I think Mr. Marston's question fleshes something out, and that's that through much of the discussion before this subcommittee over the last few months, there's been a view that human rights are at the heart, at the forefront, at the very centre of Canada's view of the world and of how we should be dealing with China.
The view that we are trying to represent today is that human rights have to be a fundamental aspect of our relationship, which cannot be seen as separate from what is moving on the commercial and on the global issues side. And that makes it a real challenge for a government to get the right balance and to move comprehensively.
I think, too, that what we are saying is that you need a relationship before you deal with issues, and once that relationship is established, comments on human rights in general, and the creation of a whole new architecture—and I'd be happy to offer some thoughts on that—are possible, as will be dealing with individual consular cases.
We're now in a situation in which we've got hundreds of thousands of Canadian citizens who are very close to China, not because they're here, but because they have returned to or are close to the People's Republic. If you're wondering, as was Madame St. Hilaire, we can't go back to the old consensus. We have to move beyond it now.
Canadians are going to make sure that those consular cases are higher on our priority list. Our Prime Minister has signalled that. It's now a matter of how we're going to get our hands dirty and our feet dirty to make sure we have arrangements put in place and understandings with the Chinese that are going to deal not just with a specific case but with a huge issue for us in transnational relations, that of the several hundred thousand Canadians who are potentially vulnerable in situations of dual citizenship.
So the status quo isn't enough. We have to push harder. But what I think we're suggesting is that we push harder in the context of a comprehensive relationship.