Mr. Speaker, my colleague will know well that this government stands up for human rights, the rule of law, and constitutional order around the world. That informs all of our multilateral efforts, and that is the case when it comes to Venezuela as well. In fact, Canada has been a leading voice denouncing the deteriorating economic and political situation in Venezuela.
In addition to bilateral actions, Canada is working with hemispheric partners who are keen to do whatever they can to help resolve the suffering of the Venezuelan people. This is the Lima Group, which will meet for the third time later this week in Toronto, hosted by our Minister of Foreign Affairs. This is a body that is coordinating support for the restoration of democracy in Venezuela.
Just let me reiterate. We have been strongly and repeatedly raising our concerns to the Government of Venezuela and its ongoing campaign of political repression, including politically motivated imprisonment and house arrests of political opposition members.
We are committed to working with those hemispheric partners that I just referenced, to pressure the Maduro government into meaningful and effective negotiations with the opposition, and we will continue to stand in solidarity with the Venezuelan people as they struggle to restore democracy.
We know that this has been an issue and that Canada is leading with like-minded partners to help resolve that and put the focus on restoring constitutional order, democracy, and respect for human rights back to Venezuela.
We have taken a multi-pronged approach to our engagement. We feel that is most important in helping to address what we know is a deteriorating situation.
Again, we have actively participated and led in all three Lima Group meetings, the first of which was on August 8, the second on September 20, and the third being prepared to take place this Thursday in Toronto.
We have been vocal in a number of different declarations that have come out of the Lima Group, including a declaration on the situation in Venezuela, the statement by the Lima Group on the takeover of the functional competencies of the Venezuela national assembly, and the declaration of the second meeting of the Lima Group on the situation in Venezuela.
In addition to our forceful work within that group and through other multilateral channels, our actions under our sanctions measures in Canada have been a priority for us in our ability to promote and defend democracy and human rights, which as I mentioned, are central to our international foundation.
We imposed sanctions on 40 top Venezuelan officials in September, including President Maduro himself, again under the Special Economic Measures Act. Those sanctions impose prohibitions on dealings in property, and they freeze the assets of those listed persons.
Our minister has been intimately engaged with this file. She has hosted a group of like-minded meetings in May in Washington and attended the OAS general assembly in Mexico in June, which is where she called for a return of democratic order. In September at the UN General Assembly, the minister hosted a meeting of CARICOM foreign ministers to rally support for our view of how to resolve the situation in Venezuela. In October, she spoke with Spain's minister of foreign affairs on how Spain could engage. She has had conversations with the U.S. Secretary of State.
It goes without saying that the Government of Canada and Canadians are deeply concerned with this deteriorating situation—