Mr. Speaker, you are surely as fond as I of the hon. member for Mégantic-Compton-Stanstead, and his questions, each one more brilliant than the last. Without a doubt the answer is one you would give yourself, Mr. Speaker, that there must be assurance that, in any circumstances, profit motives such as international trade must not take precedence over any permissiveness in the area of human rights violations. I believe that there has been sufficient unanimity today in this House for me to state that we recognize that international trade is a very important dimension of international life. We recognize that the history of Canada has been built on trade, but this must never lead us to neglect the vital importance of promoting human rights, as the Liberals have since they formed the government in October 1993.
In the House of Commons on April 23rd, 1996. See this statement in context.