Thank you, Chair, and thank you to our witnesses.
Before I begin, I want to put a motion forward at the end of our discussion, just on the estimates. I meant to mention that at the beginning of the meeting, because we need to deal with the estimates. Perhaps I can return to that after our witnesses have been heard, before the committee ends its meeting today.
To both our guests, I want to thank you. You have provided a rich context. I was actually in Erbil in 2007. At the time it was a safe place. It was incredible to see the diversity that you speak of, and our previous guests spoke of, and it's really important for us to note that when we talk about the region, it's a very diverse region and rich in its diversity.
It was interesting also in 2009, here in Ottawa. With some others, I hosted a discussion on what was happening in Iraq and how Canada could help, particularly with the crisis with those minority groups who were leaving. Of course, that was because of the new phenomena called al Qaeda in Iraq who had been targeting some of the groups we've been discussing today.
Some have looked at this and said there were warning signs before ISIS. The manifestation of ISIS wasn't predicted, but the fact of the matter is that this has been happening for quite a while, since 2003. Yes, there was success with the awakening. The problem was, frankly, that the change in government in Washington and the lack of understanding of sticking with the plan was interrupted.
My colleague, Mr. Garneau, and I accompanied Minister Baird to both Baghdad and Erbil. One of the most compelling visits we had was meeting with the Catholic representatives, and also the refugee camps.
One of the things they mentioned to us was in the case of—and I think this applies to the Yazidis who, unfortunately, can't simply move because of their faith, and I think you touched on this. Their faith is based on geography. Anyhow, they mentioned that they can't go back to places like Mosul. They were emphatic about the fact that they want to remain in the region. They have been there for thousands of years. They wanted to see Canada and other donors and supporters help with reconstruction, not for refugee camps but to actually relocate within the region. I think it's a smart thing to be doing, because we don't want to see these historical peoples leave the region.
My first question to both of you is this. How long have you been kind of monitoring what has been happening since 2003? Along with what I've just mentioned, are there other recommendations you have? I think we need to do more than building refugee camps as a stopgap, which is important in the short term, but we have to start looking at longer-term and comprehensive strategies.
What about relocation? If they can't go back home to places like Mosul, should we look in the interim, or maybe medium-term, at relocation help with construction of new places for these people to move to?