Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Scarborough—Guildwood.
I will start by acknowledging Irwin Cotler, who I would classify as a good friend of mine. For years we sat on the opposition benches and I truly benefited by listening to his many interjections in the House and the talks we had with each other. I have a deep amount of respect for everything he does on the issue of human rights.
It is always encouraging when the House of Commons witnesses the coming together of political parties to recognize and condemn human rights violations. However, there is a sad part to this.
It is very shameful that the last two speakers and others have taken this opportunity to take cheap political shots at the Prime Minister of Canada. If they were genuine in wanting to allow for a healthy debate on this issue, they could have forgone the cheap, unfair, untrue shots at the Prime Minister, let alone the Minister of Foreign Affairs at times. I do not say that lightly.
Let us think about it. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted in the United Nations General Assembly back in December of 1948. I understand that resolution took effect in 1952. Over 150 countries signed onto that agreement. Earlier I posed a question for the member of the opposition Conservative Party who brought forward the motion. I asked him how many countries had made the declaration that it was a genocide. The member responded that the U.S.A. was the first and only, and the new administration has reaffirmed Donald Trump's position on it.
Are the Conservatives saying that those 150 nations and their leaders should be ashamed of themselves because they are not informed or aware of what is taking place in China? Are they that naive to believe that world leaders around the globe are not aware of what is happening in China? Of course they are. The promotion of protection of human rights is integral to our foreign policy. All Canadians take human rights very seriously. It is part of our values.
We do not need to be told by Conservative political spinners that we are doing a poor job when we have in fact done a good job of ensuring that the interests of Canadians and values we hold so close in our hearts are well represented around the world. The Prime Minister of Canada, in whatever part of the world he happens to be in or whatever group he is speaking to, will talk about the important issue of human rights and the values Canadians have for it. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, whether the current or previous minister, is doing likewise, ensuring that the values Canadians hold so close are being espoused around the world.
Yes, the United States did classify it as a genocide. I hear members around the chamber talk about the subcommittee on foreign affairs and its fine work. Even Liberal members have talked about it being a genocide.
I posed a question for my New Democratic colleague about possibly having that committee deal with this motion. I asked if there would be any harm in allowing the foreign affairs committee to take a look at it, given its very nature.
China is not a country of five million people. China has over 1.2 billion or 1.3 billion people. The economic and social tentacles in China scour the world. Do we think it is that simple? I do not believe that for a moment. I would have liked to see this motion go to the foreign affairs committee before it came to the House, because we could have benefited from seeing what that committee might come back with. The committee has easily demonstrated it can in fact put party politics to the side and come up with recommendations. It has demonstrated that.
When I posed the question for the member for St. John's East, his response to me was “Perhaps we could have done this a week from now or two weeks from now after the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development has dealt with the report of the subcommittee, but we are aware of the essence of it.” That is what the New Democratic member had to say when I presented what I thought was a fairly simple suggestion.
The Conservatives are more focused on trying to score political points than they are on the human rights issue. I know that might upset some, and my apologies for those who are actually being genuine on this. However, not all Conservatives are genuine in wanting this to happen. They are more interested in trying to bash the Prime Minister and give a false impression that this government is not doing what it should be on this file. Nothing could be further from the truth.
It was interesting to hear the member for Wellington—Halton Hills. On February 8, he was on Power Play, CTV. If we declare it a genocide, there is an obligation for us to take some actions. I believe that to be the case. The member for Wellington—Halton Hills said on Power Play, “Well, we're not saying that a boycott is necessarily the way to go.”
We believe that a genocide is taking place, but our primary responsibility is to protect Canadians and their interests. As a small country relative to a superpower, China, we cannot act alone. That has been made clear to us over the last several years. Whatever we do has to be in concert with our allies, including the United States, Japan, Australia and so many others. Everything should be on the table as we work to defend these interests and values.
Let us look at what the Minister of Foreign Affairs said a bit earlier today about working along with international partners. It does not mean we cannot pass this motion. However, some of the commentary that has been put on the record today to try to politicize what is taking place is unfair. The Minister of Foreign Affairs talked about an agreement that was achieved with many countries collectively. This is in regard to the two Michaels who are still in captivity in China. The minister stood with nearly 60 other countries at the launch of the declaration against arbitrary detention in the state-to-state relations. That is a clear demonstration that this government understands and appreciates, as I believe most members do if we take away the political spin, working with international partners to try to resolve the many issues that China brings to our table. This is the direction we need to take.
The stories and examples are very heartbreaking and they give a high sense of anger in all who speak on the issue of genocide. I do not understand how a human being, let alone a government, can be so cruel to another human being. I will never accept that, but the Prime Minister—