Mr. Chair, it is tough for me and for many people in the democratic world to watch what is happening in Ukraine.
With regard to the Prime Minister receiving the highest award from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, it is a great recognition of the government's contribution toward a free Ukraine and freedom in Ukraine.
With respect to the question of what impact what is happening here will have in Ukraine, I can speak from personal experience.
In 1981, I was still in Poland. The communist government in Poland introduced martial law to break up the first independent labour movement in that part of Europe under the Soviet regime. People were glued to their radios and TVs in the hope that the world would support us. The world did support us. Thanks to other democratic societies, Poland was successful. Then Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and other countries were successful in their fight for democracy, as well as Ukraine. We should fight for them all together here as should all democratic countries in the world.