Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to commend my colleague from Rosedale for his comments. Had his remarks led to the tabling of a motion, I would support it almost in its entirety, except of course when he refers-I understand that he may have to toe the party line-to his support for the amendment put forward by his colleague, the Secretary of State responsible for Multiculturalism and the Status of Women.
In fact, as we mentioned several times, the government's amendment to this motion plays down the impact of the tragic events experienced by the Armenian people in 1915-16, thus
managing to avoid calling a spade a spade and referring to those events as a genocide.
I understand that the evolution of international law and attitudes certainly allows us to be more specific in analyzing such events. It seems to me that, even when referring to the 1915-16 context, the facts can only point to a recognition that a real or at least attempted genocide of the Armenian people took place at that time.
I fully agree that what my colleague said about Canada's human rights record should be acknowledged. Both the international community and the official opposition recognize outright that Canada's human rights record is quite good. Last week, the Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission testified before the committee on human rights to point out the major improvements needed with regard to the First Nations and, of course, the need to add sexual orientation to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination. Having said that, I recognize, we recognize that there are advantages to living in this country as far as human rights are concerned.
But precisely because of the progress made in Canada and Quebec in terms of human rights, I think the international message we are trying to convey should not, as I mentioned, be watered down in any way.
That is why we must send a clear message with regard not only to the Armenian genocide but also to the other crimes against humanity being committed around the world. Can my colleague tell us to what extent Canada must compromise because of international trade and set aside human rights in favour of Canada's commercial interests?