Good afternoon, colleagues. This is meeting number 25 of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, Thursday, April 17, 2008. Today we will study the Canada-China bilateral human rights dialogue.
Appearing in our first hour, as an individual, we have Charles Burton, associate professor, Department of Political Science, Brock University, who is here from St. Catharines today.
In our second hour, we will go in camera to consider the draft report, forwarded by our subcommittee, on the Canada-China bilateral human rights dialogue. I'll also mention that at the conclusion of that time, we'll have an opportunity for committee business.
We welcome Mr. Burton. As a member, I served on the Subcommittee on International Human Rights previously. Mr. Burton appeared before that subcommittee and contributed in a fairly substantive way, and his testimony was very much appreciated.
So we welcome you here today. We look forward to some of your comments. As you know, the way the committee operates, we'll have time for questions and answers following your comments.
Welcome, Mr. Burton.