bigger picture of the very serious issue of the infringement of human rights.

At the first meeting of the newly structured office with respect to religious freedoms and so forth, which we spoke about earlier, some 100 various religions were represented at the meeting. There is significant engagement of the broader religious minorities in this new office structure that I believe will be very effective in dealing with these issues on a more international level.

The hon. member’s point is well taken. There are many disenfranchised, discriminated religions and minorities worldwide. I think this particular office is an effective way to begin to make those kinds of inroads on a united front.

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“Take note” debates generally don’t come to a vote but are a chance for Members of Parliament to make their views known on a specific policy issue.  This particular debate is prompted by the violence earlier this month in Egypt when 27 Coptic Christians were killed and hundreds injured during a military crackdown on protesters.

“The Coptic Christians in Egypt, the Baha’i in Iran, the Ahmadiyya in West Java, Tibetans in China—there are way too many examples that we can cite.  Canada must stand as a nation and say, this is not acceptable in our world,” said May.

Coptic Christians make up almost ten percent of Egypt’s population but they are denied the right to have places of worship.  In Iran, people of the Baha’i faith are routinely thrown in jail and harassed.  In Indonesia, the Ahmadiyya face attacks, intimidation, property destruction, and the closure of their places of worship.  The Chinese government’s repression of freedom of religion in Tibet is longstanding.

“Freedom of belief is a fundamental human right that includes freedom from pressure to renounce your faith.  So many around the world are deprived of any protection for freedom of thought and religion, it is up to the international community to work together to solve this issue,” said May.

The Canadian Committee on Foreign Affairs has been examining a motion adopted by the House on October 17th that asserts Canada stands in solidarity with religious minorities around the world and particularly Coptic Christians.  “What we need is an international outcry and we need the United Nations to conduct full investigations into these terrible acts of repression,” said May.

Full text of Parliamentary Motion:

That this House stand in solidarity with those religious minorities around the world and strongly condemn the vicious attacks on Egyptian Coptic Christians and their institutions; call on the Egyptian Government to ensure that the perpetrators of the attacks be brought to justice and bear the full weight of the law; and, ask the United Nations Human Rights Commission to conduct an open and transparent investigation into the plight of Egyptian Coptic Christians and issue a public report on its findings.

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