Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm going to follow up on Ms. Damoff's point, if I can.
This is a committee where we generally decide what we're going to study by consensus. It's interesting that we're studying democracy here. Agreeing what we're going to study does not mean we have to take the exact same position the Trudeau government is taking. In fact, our position on this is very different, and it's very clear. Our foreign affairs shadow minister, Michael Chong, right away in August, tweeted, “Conservatives call on the Trudeau government to: recognize the opposition won the Venezuelan election, cut off all contact with Maduro’s authoritarian representatives, and sanction all individuals complicit with this subversion of Venezuelan democracy.” We have a clear position in our party, which is the official opposition.
When there are clear distinctions between our party's positions, it is our job to bring them up and hold the government to account for them. That is what Mr. Majumdar was doing earlier.
In contrast, what the Canadian government has basically said on the website is that the Maduro government is bad, but then it's gone on, leading with the section that says what Canada is doing about it. It has not said it recognizes that the opposition won the Venezuelan election. In fact, what it said is that we have to, “find a negotiated solution to the crisis”. It said, “Canada is supportive of the negotiation process” and “We strongly encourage the parties to take part in good faith”, as though the parties are equal in this situation. The parties are not equal in this situation. The Maduro regime is a partner. Its allies are Russia, Iran and China. It's very clear. That's the quote I read from the BBC earlier. We've said, as a party, that Canada should recognize that the opposition won the Venezuelan election.
I just want your thoughts on the importance of that in this conversation.