Mr. Speaker, as it is my first time on my feet in this Parliament, I would like to congratulate the hon. member who just spoke on his re-election and thank the voters of Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke for sending me back for a third term here in the House. Like the hon. member, I am ready to get down to work in this minority Parliament.
The member raised a very good point, that this Conservative motion on China provides one of the first opportunities for us to demonstrate as a Parliament that we can work together on important challenges that face Canada.
On international Human Rights Day, I would like to point out that one of the arguments being made on the government side is that any committee could deal with China. We have a whole list of human rights concerns, from the ongoing occupation of Tibet and suppression of Tibetan culture to the so-called re-education camps of the Uighur Muslims in China.
We have a whole list of those things that might get dealt with in a human rights committee, but they really should be part of our overall approach to China. By having this committee, we can bring those human rights issues along with trade issues into the same committee.
I thank the Conservatives for putting forward this proposal because it will give us the chance to work together and it will give us a chance to address the overall relationship of Canada and China.