Mr. Chair, after your remarks just there, you may find my intervention interesting.
I think when we're talking torture, people today should take a moment and watch a movie called The Road to Guantanamo, because there are new sophisticated tortures—for example, tying a person's feet to the floor in a crouched position in a white room with loud music for hours on end, and sleep deprivation. We tend to think of torture as something like you've seen in a movie about World War II, suggesting some of that type.
The UN conventions that we signed on to and are party to are the bare minimum in many cases that we can, as human beings, respect. Just look at the signatories: Azerbaijan; Chile; Mexico, which is one of the state parties where we've had Canadians with extreme difficulties; Sierra Leone; and Turkey. When you see those countries signed on ahead of a progressive country like Canada, that is an embarrassment to me.
When one considers lately the stories of how incarcerated Canadians abroad are being treated—Almalki, Arar, perhaps Huseyin Celil in China—at least two of these people have spent time in coffin cells. And consider the Canadians in Mexico, when the police are investigating crimes down there, and the treatment they're receiving. I think people should pause for a second and understand there are 3,000 Canadians incarcerated worldwide right now. There are allegations of torture in a number of areas.
I have a copy of a letter very similar to what you had from the minister, and it says that the Government of Canada actively participated in the negotiations of the optional protocol. In fact, it shepherded it through the UN. It voted in favour of its adoption, and Canada supports the fundamental elements. This is a letter that says we should sign it.
My understanding is that there is a push and shove between this government and the provinces. I don't know whether that's around cost, but that's what I'm hearing. Have you heard anything along those lines?