Mr. Chair, indeed, the residents of Mississauga South who are Ukrainian Canadians are very concerned about this politically motivated persecution of Yulia Tymoshenko. They are relieved that the Canadian Parliament and Canada's Prime Minister are taking a tough stand against the erosion of democratic rights in Ukraine.
I have spoken to some of them and they are very proud as well that our Prime Minister was given the honour of the Taras Shevchenko medal , the highest honour that can be bestowed by the Ukrainian community on any Canadian. In fact, only two prime ministers in history, the current Prime Minister and Prime Minister Diefenbaker, have been given that award.
We will continue to work on behalf of Ukrainian Canadians living here in Canada, but also to en sure that democracy, freedom, democratic rights and the rule of law return to Ukraine.