Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to hear that announcement by the parliamentary secretary today. We would, however, have liked to see the bill before us implemented more promptly. It is not merely a matter of signing international conventions or protocols and then complying with them. There are numerous international protocols on which Canada does not respect its commitments. In fact, the principles they contain are very often not respected.
This is the case with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the sections on child abduction. International protocols are signed yet very often the principles subscribed to internationally are not reflected in Canadian legislation. This is the case for the Kyoto protocol. How can we accept Canada's making international commitments and then not ensuring that its legislation clearly expresses its desire to achieve the greenhouse gas reduction objectives?
It is my hope today, therefore, that we will not just talk the talk but also walk the walk, not only by being a signatory to this type of protocol, this UNESCO convention, but also by enacting legislation. We must also be in a position to apply that legislation. In fact, in the eight years I have sat in the House, many a law has been passed. The Government of Canada enacts legislation, like the endangered species legislation, one glaring example, and then we do not have the means to apply it.
We must therefore provide support abroad, and at home as well, in order to ensure that these laws we pass, and these amendments we are proposing today relating to both the Criminal Code and the Cultural Property Export and Import Act, can be clearly reflected in concrete action.