Mr. Speaker, the promotion of freedom, human rights and democracy around the world is an important priority of the Canadian government. Our ambassadors and foreign service officers do this in every corner of the world each and every day. We think there have been a number of problems at this agency going back a number of years. It is time to turn the page and move forward. We will continue to do all of these things but they will be done inside my department by the hard-working men and women at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
In the House of Commons on April 3rd, 2012. See this statement in context.