Thank you honorable speaker, I stand with the people of Iran who are standing up and standing together against Decades of Oppression and intolerance.

I stand with those who are rightly enraged by the senseless death of Masa amini and with those who are killed before her and those who have died after Masa was 22 years old on September 28th a 17 year old student was also murdered.

Martha and Nika are among the many who have lost their lives and their families are continuing to be harassed by the police to give false statements.

In the weeks since masa's death people in Iran and around the world have raised their voices, demanding change and calling for justice for gender equity, for human rights and for freedom in this movement. People of Iran are not only standing up for women, but also for lgbtq people, Afghans child laborers, undocumented refugees, migrants, Baha'I people, balak and kurd alike.

Protests against the government in Iran have been led by women and girls, but they are not alone. Men and boys in Iran and people around the world are rising in solidarity. The response from the Iranian Security Forces has been brutal. According to Iran human rights, over 150 protesters, including nine children, have been killed. Many reporters, including the two journalists who reported masa's death activists, scientists, teachers and families of mourners, have been arrested, tortured or have disappeared.

The tenacity of the people of Iran in the face of violent oppression is extraordinary, but they should not be abandoned in their fight for freedom and human rights. The International Community, Canada and BC can and must play a role in this fight for justice and equity.