Mr. Speaker, as Canadians prepare to be good hosts at the upcoming summit of the Americas in Quebec City, let us be focused on the work to be accomplished there: strengthening democracy, creating prosperity and realizing human potential.
However, at the same time, it appears from previous such meetings in Seattle and Europe that some people would provoke a clash between demonstrations of free expression and the need to avoid disruption and provide the high level of security needed for the hundreds of internationally protected delegates.
If the demonstrations do not penetrate the security zone and do not resort to the use of violence, we could have a great looking summit. However, if some of these things do happen, I hope we will accept that officials and police have a job to do in hosting the summit, that life and politics are not perfect sciences and are sometimes messy, and that as Canadians we are doing our best to deliver a most successful summit in Quebec City.
The television images we will watch, even if they are a little rough and tumble, will show Canada as one of the world's leading democracies proudly playing our international role. Good luck to us all.