Mr. Chair, having immigrated from Poland, my colleague comes from a country that has an extremely close relationship with Ukraine because at times there has in fact been no separation.
A few days ago the Prime Minister received the top award that could be presented to someone who is not a citizen of Ukraine. At that very time our Minister of Foreign Affairs used some strong language on what this action against Yulia Tymoshenko could mean to the relationship between Canada and Ukraine. He said:
Today’s developments may have serious consequences for our bilateral relationship.
In diplomatic terms, that is very strong language.
Members across are asking what Canada will do. It has already done a lot. It is a process and we have to continue taking steps. We all hope that this take note debate will be an important event in that process.
I ask the member to comment on the importance of the Prime Minister receiving that top award at the same time these other unfortunate events are happening. It seems contradictory. The member would understand what is happening in Ukraine better than most people. I would ask him to comment on that.