Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Ms. Rottenberg and Ms. Murphy.
I think we are pretty much in agreement on the importance of this, but having you as witnesses to our committee allows us to put on the parliamentary record the broader issues that we often don't get a chance to discuss.
In my 19 years of political life, I've never gotten the opportunity to quote my favourite quote of all, from Dostoevsky in The Brothers Karamazov: “I am sorry I can say nothing to console you, for love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing.... Love in dreams is greedy for immediate action, rapidly performed and in the sight of all.... But active love is labor and fortitude”.
I want to start with that because of the question of the enormous undertaking of adoption.
Let's begin, Ms. Murphy. You've said that you adopted internationally. I have people in my life who were adopted from very precarious situations internationally and who blossomed, but we also know that there are serious questions raised about international adoption: white saviourism, loss of culture, loss of identity and people who think they want to be parents and then aren't.
How do you frame this extraordinary effort of bringing a child from a completely different culture into our country? How do we make sure that it works and that it will be for the long term and for the benefit of all?