 Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would like to say that we stand in solidarity with the people of New Zealand who are dealing with this horrible terrorist attack. The police believe it is a terrorist attack. With the consequences of this violence, we will be reaching out to our counterparts to offer our unwavering support. Prime Minister Rukte addressed this house mere months ago, and he spoke of the close ties between our countries. Canada will be there as we always are for the Netherlands in the difficult days ahead. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express Canada's deepest condolences to all those grieving in New Zealand. Just a few days ago, our friend and ally suffered the worst terrorist attack in their history, an attack motivated by Islamophobia. Fifty men, women and children murdered at prayer, dozens more injured, gunned down by a monster, a terrorist, a coward. I spoke with the Prime Minister of New Zealand and I extended our most sincere condolences and our support, and I congratulated her on the leadership and compassion she has demonstrated. We share the pain of the parents, brothers and sisters of the victims who never got the chance to say goodbye to their loved ones. These people are killed by a person who had adopted a hateful ideology, who live and thrive in a free and open secular democracy. It is our responsibility to maintain this freedom so that those who choose to practice faith can do so without fear of violence. To our Muslim friends here in Canada, in New Zealand and around the world, know that we mourn with you. We feel your pain and we love you. We will stand by you in the difficult days and weeks to come. The Quran tells us, the true servants of the most merciful are those who behave gently and with humility on earth, and whenever the foolish quarrel with them, they reply with words of peace. If that idea sounds familiar, perhaps you have also heard it in the Gospel of Matthew, which speaks not of revenge and retaliation, but of turning the other cheek. Indeed, if we choose to look for them, the lessons found within our faiths will bind us together and are more powerful than those things that seek to divide us. Il y a peine deux ans. Just two years ago, I took part in a vigil that paid tribute to six innocent men from Saint-Foix in Quebec City—fathers, brothers, and sons—who, like the victims of Christ Church, were killed by bullets while at prayer. I supported their families in their bereavement—families who had a hard time believing that their communities could be victims of such hateful acts. Mr. Speaker, we have too often been witnesses to tragedies like those in Saint-Foix and Christ's Church. Innocent people murdered, headlines sounding the alarm when countries were plunged into chaos and violence, massacres, mass killings targeting religious communities, terrorist attacks, and it's a shame. Unfortunately, the world's leaders share some of the responsibility. We have a responsibility to no longer simply downplay these incidents by pointing the finger at others, because these days, those who are angry have ever more options for grandstanding. It's anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, anti-black, anti-indigenous, misogynistic, homophobic. The list goes on and on. This rhetoric is dangerous, hateful, and vile. It lives and festers online, spilling out into the real world with deadly consequences. We see it here in Canada, in online harassment, anonymous letters, defaced places of worship, acts of violence, and even murder. When we fail to denounce hatred with total conviction, we empower those people and legitimize their violence. Mr. Speaker, over the years, we've seen an increase in the number of terrorist attacks targeting Muslims all around the world. So families flee to democracies like Canada and the United States and our allies, playing that their new homes will give them safety, hoping that their kids will know a place where they are not targeted because of faith. But sadly, Mr. Speaker, these same families who fled violence in their homelands are now too often met by a new kind of violence when they reach new shores. Anti-immigrant hatred, right-wing extremism, white nationalism, neo-Nazi terrorism. These groups are alive in Canada, a nation that, under the leadership of Laurier and Diefenbaker and my father, has long championed the protection of minorities and promoted our diversity as our greatest strength. And yet, while the majority of our citizens welcome these newcomers with open arms, small toxic segments peddle the belief that greater diversity is a weakness. The irony is that these fringe groups say they despise Daesh, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and others. But they spew hatred and incite violence and murder the innocent just the same. They are no better than those they claim to hate. Mr. Speaker, the issue isn't just politicians' failure to condemn the hatred. The issue is that, in many cases, they actually condone those who spread hateful messages. I'd like to say to politicians and world leaders, popularism and the way it's so easy for some people to take on extremist ideas, this has to stop. It's not that people are dying. It's that people are being murdered. Their mothers and fathers have been snatched from their families. Innocent children, unaware, have been struck down in a moment without any hesitation. Temples, synagogues, churches, concerts, malls, schools, people murdered while vulnerable and defenseless, here in