Mr. Chair, I would like to thank our honourable colleague from Louis-Saint-Laurent for her speech. Her very perceptive regional overview demonstrated a clear understanding of the situation and great concern for the neighbouring countries in the region that have already been heavily affected by this conflict.
On this side of the House, we intend to continue to develop a Canadian policy on Syria that takes into account the challenges faced by our allies, our partners in the region, and that supports them as they come to grips with the growing disarray stretching out beyond Syrian borders.
Does she not agree, however, that the most destabilizing factor, the factor which is most likely to leave the Syrian population without protection, is the actions of the Assad regime, and the presence of this individual at the head of the Syrian state? Does she not agree that despite the efforts being made in the region to help neighbouring countries deal with the situation, Canada's priority must be measures to force Assad to relinquish power, and to increase pressure from the international community so that the Kofi Annan action plan can be implemented?