Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank all the witnesses.
Thank you for being here, Mr. Minister. I was really looking forward to talking to you. It's been a long time.
On December 22, 2021, the United Nations passed Resolution 2615, calling for us to amend our legislation to allow humanitarian organizations to work in Afghanistan.
On February 7, 2022, I first asked the question to the Special Committee on Afghanistan to raise the issue. On February 22, 2022, I introduced a motion seeking unanimous consent to allow our non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, to work on the ground there. Your government rejected it. In fact, I believe it was the Minister of Justice who blocked it at the time.
you appeared before the Parliamentary committee, Mr. Minister, as did the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and the Minister of International Development. You all appeared and agreed that there was a problem and it needed to be addressed.
Why did it take you over a year, Mr. Minister?