It almost happened, but it was cancelled on Cuba's part at the last moment. There were a number of good people in reasonably senior positions, I know, in the Cuban government at the time who were in fact encouraging this, but it didn't happen.
It seems to me something, again, that maybe the Government of Canada could promote. The political idea behind it, if I can put it that way, is that it would enable the Cubans to talk frankly. As the ambassador said, no country, including Canada, is free from human rights concerns—the socio-economic rights of our first nations people, or a number of other people in our urban cores. No democratic society has a perfect record, but it would enable the Cubans. Part of this was that they like to say they have solved all the problems. On the economic and social rights, I don't think they've solved all the problems, but compared to most Latin American countries they've made a lot of progress.
An idea I put forward is that the Government of Canada, as part of its dialogue, could ask for such a conference and ask the Cubans to participate. Have three days in Havana and three days in Ottawa over a one-week period. The conference could begin in one city with the participants and then continue in the other city with the same participants, and with local people in the two countries encouraged to take part.
Again, I stress that it would be within the UN framework of rights, that in principle, it seems to me anyway, the Government of Cuba should not oppose.
That's one particular idea, Mr. Chairman.