Thank you, honourable member of Parliament, Garnett Genuis. The last time when the so-called delegation from the Tibet Autonomous Region came, you spoke very strongly and morally. That video has gone viral in the Tibetan world, so I must thank you for being an outright spokesperson, even though there are no Tibetans in your riding, which speaks volumes about you, that you are actually for justice, freedom, non-violence, and peace, as you mentioned. I do believe that one cannot say, I am for democracy, I am for human rights, I am for justice, I am for environmental rights, but then cannot speak for Tibet and the Tibetan people. If you don't speak out for Tibet and the Tibetan people, you are not for human rights, justice and freedom. Hence, we really appreciate your efforts and support for all these years.
As far as the Tibetan government in exile is concerned, as per the vision and guidance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, it is democratic in the real sense. We have a parliament, we have a judiciary, and we have an executive body. Also, the most powerful, or equally powerful, body is also the auditor general's office. They are very strict when it comes to spending. We worry more about our boarding card when we get in the plane than our passport and our bags, because if we don't have a boarding card, we don't get refunded. With $300 as our monthly salary, if you don't get refunded for a $1,500 or $1,600 airfare, that's three or four months of salary. I think it speaks volumes that the auditor general is equally powerful in an exile set-up, even though we don't have police or military or prison. What we worry about is getting noted by the auditor general's office, albeit there's no fear of going to prison. Hence, this is a labour of love. It's fully democratic. Tibetans are scattered in 40 countries, including Canada. In Toronto, Ottawa, or Vancouver, they all vote on a single day. It's counted manually locally, and the election commission in Dharamshala tabulates everything, and the result is declared. Hence, it's a democracy without borders. It's a beautiful thing.
Interestingly, in Canada voting is free and you are encouraged to vote. In Tibetan democracy, you have to pay your voluntary freedom tax. It's an oxymoron. If you don't pay your voluntary freedom tax, you don't get to vote. So from 2006 to 2016, the last 10 years, there was a 70% increase in the number of voters. Among all the democracies in the world, I think it's only in the Tibetan democracy where there's a 70% increase in voter registration. These are voters who are paying their freedom tax and then going to the electoral booth to cast their ballots. It's a beautiful thing that's happening.
Equally, we just watched the parliamentary debate, where Prime Minister Justice Trudeau was addressing some of the questions. I think ours is much more polite.