432-00425 Foreign affairs
PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED
We, the undersigned residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following:
Whereas at one time, Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan numbered in the hundreds of thousands, but today less than five thousand remain; and,
Whereas a recent bombing in early July killed leaders from both communities in Afghanistan, and demonstrates their ongoing vulnerabilities, especially since these leaders were on their way to meet the president; and,
Whereas the Minister of Immigration is already empowered by legislation to allow vulnerable minorities to come to Canada as privately sponsored refugees, directly from the country where they face persecution; and,
Whereas the Sikh and Hindu communities are ready to sponsor Afghan minority refugees;
Therefore we, the undersigned, urge the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to use the powers granted to him to create a special program to help persecuted minorities in Afghanistan.
And further, we urge the Minister of Foreign Affairs to raise the persecution faced by this community with her Afghan counterpart and to strongly advocate for more to be done to protect them.
We, the undersigned residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following:
Whereas at one time, Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan numbered in the hundreds of thousands, but today less than five thousand remain; and,
Whereas a recent bombing in early July killed leaders from both communities in Afghanistan, and demonstrates their ongoing vulnerabilities, especially since these leaders were on their way to meet the president; and,
Whereas the Minister of Immigration is already empowered by legislation to allow vulnerable minorities to come to Canada as privately sponsored refugees, directly from the country where they face persecution; and,
Whereas the Sikh and Hindu communities are ready to sponsor Afghan minority refugees;
Therefore we, the undersigned, urge the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to use the powers granted to him to create a special program to help persecuted minorities in Afghanistan.
And further, we urge the Minister of Foreign Affairs to raise the persecution faced by this community with her Afghan counterpart and to strongly advocate for more to be done to protect them.