Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to the speech of the hon. member for Saint-Denis. I must tell her that the Government of Quebec fully respect the rights of minorities. Quebec is a very open society. I can testify to that, as a non-francophone member who was elected by a majority of French speaking constituents and by members of ethnic communities.
The hon. member calls the Armenian genocide a tragic incident. It is much more than a tragic incident. It is the extermination of one and a half million Armenians. It is the deportation of half a million people. It is the destruction of numerous churches and monasteries. It is the dispersal of Armenians all over the world.
I am surprised that the Government of Canada stubbornly refuses to recognize this genocide which has been recognized by other nations, including Latin American countries such as Uruguay and Argentina. Monuments were erected in Columbia, etc. It is unacceptable on the part of a government promoting democracy and human rights throughout the world to hold such contradictory views. Indeed, when trade comes into play, it takes precedence over human rights.
How can the hon. member justify the Canadian government's stubborn refusal to recognize this genocide for what it is?