Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary is totally misinformed. I am really saddened that he brought in this information.
In fact, China does not recognize dual citizenship. It does not recognize Mr. Celil's Canadian citizenship.
Contrary to what the parliamentary secretary said, Mr. Celil has been tried. He has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. There was no legal representation. This was in violation of the Vienna convention and a bilateral agreement on consular affairs. We were not advised that he was in China's custody. There was no disclosure of the charges. There was no consular access. He was not assured of having due process under the law, and in fact, he had no legal representation.
The parliamentary secretary is a good man, I understand that, but he is totally misinformed. Mr. Celil has now been sentenced to 15 years and it is because of the incompetence of the Conservative government that he is in jail. It did not take action when it was asked to take action, to go to Uzbekistan and get that man out.