Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So the Member's proposed amendment is a fact, so I won't vote against it. But I do want to mention something about language that I believe is important because it impacts Palestinians everywhere, including members of our own community.
What I want to point out is that I think it's troubling that even when people condemn violence on both sides and call for the release of hostages and condemn all attacks against civilian populations, that if you focus your concern on the civilian population of Gaza, it still could be assumed that you would be supporting terrorism or Hamas unless you state otherwise.
To step back for a second. So particularly since 9-11, many North Americans have expected people who were Muslim or Arab to begin any political statement by renouncing terrorism because if they don't, we might assume they would naturally support terrorism. So that pattern has been called out in the past as Islamophobic assuming Muslims would support terrorism unless they specifically state otherwise. So I just don't want us to get into a similar pattern where any Palestinian or any person who expresses sympathy with the Palestinian people might be assumed to support Hamas and to support terrorism unless they specifically state otherwise. All I'm saying is that instead of approaching people with suspicion based on who they are or which group of people they are advocating to protect and support, I hope that we would listen to the stories and experiences and concerns of our fellow community members with compassion and open minds and open hearts. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.