Mr. Speaker, two years have gone by since the government was elected and it has been two years of Conservative neglect of a litany of consular cases of Canadians abroad.
It has also been two years since Brenda Martin has been languishing in a Mexican prison. For two years, Brenda's rights under international law, and even under Mexico's own constitution, have been ignored and for two years, the Conservative government has done nothing.
Yesterday, in a meeting between the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Brenda's lawyer and her close friend since high school, a promise to speak with Brenda via phone from her prison cell was not kept.
What would it have taken for the minister to tell Brenda Martin that everything was being done to gain her release? What would it have taken for the minister to comfort an innocent woman who feels that her government has indeed abandoned her?
As Canadians look at the two years in office of the Conservatives, let them also take time to wonder about Brenda's two years behind bars and the other cases that this inept government has clearly failed to address.