Hon. Leo Housakos (Acting Deputy Leader of the Opposition): My question is for the government leader in the Senate.

Time and time again, Taiwan has shown its commitment to global public health and humanitarianism. In the early days of COVID-19, Taiwan sent Canada life-saving PPE, and just days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Taiwan sent Ukraine 27 tonnes of medical supplies followed by another 650 tonnes of additional supplies in the month of March. This is despite, of course, Taiwan’s continued exclusion from international fora dedicated to health care.

Last week the health committee of the other place gave its support for the full participation of Taiwan in both the World Health Assembly and the World Health Organization.

Senator Gold, what concrete action will the Trudeau government take to include Taiwan in the WHO and, more pressingly, to include Taiwan in the World Health Assembly later this month?

Senator Housakos: Senator Gold, with all due respect, we have heard our government constantly say that we are all in this crisis together. The truth of the matter is Taiwan has walked the talk. They have stepped up and helped the international community with PPE and other health care support.

At the end of the day, I think we have an obligation to work closely with countries that are such a model and are aligned with us when it comes to the defence of human rights and the defence of the rule of law and all the rest of it. We should not be listening to regimes that don’t align with us on human rights and our belief in democracy and all the rest of it.

If we are genuine about aligning ourselves with strong allies who serve as models, why is the government not taking a strong stance and insisting Taiwan be included in the World Health Assembly which is going to be taking place in three weeks?