Mr. Speaker, last week Canada hosted the Organization of American States' inter-American meeting on culture in Montreal.
The Minister of Canadian Heritage took advantage of the opportunity to reiterate the commitment of Canada's new government to promoting the ratification of the UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
Together with the Government of Quebec's minister of culture and communications, Canada's new government held bilateral meetings with representatives of OAS member states.
Since coming to power, the new government has given Quebec a seat at UNESCO and continues to work with Quebec on the world stage.
For years, the Bloc asked for a Quebec delegation to UNESCO, but to no avail. Their little Liberal friends refused. Only our government had the will to act in Quebec's interest.
That is what we mean when we say open federalism. I am proud that Canada's new government is taking every opportunity to promote ratification of the convention—