Mr. Speaker, today I rise on behalf of my constituents to present four petitions.

The first is on behalf of angered parents at Abbotsford Traditional School. B.C. Housing is proposing a safe consumption site across the street from the school playground. Parents do not want this to happen, and they have called upon the Government of Canada to cease all funding to B.C. Housing until it respects the rights and the innocence of children.

The second petition I would like to present today is on behalf of residents in Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford concerning the B.C. decriminalization project. This project has been in place for a number of years now, and residents of British Columbia are concerned that the number one cause of death for youth is drug overdose and drug toxicity. Parents and citizens of British Columbia are calling upon the Government of Canada to cease its special agreement with my province, in order to save lives, and to take a different approach that focuses on recovery, not on giving free drugs to people who need hospitalization and care in a safe facility.

Mr. Speaker, the third petition I would like to present today is on behalf of gurdwaras and churches in Abbotsford that are calling upon the government to reject recommendations 429 and 430 in the finance committee report last year. Churches and gurdwaras in my riding do incredible work to house the poor, to feed people and to take care of the sick. We want them to continue that good work and not lose their charitable status in the process.

Mr. Speaker, the final petition I am raising today is on behalf of British Columbians who are concerned about the overwhelming increase in human trafficking. We need to strengthen our laws in Canada, and petitioners are calling upon the Government of Canada to mimic legislation in the United States, which would have harsher penalties and capacities to stop the evil people who traffic young people and workers in our country.

Mr. Speaker, in this week of remembrance, as we think of our veterans, this petition is particularly appropriate. Members of the public have asked their members of Parliament to bring forward the following for the House of Commons to consider.

In 1948, Canada signed and also led the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We pledged to achieve, in conjunction with the United Nations, promotion of the universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. These calls, the petitioners note, were echoed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the adoption by Canada of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. At the same time, globally, Canada is upholding, we hope, the basic calls for justice, equality, freedom, security, well-being and the prevention of conflict and war.

Petitioners call upon Parliament to consider that with the closing of the Pearson Centre, of course named for a late, former prime minister, the only Canadian prime minister to ever achieve the Nobel Peace Prize, without campaigning for it, I should note, we need a new centre to pursue excellence for peace and justice, based on research; non-partisan education; and training in conflict resolution, diplomacy and peace operations for Canadian civilians, police and military personnel in the context of multilateralism and in the international community, where Canada has traditionally taken the leading role.