Of course. I am here before this committee by invitation as it commences a study on systemic racism and religious discrimination—all forms of it. I'm really looking forward to how this committee tackles this issue, looking for that testimony of experts from all across the board to see how we can better define the relationships we have between each other as Canadians and how we can work together.
I will give an example. I've had many conversations with a lot of people in my riding. One day I was sitting with Erin Mills United Church, and some of the members of that church expressed that they were first-generation immigrants from Portugal. They spoke about the issues that they faced. We talked at length about what kind of issues communities face, not only when they are newcomers here in Canada, but also as minorities that are impacted, that need that extra help, that are vulnerable. We came to a conclusion as we spoke: if you remove the type or the identity of the person—race, creed, religion—and look at the body of the type of discrimination, it seems that all minorities have gone through it at some point.
It's so important for this committee and for us as parliamentarians to take on this task at a time when Canada really needs to work hard to build those bridges, to work together between us as policy-makers and between our grassroots organizations, our civil society, and Canadians at large. The experts who will come before this committee will, I'm sure, inform this committee on all types of systemic racism and religious discrimination. I'm sure that the recommendations that will be provided will be fantabulous and will work towards a better and stronger Canada.