Foreign Affairs committee  I don't think it's fundamentally healthy. We've seen a lot in the last several years, when you scratch the veneer, some of the institutions crumble relatively quickly. While many people look to American democracy, that's changing. In relative terms, Canada's standing and our approach to democracy has significantly enhanced in many people's minds.

Foreign Affairs committee  Very briefly on technology, I really commend the committee, because I know that in the past you've talked about technology and this issue, recognizing its importance, and also recognizing that many of us talk about technology as though it's so-called gender neutral, as though it's something that's a great equalizer and it affects men and women in the same way.

Foreign Affairs committee  I'd say the biggest way we can deal with this long term and fundamentally is by enhancing our critical thinking skills. This is something that I've sharpened through engagement with a lot of women, working to counter poles of violent extremism and radicalization around the world.

Foreign Affairs committee  My biggest concern, should there be the creation of an institute, would be to ensure that it wouldn't absorb too much funding away from local civil society organizations and networks. I can see a lot of compelling reasons why it would be useful for coordination and enabling the benefits that comes from arm's-length government.

Foreign Affairs committee  Sure. It's always been very difficult to quantify the cost of exclusion, but we're seeing that there's a strong correlation between countries that behave in ways that are, over time, costly to us—as you were saying, generating refugees, not playing by the rules in terms of trade internationally—and the ways they treat women internally.

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes. Some of the first ways that women experience the shrinking of space for their work is through a reduction in freedom of movement, a suffocation of space. They're either less likely to be able to assemble internally within the country and meet together or to travel internationally.

Foreign Affairs committee  I would love to. Thank you.

Foreign Affairs committee  [Inaudible—Editor] always all for parliamentary oversight.

Foreign Affairs committee  Exactly as the speakers in the previous session mentioned, some of the biggest challenges we're seeing right now are with the most fragile or perhaps regressive democracies. I believe they call them shallow. They are the ones who have taken steps at an architectural level very quickly and have either not had the cultural change underpinning them or been genuinely inclusive.

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes, I would agree completely and say just two things. One is what we heard earlier about the need for a shared political objective. It's exactly as you're saying. It has to be a political objective that is shared across parties in order for this to be sustainable. Then, to pick up on something which Mr.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for letting me appear from Washington. It would be cruel to tell you about the weather here today, so I won’t. Given that I am perhaps just slightly less well known in Canada than the Honourable Ed Broadbent, I thought I'd give you a bit of context on where I come from on this issue.