Peace River-Westlock MP, Arnold Viersen is back in the House of Commons.
Viersen says after Parliament was prorogued for six weeks in the summer, he was happy to be back in his seat on the West Block.
“It’s good to be back here (Ottawa) fighting to re-open the economy,” says Viersen.
“Conservatives are also fighting for rapid testing for COVID. We think that if we can get the in-house rapid testing going, we should be able to get the economy, and get life back to normal.”
Viersen says he was frustrated that the Liberals and the NDP voted in favour of a motion to limit debate in Bill C-4, which is a revamped COVID-19 aid package.
“It is kind of ironic that they prorogued Parliament six weeks ago and now are rushing through a bill,” he says.
“They prorogued Parliament to cover up the WE scandal.”
In the end, the new aid package was passed unanimously.
Viersen also had a chance to present a petition in the house on Monday and his statement is below.
“Mr. Speaker, members may have seen the images of people lined up at the train station, being loaded into cattle cars and taken off to concentration camps. No, I am not talking about the Nazi era. I am talking about right now, today. Uighurs in China are being loaded into cattle cars and taken to concentration camps. I have a petition here from Canadians who are formally asking for Canada to recognize the genocide of the Uighurs and are calling for the Canadian government to use the Magnitsky act in order to end this horrible human tragedy.”
The Magnitsky Act is one in which if the Governor in Council determines that if a gross violation of human rights has been committed by a foreign government, it’s assets can be frozen in Canada.
In closing, Viersen was asked if he sees a parallel between the treatment of the Uighurs and the Holocaust.
“I don’t want to see a parallel between the two, so I haven’t, until you pointed it out. I am calling for the government all the tools at its disposal, including the Magnitsky Act so that we can sanction the government officials that are involved in this.”
– Kenny Trenton, Trending 55 Newsroom
