Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you for your comprehensive statement, Mr. Bailey.
You mentioned in the conclusion of your remarks that Canada remains actively engaged in efforts to assist the Syrian people in their struggle for their democratic rights. You earlier commented—and rightly so—on the resilience of the Syrian people, and that's something that I appreciated in my own visits there. As you say, the conflict is likely to be long and fraught with difficulties.
I'd like to address three particular initiatives that the Canadian government has been engaged in, in accordance with your remarks and the follow-up on those.
The first is your saying that Canada is committed to helping the non-violent Syrian opposition to gain the skills and resources to achieve a free and democratic Syria. To that effect, there was a $1 million announcement for pro-democracy initiatives on April 1. You then made the point that we are considering additional projects to support the Syrian opposition, both inside and outside of Syria, to help prepare for a post-Assad transition.
What are some of these projects that you're considering when you speak of the opposition to Assad in this particular frame here, as if there is a kind of central opposition? As you otherwise comment, this opposition is fragmented, etc. To what extent are we assisting in the organizing of a coherent and evolving democratic opposition to Assad? That's the first.
The second is on the humanitarian needs. You made reference to humanitarian assistance. As we know, there's been an exponential increase in the number of refugees and there's been an exponential increase in the number of internally displaced people. The UN has put it at 1.5 million, and a larger number of 2.5 million in terms of those more or less affected. What is Canada's contribution beyond the $12 million to which you referred in that regard?
The third thing is the concern in terms of the regional fallout of events. You mentioned that as well, the impact on Syria's neighbours. I'm particularly concerned here about the situation in Jordan, because of the instability that's been developing in Jordan, and its connection to the whole question of protection against chemical weapons risks.
Those are the three issues.