As CANADIAN citizens, including members of Canada's Polish Community, we are very concerned with the current political situation in Poland.

The current Law and Justice party (PiS) governing Poland is VIOLATING THE BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND LGTBQIA2S+ COMMUNITY in Poland. The Law and Justice Party has erased the independence of the judiciary that has drawn international condemnation.

A recent court decision was made to ban nearly all abortions in Poland.  The law was passed strategically during pandemic to restrict Women from protesting. Twice before, in 2016 and 2018, the ruling party moved in Parliament to impose a ban on abortion. But it backed off both times after nationwide demonstrations. This time, the ban came through the Constitutional Tribunal, which is firmly controlled by party loyalists

The restriction on Women’s Rights in Poland HURTS ALL WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD.  That is why it is CRUCIAL for Canadian Government to take a stance and CONDEMN THE POLISH PiS GOVERNMENT.  Canadian government has condemned other atrocities around the world, and we are counting on this government to offer their support to Polish Citizens who are risking their lives demonstrating and protesting on the streets of Poland.

An email was sent to PM Justin Trudeau, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and local MP Don Davis months ago, asking for them to condemn Poland for its violations of LGTBQ community as well. The current PiS party has won based on their anti-LGTBQ agenda. Local municipalities across a third of Poland have adopted resolutions “against LGBT propaganda” or “pro-family”, creating what rights groups describe as hostile spaces for anyone who is not heterosexual or committed to the so-called “natural family”. The non-binding resolutions, which municipalities started adopting in early 2019, coincide with a rise in rhetoric by the governing Law and Justice party (PiS) denouncing “LGBT ideology” as an allegedly foreign import threatening the Polish nation and its age-old Christian values.

Poland is Canada's largest goods trading partner in central and eastern Europe. The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement provide opportunities to strengthen the bilateral economic relationship. Bilateral trade between Canada and Poland reached $3.08 billion in 2019. Canada exported nearly $744 million to Poland with $2.34 billion in imports.

It is time for CANADA TO EXPRESS ITS POSITION REGARDING THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS OF WOMEN AND LGTBQ+ COMMUNITY IN POLAND.

We ask the Canadian Government to stand with us and help us fight against human rights violations in Poland by denouncing openly in the Parliament the current actions taken by the Polish government.