I think many people here are aware that it's been a long-time proposition of Canada to have something similar to that and that we've failed to develop or deliver it.
If we look at the direction of travel of the world, and if we look at global reports on democracy and so forth, the number of democracies is shrinking. In fact, I think Freedom House counts now a dozen full and vigorous democracies. The non-democracies are gaining in strength and in their collaboration. The threat is very real, as we're discussing here, so I think something like this is needed.
I would also argue, for example, that Canada has led with regard to the pathway for human rights defenders, but it's very small and it's too limited. That's why I'm using language like “activists in exile”. There are many people, like journalists, who do not wish to identify themselves as human rights defenders; they think they're professionals doing journalism. There are many groups that don't want to be refugees as such, because it's problematical in terms of their status and the way they'd be treated. In fact, to declare refugee status is basically an allegation against your country of origin. If you're a dual national, that's a massive problem.
We need to do something like this, but it needs to be nuanced and it needs to be thoughtful. It's overdue.