No, it certainly is not. The bill refers to human rights abuses. The Italian community suffered an injustice; there is no doubt about that, there is no “grey area”. Italians who left their country to settle here were fleeing the Italian regime. Times were different. Italians came here to work and to have a better life. The people interned were shopkeepers and businesspeople. One of them manufactured boats used by the Canadian Forces. And yet, he was imprisoned and wound up losing his business. I could give you a myriad of other examples.
Even today, rights abuse persists; it is something we hear about in other committees. The incidents may be less striking, but remain, nonetheless, behaviour that should not be tolerated. Will Canada ever be entirely free from human rights abuse? Our charter and our sophisticated system of rights mean that we should be able to have a country free from the scourge of human rights abuse. At least, I would certainly hope so.