Mr. Speaker, I think that the Prime Minister is minimizing the situation. Keep in mind that in this case a Canadian province and one of Canada's two main language communities are being attacked and accused of a very serious charge of racism. Therefore I think that the Prime Minister should take this matter more seriously.
How does he explain, for example, that the Canadian embassy did not intervene to set the record straight the day after Mr. Coon Come made his remarks, while in the case of clear cutting, for example, the embassy did a very fine job and quite legitimately intervened with the American authorities to correct the information going around Europe on the clear cutting done by Canadian paper companies, and even spent $4.5 million for this purpose? Why did it not show the same vigilance, since this embassy has just demanded the exclusive right to represent Quebec's interests in Washington?