Madam Speaker, New Democrats believe that we should be talking to the people in countries we may not agree with. That is the only pathway to peace. When the Conservatives closed their embassy in Iran, it left Canada in a position, when we had consular cases, where we had nowhere to go. In fact, we have to use our agents in Italy or Jordan if we have a consular file in Iran, or the special interest section in Washington. We need to have clear communication directly with Iran when it comes to consular files. It would be like asking for the government to consider closing the Canadian embassy in the Philippines, or China or Egypt or Saudi Arabia, because we do not agree with their policies. We know that is not going to help us. Especially for Canadians abroad when they are in trouble, consular services are critical. We have seen that it hurts our ability to provide consular services to Canadians in Iran, certainly with Homa Hoodfar and other files that we have seen. How does the member expect that we are supposed to deliver consular files to people in Iran or other countries where we do not have diplomatic relations?
In the House of Commons on June 11th, 2018. See this statement in context.