Gallant also uses the debate to highlight the persecution of Christians
Ottawa, Ontario – Cheryl Gallant, MP Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke called out members of the Opposition over their lack of support for Canada’s military and the rule of law. Parliament held a special emergency debate about the developing situation in IRAQ and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL, as we know it.
“The Official Opposition in Ottawa cannot decide whether it supports our women and men in uniform. In today’s troubled world, our friends and enemies demand clarity. Thankfully, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, his leadership on the world stage is well understood. We stand with our friends and we oppose those who would do us harm,” stated Cheryl Gallant, MP. “That also means providing the right equipment if and when we ask our military to go into harm’s way.”
MP Gallant also used the debate to speak out against the acts of brutality against Iraq’s religious minority communities, particularly Iraq’s Christian communities; “The persecution of Iraq’s Christian communities has been no less brutal. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Christians have now fled their homes, having been faced with the stark choice of the advancing Islamist militants: submit to Islam, flee, or be killed.”
“ By some estimates, we are now witnessing the near total disappearance of Christians from the region. Whereas the population included more than one million Christians prior to 2003, including over 600,000 in Baghdad and tens of thousands more in Mosul and in Kirkuk as of late July, these numbers are estimated to have dwindled to less than 400,000 with many more having now fled Iraq as the violence has accelerated over the past six weeks. The incredible loss that this represents for Iraq, for the region and for the world cannot be overstated.”
MP Gallant concluded her remarks recognizing the role of Garrison Petawawa in providing personnel to the troubled region:
“As the member of Parliament for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, which includes CFB Petawawa, I am proud to acknowledge the Canadian Special Operations Regiment, CSOR, which is headquartered in Petawawa. CSOR was established in 2006 and is the first new Canadian regiment to be stood up since 1968 when the Canadian Airborne Regiment was created. On that note, the politically motivated decision to disband the airborne regiment was wrong. In today’s troubled world, I know that Canadians would benefit from those skills.”
“As Canadians are aware, CSOR members have been deployed to Iraq to advise and provide intelligence first-hand to the Canadian government about the situation in Iraq and the threat posed by ISIL.”
“On behalf of the Canadian government, I wish to thank the Petawawa families of serving soldiers for the important role they play in keeping the home fires burning,” concluded Cheryl Gallant, MP.