Mr. Speaker, those are core questions and they go right to the point of what I was explaining.
It seems to me that international trade has evolved to a point where it is very clear that one department should handle policy not of a commercial nature, but of the values and interests of Canadians. It is quite separate and distinct from commercial ends, whether they be the promotion of Canadian opportunities abroad or instruments that help improve opportunities, through the World Bank, through IMF or other policies, for countries to bring themselves to a much higher standard of living.
Canada plays an important role from the perspective of influence in terms of our values like our Charter of Rights, our independent judiciary and our consular services which ensure that Geneva conventions on torture or on access, as an example, are respected. How that has anything to do with international trade is beyond me.
I can assure the hon. member that this speaks very clearly to the two very separate and distinct responsibilities now clearly reflected in the wisdom of what the Prime Minister proposed in the order in council on December 12, 2003, and what we are proposing today.
On the question of the tsunami, it is very clear. I do not know where the hon. member was, but I know where I was. I know where the hon. Minister of National Defence was. I was out on a tarmac freezing with our good Canadian soldiers from Canadian Forces Base Trenton. They were out there helping with 25 tonnes of supplies. The United Nations and our NGOs on the ground in Sri Lanka told us what they needed, things like potable water for drinking and tablets to put into the whatever water people were getting so it would not be contaminated. We also provided tarpaulin tents.
Within 48 hours an action plan had begun. We were not going to second guess what people on the ground knew. Foreign affairs not only had it right, but we were ahead of expectations. No one in the chamber wanted to make this a political issue because we saw a human tragedy unfolding which we had not seen in a long time. We have to separate in our minds as we did with our hearts and our compassion. Our response did not have a commercial interest.
The hon. member gave the example of the tsunami. I used the tsunami as a classic example of why there is a distinction between trade and foreign affairs, human rights and the ability for us to assist those in need.