Mr. Speaker, it is quite striking how in literally the same sentence he attacks the previous government for our alleged record on consular cases and then also says that consular issues should be above partisan attacks. The member surely cannot have it both ways.
As well, he did misquote me, by the way. I appreciate that he was listening but I suggest he listen to my remarks more carefully. It might provide more opportunities for a deeper understanding of the Conservative world view. In particular, what I said was not that we ought to be impolite, rather it was that we should be “willing to be impolite” in defence of our values. A willingness to be impolite is something that is completely different, and obviously the member knows that.
This member and I have had many discussions, back and forth, about the government's approach to Iran, and I have challenged him on various aspects of it. However, I want to ask him a factual question. What is the government doing with respect to diplomatic relations with Iran? Is it presently pursuing the reopening of diplomatic relations? If it is, then we should know it and be able to discuss it. If it is not, then one wonders why it has such a disagreement with our policy, which was to close the embassy in the first place.