Mr. Chair, I can understand why the minister would want to backpedal and obfuscate, because she does not want to take ownership of her comments which said that a provincial minister could speak for the Government of Canada. I am surprised to see my Liberal friends who normally pride themselves on being nationalists applauding a minister who is contracting out Canadian foreign policy to a provincial government.
I have a very simple question. If this was simply a matter of form, why did she say that the Quebec culture minister could speak for Canada at UNESCO? Would she take the same position for a minister from another province? I doubt it.
Speaking of UNESCO and in so far as the minister and her department are in part responsible for Canada's policies articulated at UNESCO, I would like to ask her whether or not she or her predecessor were consulted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the appointment of Yvon Charbonneau as Canadian ambassador to UNESCO.
According to the Canadian Jewish Congress, Mr. Charbonneau has made anti-Semitic remarks and has called upon him to condemn anti-Semitism and to clarify his views upon his appointment. Among other things he has referred to Israel as a rogue state and referred to its terror campaign. He has referred to the policies of the United States as comparable to those of the Third Reich.
Do the comments of Mr. Charbonneau at UNESCO represent the views of the Department of Canadian Heritage or the Government of Canada?