Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  First of all, I think, is to recognize the fact that these individuals who are coming in have a lot of heavy baggage. In addition they're coming to a new country and are being faced with the potential socio-economic challenges of moving to a new country. Of course, it goes withou

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you for that question. I've seen initiatives such as the one I mentioned before with Page Rwanda, our academic fund, and also sort of like a community providing a safe space to express oneself. They also did a project with Concordia to record stories and encourage other p

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Absolutely. I do agree. Thank you very much.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes, absolutely. That would be a great way to contribute directly. It could be a program to bring Rwandan physicians to Canada to study psychiatry, or bring graduates from high school and college programs to Canada to study psychiatry and become doctors, and then they'd go back t

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  In Rwanda currently? I'm not sure of the number. It has maybe improved, although not in a very viral manner. I'm not sure if the quality has gone up or gone down. I have not done that type of research. I think there are more universities than there were in 1994, but I'm not sure

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  That's a good question. The harm that was present for me is no longer there. I have done my groundwork and it's now in existence, and I'm happy to say that I will be honoured to go back.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Absolutely, and I thank the honourable member very much for the question. I have a very good friend who was the first Rwandan to be accepted in the faculty of law at McGill. He graduated in 2011. In his last year of law school, he interned at the Supreme Court in Rwanda. Lo a

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much, honourable Mr. Cotler, for that important question. For your first question, yes, I think Canada needs to provide development assistance to Rwanda, because for me it's a humanitarian issue. As you mentioned, despite the fact that Rwanda is enjoying a very hi

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Again, thank you for that important question. My experience in Canada has been extremely positive. Again, I made mention of how I consider myself to be very lucky, because when I enrolled as an undergraduate student at Concordia, I received a lot of support from my community at

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I haven't been to Rwanda since 1994, and in terms of whether or not Tutsis feel comfortable in Rwanda, I would probably not be the best person to comment. But from what I've heard—one of my relatives lives in the country; she moved there a few years ago—a tremendous effort has be

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  That's a very complicated question. I appreciate the question. Concerning the gacaca courts, in the Rwandan culture we have always had a situation whereby, if a conflict arises between two parties, the village comes together, and you sit and you resolve the issue. Because there

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you for that question. Canada's response at the time, in 1994, was not, probably.... It was not enough, but since that time, I think Canada has done a lot. It's important to note that a Canadian army official who was working under the UN mission did a lot to convince New Y

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Yes.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you for that question. I would say that I was a lucky survivor of the genocide, because in my own family's experience, the reason I am able to be here today is first, hard work by my parents, and second, hard work in school. I was able to win scholarships based on academic

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you for that question. I think there are tremendous opportunities for collaboration and partnership between the local community in Montreal and internationally with Rwanda and Rwandans. There is an amazing organization in Montreal, Page Rwanda, that has been doing tremen