Let's take a little step back. I was asked that question in question period in the House, when you only have 30 seconds to answer. So I'm pleased to be able to give you more details today. Mr. Blais, who is with us today, has been the negotiator from the outset, and he has gone through the process with Judith. So the three of us will answer the question. I'll also let Mr. Blais confirm my answer in legal terms.
First, we know that the Government of Canada has been very firm since 1995. It said that culture was excluded from every treaty until the draft agreement was signed. The government has never deviated from that initial position. This shows that the Government of Canada firmly intends to say that culture cannot be negotiated at the WTO in the same way as other industrial products, such as softwood lumber or any other product. So we've decided to get organized to have an international convention. There's been a lot of talk about that with regard to La Francophonie.
When I was Quebec's Minister of Culture, Mr. Toubon and I discussed the will to protect culture, but particularly Francophone culture. It was Canada that decided to say that that entire debate about La Francophonie should be taken to the international level because it concerned all countries and because it was fundamentally important that it not be a solely Francophone debate, but a global debate. That's the intention.
Now we want recognition of the right of countries to implement policies that support cultural diversity, as well as the dual nature of cultural services, which have a trade value, but also a social value.
However, the more we want to include countries in our global talks, the more ways there are of interpreting the notion of cultural diversity. With regard to cultural diversity, an effort was made to define culture etymologically, which encompasses ways of living, ways of acting and religious priorities, something that we, together with France, the European countries and other countries, reject. That's why we've shifted from the notion of cultural diversity to the notion of diversity of cultural expressions.
There are always these attempts. When people talk about culture, we want them always to refer to the UNESCO convention. In other words, since culture is excluded from the WTO, we want the convention to prevail when people talk about culture. However, we don't want the International Convention on the Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Contents and Artistic Expressions to prevail over certain UN conventions, such as the human rights convention. We have to maintain this balance because we must not jeopardize what has been established with regard to human rights, in particular the place of women in modern society. That's what balance is.
I'm going to answer other questions, and Jean-Pierre will be able to add some things.