Mr. Speaker, Montreal is the home of McGill University, an outstanding national and international world-renowned educational institution.
Sunday on Parliament Hill I had the honour of hosting members of the Ottawa Alumni Chapter, highlighting the achievements of the McGill Middle East Program in Civil Society and Peace Building.
This program is partially funded by the Canadian International Development Agency and was designed by Dr. Jim Torczyner in conjunction with the McGill Consortium for Human Rights Advocacy Training.
Four fellows of the master student program, Jordanians, Israelis and Palestinians, described how their studies enable them to work together on their communities' common problems of human development. Their shared goal is to create a better social infrastructure and democratic institutions in their region.
The people to people program advances the cause of peace by promoting civil society. It is an undertaking in collaboration with universities in Jordan, Israel and Palestine by McGill and CIDA, enhancing the security of the Middle East.