Mr. Speaker, Dr. Donny George Youkhanna is the research director of the Iraq museum in Baghdad. He witnessed firsthand the looting and destruction that followed the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime, and has worked tirelessly to try to recover the priceless antiquities that have gone missing.
Dr. Youkhanna has been giving lectures in Ontario this week informing Canadians of the current archeological and museum conditions in Iraq.
Dr. Youkhanna has been a long time crusader and caretaker of Iraq's rich heritage of antiquities, working as a staff member with the Iraq museum since 1976.
Thanks to his efforts, Canadians are better informed of the vast damage to the world's historic artifacts and to what is being done now within Iraq and within the global community.
On behalf of my fellow parliamentarians and, I am sure, all Canadians, I want to welcome Dr. Youkhanna who is in Ottawa today.