Resuming a debate calling the attention of the Canadian Senate to the deteriorating human rights situation of the Baha'is in Iran, Senator Hugh Segal said that the suffering heaped on Baha'is is "neither isolated nor peripheral. It is systematic and brutal, especially when the Baha'i are known as a peaceful faith that embraces the sanctity of all religions. The official Iranian oppression of Baha'i is more than the canary in the mineshaft. It is a clarion call to humanity and to free peoples and democracies everywhere to look directly at the harsh colors of the Iranian reality and not look away until the challenge is faced head on."