Mr. Speaker, certainly this is an important exchange. What the member has characterized as partisan jabs are in fact legitimate and important policy criticisms of the government. I am not suggesting that we disagree on every aspect of this issue, but there are some important things that we need to hear from the government that we have not heard.
The parliamentary secretary has not addressed the comments of the member for Richmond Hill. The characterization of the Iranian regime as elected is deeply concerning to the Iranian community and problematic for those who are promoting democracy.
The government has spoken about the right to protest, which is important, but so is endorsing the message of the protesters. It is one thing to endorse the right to protest; it is another thing entirely to say, as I have and as, I believe, some backbench members of the government have, that the message of the protesters is a message that Canada should support.
It is interesting that the member said that nothing was done under the previous government, when in fact he referred to an activity at the United Nations that began under the previous government. There are points of continuity, but there are also clear points of difference.
I wonder if the member could clearly address the comments of the member for Richmond Hill, the message of the protesters, and the broader issue, which is that the government is pursuing closer and closer commercial ties in the midst of these major human rights problems.