I hope, Madam Chairman, that I'm not going off too far afield here, but our community deals with many controversial issues, not least of which is the ongoing Arab-Israeli dispute. One of the concerns we have had—and this is by no means a blanket statement about any particular group—is with the tendency to import to Canada certain attitudes and orientations that really come from somewhere very far away, rather than allowing Canadian values to assert themselves as the defining set of criteria that inform a person's attitudes.
When we talk about Canadian values as they relate to new Canadians, I think what we're trying to say is that they're a set of values that define us as a country and define us as Canadians, and those are the things that we want new Canadians to embrace. If we allow into that basket attitudes or allegiance to certain things that are antithetical to Canadian values, then what are we saying about the value of the Canadian character?
I think it becomes increasingly important for those contemplating a move to Canada or for those seeking Canadian citizenship to understand that there is a social contract involved. It means embracing those things that are inherently Canadian. They're not just Canadian—other countries share those same values—but they define what we are as a country and who we are as a people.