Mr. Chair, it is both serendipitous and ironic that it was just World Press Freedom Day and so many journalists are imprisoned in Iran, such as bloggers and people who merely desire to express their views in a free way.
The Government of Canada has been consistent, and in fact has led in the General Assembly of the United Nations year after year, in calling for Iran to change direction and pull away from its oppression. We are known around the world for our leadership on this. We all wish there was more we could do.
We are supporting the program run out of the Munk School whereby we send messages to the people in Iran to encourage them and give them some sense of what is really going on in the world and to make sure that people who desire freedom know that they have friends in other parts of the world.
We are also doing our best to support people of Iranian background here in Canada who desire freedom everywhere in the world. They are ultimately leaders here in Canada who can raise us up to a level of freedom not only in Iran but everywhere else. They know what oppression is like. They appreciate their freedom, and I am so honoured to call many of them my friends.