Rick Dykstra, M.P.For St. Catharines, ON, Requesting Explanation Regarding Motion Passed By Foreign Affairs Committee
From: "Dykstra, Rick - M.P." Dykstra.R@parl.gc.ca
To: McDonoughA@parl.gc.ca August 3, 2006
Dear Ms. McDonough; I wish to register my strenuous objection to an August 1st motion passed by opposition members of the House of Commons' Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. The motion to which I refer and which you spearheaded, prevented Mr. Elias Bejjani, chairman of the Canadian Lebanese Coordinating Council (LCCC) and the Canadian Lebanese Human Right Federation (CLHRF), from speaking during the Committee's Hearing Session on the government's Middle East policy and the evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon. Mr. Bejjani represents the interests and viewpoints of thousands of Lebanese-Canadians and his input at this hearing would have been informative to committee members. As Mr. Bejjani was accepted as a speaker by the Clerk of the Committee, I would like an explanation as to why he and others of similar viewpoints were prevented from delivering testimony. I look forward to your response.
Regards, Rick Dykstra, M.P. St. Catharines, ON
Why did the leftist Opposition of Canada refuse to grant the Lebanese Canadian representatives their right to speak and be heard? Is the leftist Opposition of Canada afraid that Lebanese Canadians might support the decision of the Conservative government to support Israel's inalienable right to engage in war to defend herself against the Hezbollah monsters?
Doesn't the leftist Opposition believe in freedom of expression and equality? Or will the leftist Opposition stop at nothing to hurt Israel and hurt the government of Canada, no matter what they must do?
First, the leftist Opposition condemns the government's rightful support of Israel and justified condemnation of and blaming of Hezbollah for having started the war... now this!
Is the leftist Opposition racist? Fascist? Anti-Semite? Do they, like Iran's Ahmadinejad, want to "wipe Israel off the map"?
This is very, very scary. The Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois... are they bigots?
Is the left, via its political representatives, finally showing its true, ugly, deliberately intolerant face?
The leftist Opposition can't complain about my ripping into them. They asked for this. Their actions are not going to be consequence-free!
LCCC Press Release-Wednesday, 2 August, 2006
The LCCC, an umbrella organization for six non-profit Lebanese Canadian groups, strongly condemns the undemocratic political tactics that the Opposition Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois parties executed yesterday during a hearing session for the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. The session was initiated by the Opposition parties to challenge the Conservative government’s Middle East policy and the evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon. Several groups and individuals applied to be witnesses and were accepted by the Clerk of the Committee. These witnesses traveled to Ottawa from across the country, but were unjustly prevented from delivering their statements. Among them was Mr. Elias Bejjani, LCCC Chairman and the Canadian Lebanese Human Right Federation (CLHRF) Spokesman, (a member in the LCCC coalition). It is astounding that although the hearing pertained to Lebanon, Opposition MPs deemed it appropriate to silence Lebanese witnesses. To read the statement (in Arabic, French and English) that Mr. Elias Bejjani had prepared but was prevented from delivering Click Here
That's right... you can find out what the testimony was going to be by going here. Read it all.
Guess what? The testimony actually THANKS THE GOVERNMENT FOR WHAT THEY'VE DONE FOR LEBANESE CANADIANS. The leftist opposition prevented this perfectly acceptable testimony from being given for purely partisan political reasons. Hurting the government is clearly more important to them than doing their real jobs. Here's an excerpt from the testimony:
This fundamental objective was successfully achieved through the Canadian evacuation operation from Lebanon, whereby thousands of Lebanese Canadians were transferred to safety in a relatively short period of time, from a hostile environment and under very dangerous and complex circumstances. I take this opportunity to declare before your Honourable Committee, loudly and in good conscience, with enormous gratitude and appreciation, and on behalf of the Canadian Lebanese Human Rights Federation, the organizations represented in the Canadian Lebanese Coordinating Council, and all other members of the Lebanese Canadian community whose opinions, fears, and aspirations we express: THANK YOU to the government of Mr. Harper; THANK YOU, to Minister MacKay, and thank you to all the Canadian Ambassador in Lebanon, Mr. Louis de Lorimier; THANK YOU to all Canadian officials and security personnel who contributed to the success in this largest operation in the history of Canada.
Is the leftist Opposition, comprised by the radical left-wing Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois, intolerant of Lebanese Canadians? Do they want to shut up Lebanese Canadians... preventing them from ruining the agenda of the anti-Israel, anti-Semitic left?
For heaven's sake... don't these people understand that the Lebanese, including those not living inside Lebanon, have a stake in what's going on there as we speak?! Are the Liberals, NDP and Bloc insane? Or just bigots with a hidden agenda?
They quite clearly are guilty of discrimination on the basis of nationality. This is contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
I'm looking forward to seeing how they attempt to excuse their unconstitutional, mean-spirited, extremely partisan political behavior towards persons of Lebanese descent.
This is shocking. This is appalling.
This is the Liberal Party of Canada, the New Democratic Party of Canada and the Bloc Quebecois Party.
This.
In Canada.
I didn't make this up.
Choose your Canada. Choose tolerance. Choose the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Choose Israel's inalienable right to exist and protect herself from all aggression. Chose full human rights and equality for Lebanese people and Jewish people everywhere, without exception.
Don't vote Liberal, NDP or Bloc. They represent only themselves and other bigots like them.
