Mr. Speaker, never in my five years in politics have I denied statements which the print media ascribed to me. I am not one of those who deny statements which the newspapers attribute to us.
Mr. Speaker, there appear to be two policies, one for poor countries which are guilty of human rights violations-and here, Canada takes a very harsh stand-and another for wealthy countries which are also guilty of human rights violations. In their case, however, the government turns a blind eye.
Does the Prime Minister not recognize that the Minister of Foreign Affairs was laying the groundwork for his trip to China, a wealthy country, when he made this statement outside the House? Could it be that the Prime Minister, in an attempt to restrict the focus of his trip to China to trade issues, was hoping not to have to deal with the human rights issue in China, even though dissidents have been waging an admirable fight to bring democracy to that country?