Mr. Speaker, I have had the opportunity to ask the government a number of questions related to our relations with China and with regard to a specific case of a Canadian citizen by the name of Huseyincan Celil who was picked up in Uzbekistan and was extradited to China. At this point we do not know his condition. We do not know where he is. We do not even know whether he is alive. This is a Canadian citizen who, unfortunately, has not been afforded under international law his basic human rights.
Relations with China, according to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, are “in a shambles”. We need to restore our relationship with China so that we can carry on a dialogue, whether it be for trade, for cultural exchange or for other diplomatic affairs such as this one for Mr. Celil.
The government has constantly said that things are in good shape with China but we know very well that it continues to send people over there as recently as during the break to mend fences. It has even contradicted itself by its own representations.
The key here is that when Mr. Celil was picked up in Uzbekistan, the request by China to extradite him to China was preceded by a statement by the Uzbeks that they would have preferred to have Mr. Celil released to Canada but that Canada had not expressed sufficient interest in Mr. Celil. That is from the Uzbek officials. He was therefore extradited.
Now we do not know where he is. We do not know whether he has been tortured. We do not even know whether he is alive. The ministry has written to people to say that it has worked tirelessly on the file. An official of the prison in which Mr. Celil was held in Uzbekistan told his family members that there were assurances that Mr. Celil would not be executed if he were extradited to China. That was not a representation from China. It was not a representation from the government of Uzbekistan. It was from a prison official. This is second or third-hand information.
Since that time there has been no new information on the situation with Mr. Celil and yet the government continues to say that it is working tirelessly. It has been working tirelessly since last March and there is no new information even though the Conservatives continue to write letters that they have done things. They have done nothing and that is why I am raising this again. It is important.
Today's press reports state that China has alleged that there are people from China who have come here who have allegedly broken the law in China and China is asking for them to be extradited back to China. In my view this is the kind of situation that calls out for a sit down behind closed doors with Chinese officials to work out the problems and the relationship with China so we can carry on a dialogue on matters of mutual interest.
We need to respect the Vienna Convention. We need to respect our bilateral diplomatic affairs agreement with China. They do not recognize Canadian citizenship if the person has dual citizenship with China. As a consequence, China has said that they have no rights as far as Canadian law goes. This is precisely what we should talk about in a clear, open and transparent fashion with the officials and translators. That has never happened and it is time the government took the opportunity that we have today to sit down to repair the shambles it has created in the relationship with China so that we can deal with Mr.--