Canada has a big role as a democratic country, especially in the crisis in Iraq. The minorities in Iraq are small ethnic groups and are marginalized. Even after 2003, the Christian minorities have had their representatives in the central government, even in the northern region, but still much has to be done. For example, it's all about awareness about the country itself. As I mentioned in my notes at the beginning, Christianity in Iraq goes back to the apostolic in its origin but very little is known by the average Iraqi. So the Iraqi majority think that Christianity is a product of colonial powers or has been embedded in Iraq by the western missionaries.
I remember myself in the mid-1970s when we read about the history of Christianity and other religions, especially in Europe, and about the Reformation at the time of Martin Luther. Nothing was being taught about Christianity in Iraq, that it existed there even before Islam. Even recently, near Kufa in the region of al-Hirah, more than 30 monasteries and churches were uncovered. The people there were astonished to find churches there. That would reveal something. So I think it's more like tolerance, the Christian being accepted. But sometimes the Christians, as a small minority, become more a victim of the superior powers, about certain policies and interests. Even in Iraq nowadays, mostly it's about the Kurds, the Shias, and the Sunnis. You very rarely hear about the Christians, so they're suffering.