We pride ourselves on our democratic traditions, but in Canada, women couldn't vote until 1918, Asians until 1948, and First Nations people living on reserves until 1960.

The Canada we see in this report does not reflect the one we hold in our hearts,

The Canada we see in this report does not reflect the one we hold in our hearts, ... Canadians expect more and they expect better. We should be outraged that we are among the worst in the industrialized world.

My personal political convictions are rooted in the populist political traditions of western Canada.

Given the different national conditions of China and Canada and given our different history and cultural traditions, it is quite normal for our two countries to have different views about human rights.

Many instances of persecution and killing have occurred in countries with atrocious human rights records such as Sri Lanka, Guatemala and the Democratic Republic of Congo.