Business of Supply  I would think that in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, in the aftermath of the second war in Iraq and in the aftermath of what happened in Afghanistan several years ago, we would understand that simply declaring a democracy does not result in one. Democracy is not the result of a declaration.

National Defence committee  Okay. We have the law of armed conflict, and we have the situation in Iraq. How would you intervene and ensure the issue is being addressed from your standpoint?

Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act  While chemical warfare was not ultimately used during that conflict, the threat of its use on a massive scale remained. During the 1980s, we saw that Iraq used chemical weapons against Iran and also against its own Kurdish population. Chemical weapons have been used by the Assad regime in Syria, targeting civilians and deliberately killing hundreds of them.

Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act  Canada has contributed more than $1.6 billion towards threat reduction activities worldwide, including destroying chemical weapons and combatting their spread. This includes supporting the destruction of declared chemical weapons in Russia, Syria, Iraq and Libya. Through the weapons threat reduction program, Canada is the single largest donor country to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which was set up to implement the CWC.

National Defence committee  One of those was that the relevant comparison cases for Ukraine reconstruction are those of European reconstruction throughout the 20th century and 21st centuries. There was too much discussion of Iraq and Afghanistan. The second issue was that discussion of security was missing, and without security, reconstruction will not succeed. They go hand in hand. I'll focus my five minutes on reconstruction.

Veterans Affairs committee  I wanted to share with you a few of those that I've heard recently. Retired sergeant Graham Kerr served four combat tours in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, and he has fought for years with VAC just to get coverage and treatment for his disabilities. Retired lieutenant-commander Dr. Greg Passey says that his claims for support took 29 months to adjudicate while he battled cancer.

Committees of the House  The year 2014 was a pivotal time, as was 2001, when the decision was made by Jean Chrétien to stay out of Iraq and to contribute to Afghanistan and what was taking place there. We have many individuals in our caucus who are accepting of issues such as women's rights and education for children. I would suggest they are universally accepted.

Committees of the House  The Iranian regime has long been recognized as a state sponsor of terror through its support of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Syrian regime, Houthi rebels in Yemen, extremist militias in Iraq and others. The regime uses proxies in an attempt to shelter itself from direct retaliation, but we should be under no illusions about its responsibility. When it comes to war and terrorism, at least in the Middle East, all roads lead back to Tehran, and this is a key reason Conservatives have long called for the listing of the IRGC as a terrorist organization, particularly since the House of Commons adopted my motion calling for that listing more than five years ago.

Foreign Affairs committee  Canada has been consistently among the top six official development assistance donors in each of the four countries in the Middle East under the strategy, those being Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Two hundred million square metres of land have been cleared of explosives in Iraq and Syria. We provided some specialized training in the region, as well as equipment, and $1.5 billion just in terms of humanitarian assistance to ensure that folks have the proper food, water and shelter, and improved education.

National Defence committee  Recently the CBC came out with a report on the training and weapons that Canadian Armed Forces was providing to war criminals in Iraq. Canadian soldiers tried to warn their superiors in Ottawa about what they were seeing. War criminals were showing them videos and bragging about gruesome torture, rape, and extrajudicial killings.

Foreign Affairs committee  In this respect, Iran's rhetoric in support of Hamas, statements by the terrorist group Hezbollah and the launching of rockets into and towards Israel and American forces by actors affiliated with Iran and Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen are all deeply concerning. Canadian representatives at all levels are continuing to work with our partners in the region and around the world to deal with the situation. The government remains determined to enforce international law and support the right of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security.

Foreign Affairs committee  This funding will allow for programming of Global Affairs Canada's continued implementation of the strategy to address instability in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. There is $63.6 million to support Global Affairs Canada's implementation of Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy through increased engagement in the Indo-Pacific region and enhanced economic linkages and trade and investment ties with the Indo-Pacific partners.

Foreign Affairs committee  The ICC is not an especially well-funded court. It gets, I think, the equivalent of an hour of military expenditure from the Iraq war, less than sports teams get on this continent, and it has all of its jurisdiction to deal with and so many different situations. Again, under the best of circumstances, it might be able to prosecute a handful of individuals, but the litany of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other allegations that we're seeing, I think demand something in addition to just the ICC.

Fall Economic Statement  All of this was despite a once-in-a-lifetime financial crisis in the U.S. and wars in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and, yes, Ukraine. It is funny how those wars did not cause inflation when Prime Minister Harper was leading our economy. It is true that when the Prime Minister took office, Canada was rich, affordable and safe.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  We have increased our budgetary allocation to reach children with disabilities to at least 5% of every program. You can see the kind of work we do with local organizations in Iraq and Colombia, to mention just a few. So far, we have reached over 100,000 children, who then receive Braille typewriters, sign language interpretation, long canes and infrastructure that will enable them to go to school.