Yes, Chair. I just wanted to acknowledge the fact that we have received correspondence from the Minister of Foreign Affairs regarding your request from the committee to provide Abousfian Abdelrazik with the necessary travel documents so he could be here at committee.
I essentially want to put forward a motion about the displeasure of this committee with the fact that he did not provide a travel document and that it took him more than a week to respond to the committee.
In essence--I'm reading here, Mr. Chair--the correspondence says: “Thank you for your letter of June 3, 2009”--this is the letter that you had sent to him as minister--“concerning the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development Motion (6-5)”, where we had asked Mr. Abdelrazik to come to committee. He says, “I would like to inform you that the Government is in the process of reviewing the Federal Court decision of June 4, 2009, on the case concerning Mr. Abousfian Abdelrazik.” It's signed, “Sincerely, Lawrence Cannon”.
Your request was different. Your request was for him to provide Mr. Abdelrazik with the necessary travel documents so he could come before committee. The letter is responding to something different, and that is the Federal Court case. It's not responding to your request to have Mr. Abdelrazik provided with the necessary travel documents.
I want to put forward to this committee a motion expressing displeasure at the fact that the minister took so long to respond and that he did not provide the necessary travel documents to Mr. Abdelrazik for him to appear before the committee.