Mr. Speaker, obviously the Government of Canada like other governments around the world is concerned about human rights violations wherever they occur, whether it be China, Haiti, Cuba or any other country around the world. We would hope national governments could be encouraged to respect democracy, something that unfortunately does not exist in any of the three nations I mentioned.
We are working with the Department of Foreign Affairs and with other parliamentarians to ensure that while we press for a strong position on human rights we keep the dialogue going. There must be a balanced approach in terms of keeping the doors and the lines of communication open while at the same time recognizing that to join the world community one should respect human rights.
I think that has been an integral part of our message on human rights in relation to foreign affairs.