Deputy Leader of Canada’s opposition party optimistic of ongoing Kurdistan-Canada ties
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Conservative-run government in Canada will be committed to foreign diplomacy and will work with allies like the Kurdistan Region, Lisa Raitt, the Deputy Leader of Canada’s opposition party, said in a recent interview.
Raitt spoke to Kurdistan 24 last week on the sidelines of the 13th annual Kurdish Heritage Festival in Toronto, Canada. She was among many parliamentarians and special guests who delivered positive remarks on Kurdish-Canadian relations at the event.
As federal elections in Canada approach, and with the Conservative Party favorites to replace the current Liberal-run government, Kurdistan 24 asked Raitt how her party would continue to support the Kurdish people.
“We’re not in the business, unlike some other politicians in Canada, to tell other countries how necessarily to run their own democracies,” she said. “What we do believe though is that we’re supposed to work with other countries and make sure that we have open lines of communications and make sure that we’re dealing with democratic institutions.”
Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer, who previously served as the Speaker of the House, is familiar with foreign diplomacy, as Raitt explained, “he knows what the importance is of diplomacy around the world.”
“I’m sure that we will continue to enjoy a good relationship [with the Kurds], opening channels of communication, and finding things that we can agree on.”
The Canadian parliamentarian emphasized that a Conservative government would allow communities like the Kurdish diaspora to continue to express their language and culture.
“That’s what we’re based upon here in Canada, that’s what we believe as Conservatives,” she stated.
