Canada firmly believes that the OAS member states must support democratic practices in accordance with the values enshrined in the Inter-American Democratic Charter. The democratic charter provides for a range of actions to respond to threats to the constitutional order in OAS member countries and appropriate action needs to be carefully assessed. We support the OAS Secretary General in his efforts to bridge the divide in Venezuela and we also support OAS members who are increasingly seized with the issue of political and economic crises.
Canada was a signatory, along with 14 other countries of the Americas, to two recent declarations, in which we pressed the Venezuelan government on the issues that I've just mentioned: political prisoners, right of assembly, the need to deal with their political impasse, and putting the needs of their citizens first and foremost.