I would just like to more broadly amplify what Ms. Afshin-Jam was talking about at one point with respect to the embracing of homegrown pro-democracy activists—women, youth, and otherwise.
In addition to being president of my own NGO, Freedom Now, I'm also a visiting fellow with the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington. That organization, as many of you may or may not be aware, is a quasi-governmental organization that receives congressional appropriations to support homegrown democracy activists around the world, to help them with capacity building, training, such things as radio broadcasting, and funding for day-to-day activities.
These days, from the United States' perspective, democracy promotion has been given a bad name globally, but I think the Government of Canada is very well positioned to create an analogous organization up here in Canada. Rights & Democracy is very well known worldwide for its excellent work, but almost as a parallel organization, an organization to provide substantial financial support to democracy movements around the world, including those that operate in Iran. I think it would be a very positive step forward for Canada to get more engaged globally in taking a principled foreign policy approach that matches rhetoric with financial support, frankly, for those whose values are consistent with the values of Canadians.