Madam Speaker, I would like to point out again that the problems of Rights & Democracy were created by this government.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs tells us that diplomatic staff do the work of promoting democracy. Of course they do. That is not new; it has always been the case. In the past, the staff did this work, staff who, because of the cuts, will be fewer and therefore able to do less of this work.
In addition to the work of diplomats, this specialized institution had the necessary expertise and could do work that the government was unable to do. It could work in extremely difficult areas. We have lost an additional and important asset; Rights and Democracy was an organization that was on the forward edge of promoting democracy. We have lost it at a critical time in modern history.
The parliamentary secretary is talking of moving forward. I see it as moving backward.