Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the hon. member for her question. As a Canadian citizen of Ukrainian and Russian origin, like many Ukrainians here in Canada, I have family there. We have very close relationships with friends and family and it affects us because we are in contact with them. As I said earlier, what is happening there is a bit discouraging. The power is now in the hands of a president who does not represent all of Ukraine but, rather just the eastern region, which is under the influence of Russia. We see it in the country's parliament. Members who come from that region cannot even speak Ukrainian. They give their speeches in Russian. We are monitoring the situation very closely and should continue to do so. We should support Ukraine's citizens so that one day they will be able to have the same rights that we enjoy here in Canada.
In the House of Commons on October 18th, 2011. See this statement in context.