Canadian Members of Parliament (MPs) and Senators from all political parties have made important contributions to the Tibetan cause. They have written letters, hosted the Dalai Lama in Ottawa, and made statements in the House of Commons. The Parliamentary Outreach Campaign aims to maintain and increase parliamentary momentum for Tibet by assisting Canadian-Tibetans and their supporters to engage more fully in Canada’s democratic process.
What YOU can do to support our parliamentary outreach campaign:
- Participate in the annual “Canada Tibet Lobby Days” by contacting the Canada Tibet Committee or your local Tibet Association;
- Ask your MP to join the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet and encourage him/her to subscribe to “World Tibet News”, a weekly e-bulletin compiled by the CTC especially for parliamentarians;
- Invite your MP to Tibet-related events in your riding and introduce him/her to the Tibetan community and its supporters;
- Gather petition signatures in your riding and send them to your MP with a request that s/he read it into the House of Commons official record.
What are the issues?
- Achieving support from each of the 317 MPs in Canada’s House of Commons is an overwhelming challenge that can only be met with Canada-wide grassroots activism and collaborative efforts;
- Large amounts of sometimes contradictory information sent to MPs about Tibet is confusing and discourages them from taking clear positions supporting the Tibetan issue;
- Partisan politics can be detrimental to the Tibetan cause and therefore care must be taken to maintain respectful and positive relationships with each of Canada’s political parties.
What are we asking Parliamentarians to do?
- Members of Parliament should generate Tibet-related statements in the House of Commons by reading petitions received from their constituencies, by presenting individual member statements, or by generating all-party motions;
- Members of Parliament should invite Tibet-specific witnesses to testify during Parliamentary Committee hearings on issues such as human rights, promotion of democracy, religious freedom, trade and investment, or any issue related to China policy more generally;
- Members of Parliament should advocate for support of the Tibetan issue within their own party caucuses;
- Members of Parliament should join the Canadian Parliamentary Friends of Tibet and subscribe to the CTC’s “World Tibet News” weekly e-bulletin.
Canada Tibet Lobby Days!
Every year, Tibetans and their supporters from across Canada join forces to visit Members of Parliament and Senators. The objectives of Canada Tibet Lobby Days are to increase support for the Tibetan people among parliamentarians and to encourage our community of supporters to use Canada’s democratic system to defend the rights of the Tibetan people. In 2004, the CTC succeeded in obtaining MP signatures from more than two-thirds of the House of Commons on a letter asking the Government of Canada to encourage dialogue for resolution of the conflict in Tibet.
Canada Tibet Lobby Days coalition members are: Canada Tibet Committee; Tibetan Cultural Association of Quebec; Tibet Association of Ottawa; Canadian Tibetan Association of Ontario; Students for Free Tibet Canada; Tibetan Women’s Association Canada; Regional Tibetan Youth Congress Toronto; Canadian Friends of Tibet; Tibetan Association of Alberta; Tibetan Cultural Society of British Columbia; Tibet Association of Vancouver Island.
Canadian Parliamentary Friends of Tibet (Pft)
The Parliamentary Friends of Tibet is an all-party group of Members of Parliament and Senators. Formed in 1990 by parliamentarians who were concerned about the situation in Tibet, PFT has had dozens of members over the years. PFT has become the voice for Canadian support for Tibet in parliament and government. The group and its members actively encourage greater respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms for the Tibetan people. They support His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s non-violent conflict resolution efforts to achieve genuine autonomy for Tibetans through negotiations with the People’s Republic of China.
PFT also seeks to strengthen Canadian government support for a just and principled policy approach to the issue of Tibet. The PFT collaborates with similar parliamentary groups around the world and is a key player in the International Network of Parliamentarian on Tibet.
For more information about the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet contact:
- Arif Virani, LPC (Chair)
- James Maloney, LPC (Vice Chair)
- Garnett Genuis, CPC (Vice Chair)
- Randall Garrison, NDP (Vice Chair)
Resources:
- CTC Guide: Meeting your Member of Parliament about Tibet
- Contact information for Members of Parliament and Senators
- Find your Member of Parliament
- Keeping tabs on Parliament and MPs
Parliamentary Hearing Transcripts
Briefing on the Situation in Tibet
Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, November 23, 2016 (featuring testimony of Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay)
Statement of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights, May 7, 2013
Concluding statement of the Subcommittee on International Human Rights following the testimony of Dr. Lobsang Sangay on February 26, 2013.
Human rights situation in Tibetan areas of China
Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, February 26, 2013 (featuring testimony of Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay)
Human rights situation in Tibetan areas of China
Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, January 29, 2013 (featuring testimony of Dhondup Lhadar, TYC)
Review of Canada’s Bilateral Human Rights Dialogue with China
Subcommittee on International Human Rights, November 7, 2006 (featuring testimony of Tashi Wangdi, Office of Tibet and Lodi Gyari, Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama)
Human Rights in China (session 2)
Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Development, May 12, 2004 (featuring testimony by Thubten Samdup, Canada Tibet Committee)
Human Rights in China (session 1)
Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Development, May 5, 2004 (featuring testimony by Thubten Samdup, Canada Tibet Committee and Carole Samdup, Rights & Democracy)
Tibet-China Negotiations
Joint meeting of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the House of Commons and the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, April 22, 2004 (featuring testimony of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Samdhong Rinpoche)
Persecution against People of Faith
Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Development, December 2, 2004 (featuring testimony by Tenzin Dhargyal Khangsar, Canada Tibet Committee)
Note: Parliamentary committee transcripts are not available online for hearings that took place before 1994. The Canada Tibet Committee may provide photocopied transcripts for academic researchers. Please contact us at ctcoffice@tibet.ca for more information.
- Standing Committee on External Affairs and International Trade, October 2, 1990 (featuring testimony by His Holiness the Dalai Lama)
- Subcommittee on Development and Human Rights, May 12, 1993 (featuring testimony by Thubten Samdup of Canada Tibet Committee, and John Ackerly of International Campaign for Tibet)