Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Stephan Zbikowski, a Canadian citizen from the riding of Verchères, who was arrested in Venezuela in December 1994 for cocaine trafficking, has been held in Carabobo maximum security penitentiary ever since. Note that no charges have yet been laid against Mr. Zbikowski by Venezuelan authorities and that, while awaiting trial, he is being held with inmates considered to be dangerous offenders.
In light of the fact that Mr. Zbikowski has been detained for 16 months without trial and that the actions taken by Canadian officials were unsuccessful, does the minister plan to exert diplomatic pressure to speed things up so that this Canadian citizen can finally be tried?