Mr. Speaker, earlier this week the Minister of Foreign Affairs met with the home affairs minister for India to discuss many important issues, including the human rights situation in that country.
Many Canadians are concerned with current human rights practices in India. After repeated refusals to co-operate with non-governmental organizations attempting to assess the human rights condition in India, the Government of India allowed Amnesty International to conduct studies in the city of Bombay earlier this year.
As Canadians we must be concerned when a human rights organization is restricted in its efforts to assess the human rights conditions of any country. I was pleased to learn during Question Period the other day that the Canadian government has made representation to the Government of India on behalf of Amnesty International so that more thorough studies may be conducted.
It is time that Canada took a definitive stand in its relations with India and called for an open policy in that country with respect to human rights. As the Indian economy continues to grow at a very rapid pace, Canadian trade relations with India will continue to grow closer. Now is the time to insist-