Mélanie Joly reaffirms her support for the Armenian community

Mélanie Joly reaffirms her support for the Armenian community –

Montreal, September 26, 2015: Mélanie Joly, candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada in Ahuntsic-Cartierville, met with representatives of the Quebec Armenian National Committee at a formal dinner which took place on September 16th. During this event, Ms. Joly professed her official support to the Armenian community and committed to promote their efforts in Canada and abroad.

 The candidate, who ardently supports the community in recognition of the Armenian Genocide, stated that although much work had been done on the subject, the Canadian population is still unaware of this dark chapter in history. To prevent this tragedy from repeating itself, she has pledged to fight and develop initiatives to educate the population.

 Mélanie Joly is also strongly committed to promote the establishment of a Canadian Embassy in Armenia:

“During the 20^th century, Canada welcomed thousands and thousands of Armenian immigrants. These people contributed to enriching our country both culturally and politically. Therefore, Canada has an interest to strengthen ties with Armenia, which is why I am committed to create economic and political relations with that country. Canada must have an embassy in Armenia. “

Finally, Ms. Joly recalled the tragedy that Syrians and Iraqis refugees, including many Armenians, had experienced. She emphasized that Canada must do its part to resolve the conflict and reiterated the Liberal Party’s commitment to accept 25,000 Syrian refugees as soon as possible. In addition, we must invest more than $100 million dollars to support the United Nations’ High Commissioner’s position to provide relief programmes to refugees which are of critical importance in the region. Ms. Joly also stated that Canada, which has taken on a military role, must realign its foreign policy towards a diplomatic position and as the chief negotiator of peace on the international scene.