Canada, south of the border, and around the world. And the response is always the same. We're aghast as the headlines blare, and moms and dads hug their kids a little tighter, and thank God it's not happening to them. Politicians, when we stand around, we offer our condolences and we say nice things in the aftermath. We say that we'll do better. We'll say that never again will such hatred be allowed to fester unchallenged. Then when the flames die down and the smoke clears, we look the other way. We revert back to politicking, figuring out how we can tap into that powerful rage to harness a few more votes. We scapegoat the other to play to our base with a wink and a nudge. We legitimize this evil. Mr. Speaker, I stand here today to cast a light on this hatred and on our unwillingness to call it out. As leaders, as privileged few with power and an audience, we have a responsibility to do something. This responsibility is not negotiable. It's not to be waived when it's politically convenient. Courting these views is always the wrong choice to make. We have to chase out this hatred from our parties, fight it online, denounce it at town halls, push back when it reaches our front door. Trying to stay silent while hatred stews is complicity in its most cowardly form. Mr. Speaker, each and every year, each and every decade, we bemoan the loss of innocent people in this country or that country, and we promise to do better. And after that, the cycle simply repeats itself. Leaders decide that hatred is a feeling that can be tapped into, that the insatiable anger of some will help them reach power. As a society, as a global community, and as human beings, have we really learned nothing? To be honest, I'm sick and tired of this. I'm sick and tired of extending our thoughts and our prayers. And if I'm sick and tired of it, I can barely imagine how those who've been directly affected by violence every day must feel. People around the world are exhausted by the carnage. They reach out to console friends and neighbors when these tragedies rock their communities, incensed by their leader's inability to take a principled stand. People come out to vigils in the hundreds, in the thousands, and plead for action, and we fall short. Our communities set an example that our leaders consistently fail to follow. After tragedies like these, politicians often say that it's not a time to talk politics, but that instead we should grieve and support the affected communities. I think that's a farce, Mr. Speaker. I think this is exactly the time to talk politics, is to acknowledge that there's a problem and take concrete steps to fix it. Mr. Speaker, as an international community, we have to make a choice. Are we going to call out our leaders who look away when others incite violence? Are we going to call out our colleagues at work who tell racist or misogynist jokes without anyone saying anything? Are we going to call out internet trolls, those cowards who spread hatred and insult people anonymously? Mr. Speaker, will we do the right thing? Will we bury our heads in the sand today, only to bury them in our hands later? The tragedy in New Zealand is, sadly, yet another example of just how far we've gone astray. But we cannot let the lessons of those 50 deaths go unlearned. The path we are going down is dangerous and unsustainable. People are tired of fighting this alone without the full backing of their leaders. We can take a stand here and now in Canada and around the world and say that enough is enough, that the days of spewing hatred and inciting violence without consequences are over. We owe it to the people of Christchurch. We owe it to the people of St. Fua and of Pittsburgh and of Manchester. Mr. Speaker, we owe it to our kids and we owe it to ourselves. I'm calling on, like-minded countries of the world, to stand with Canada in this fight. Muslim, Christian, Jewish, black, white, all of us, we must fight this hatred as a team. A team that refuses to accept this as the new normal. A team tired of sending thoughts and prayers. Here in Canada, we've already taken major steps to fight discrimination and hatred. We've bolstered our investigation of groups responsible for hate propaganda, including white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups. We've made major changes to arms control. We've increased funding to protect places of worship. We have invested in programs to promote inclusion, to build bridges between people and celebrate our diversity. In spite of everything, we do know that there is still a lot of work to be done. But understand me, we will do what needs doing. This is a message that needs to be brought to the international community. The fight against racism and intolerance will be a major fight, but we can't put it off any longer. I know that we can make real change here. We can turn the page and get off this dangerous path we're on. We need only look to our communities for inspiration. Mr. Speaker, there are more good people than bad in this world. The light outweighs the dark. The good greatly outnumbers the evil. We see it when our citizens come together at vigils in the wake of tragedy. We see it when strangers link arms to protect places of worship. We see it in offers to walk with those who feel unsafe. We saw it in St. Foix, and we're seeing it now in New Zealand. This is an important fight, and I'm calling on politicians of all stripes to follow the example set by the good people we serve and do the right thing. We must counter this hatred, and together we will.