Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I am very happy and pleased that we are having this discussion in the open. This is an important discussion around something that has been on Canadians' minds for the last several months, if not years.
This foreign affairs committee is tasked with studying matters that relate to what is happening on the global stage. Right now, what's happening in the Middle East is top of mind for not only Canadians but people across the globe. As so many of my colleagues from all parties have mentioned, we mourn the loss of all life that has happened since October, regardless of one's faith or ethnicity or one's background within the Middle East. We mourn the loss of life of every innocent person. Each and every life that has been taken unjustly and wrongly in this conflict is a tragedy, and that's why this committee must be seized by this issue.
I think of Vivian Silver, who dedicated her life to building peace for everyone in the region. She was Israeli, but she was tragically killed on October 7. She dedicated her life to building a better future for everyone within the region, and I think that is the spirit with which we need to approach this issue, this study, the topic of and the conversation about the Middle East.
In my riding, I speak with people who are connected to the region in multiple ways, but one thing that always rings true is that everyone is feeling the same emotions, including sadness, guilt and pain. There are so many different emotions people are feeling. The thing is that everyone is feeling the same thing, and it's important for us to recognize that. It allows us to also firmly remind ourselves that, while we're feeling this pain and seeing this tragedy and nightmare unfold, each and every one of us at this committee has to be committed to peace. We have to be committed to building a better future for everyone within the region, regardless of faith or ethnicity. That should be top of mind as we enter this conversation and this vote, top of mind as we hopefully study this in the future, and top of mind in each and every interaction we have with Canadians, with each other and with the subject matter.
It's important to remind ourselves about that, because oftentimes we get caught up in our silos, and our silos are not going to help us build true peace in the Middle East. Our silos will maintain the status quo.
The study in this motion that we have in front of us now talks about the Middle East globally. It is an opportunity for us at this committee to look at how we can build true peace in the region. It is a motion that recognizes Canada's position—the common position we have across this table, no matter what side we're sitting on—of a two-state solution. It is a solution that, when realized, will be in everyone's best interest, regardless of which border one lives across and regardless of what ethnicity somebody happened to be born with or had the good fortune to be born with. This is, I would suggest, a way in which we could approach this.
I plead with you, committee members. While some of you may not feel this motion is perfect, I ask you to support it and also to raise the points that you want to raise and challenge the elements you want to challenge. That's the work we do in Parliament and those are the debates we have in Parliament. This is about the job that we do and what we signed up for when we put up posters and when we were elected. Our job is to debate, to discuss and to make things manifest.
We will not all see the same issue in the same way, eye to eye. However, with respect for each other and while we might differ, this endeavour, this process, will allow us to come to something better, something better than each and every one of us around the table could come up with.
I'll conclude with the reminder that we approach this with this idea in mind: We're here to bring true peace to the region in our small interactions, be it in our local ridings, in Ottawa at the capital, in international fora or wherever we are. That's what we, as elected officials, as leaders, as teachers, should be doing.
I look forward to our debating and discussing this, questioning the witnesses who will come forth and helping move the world in a better direction.
Thank you, Mr. Chair and members, for indulging me.