Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to all the witnesses, and thanks to Mr. Chong for his question; it was basically what I was going to ask around best practices of other countries. I find the answers interesting, because we are being asked to do something that every country, I think, is struggling with.
I want to take it to a next step and talk about the intersection of democracy, human rights, economic activity, international engagement and trade. Again, I guess we would go around the table to all three witnesses on this question.
Do you see democracy and democratic rights as equivalent to human rights and as a necessary precursor to human rights, or is it possible to have human rights in a non-democratic country?
That's not a leading question. I'm genuinely interested in whether or not you believe that human rights can be protected in a system that is not the same as a democratic Canada.