Mr. Chair, each of us has Ukrainian-Canadian communities in our ridings. Certainly across the province of Alberta there is a strong, proud Ukrainian Canadian contingent.
I had the privilege, as the member is aware, of travelling to Ukraine a year and a half ago as part of a foreign affairs delegation. We were precisely looking into these matters. There were concerns with the erosion of democracy and the rule of law in Ukraine and whether or not there would be a fair election. The election was held last October. Of course, we are into elections again.
In the feedback we were given, in addition to what the Ukrainian Canadian Congress is calling for, we had strong presentations from civil society and the media calling for more support by the Canadian government—for example, through CIDA—to enable young Ukrainians to come for visits here and to provide more internships, and also for visits by people working in municipal governments. They have not had a democratic regime for long. They do not have the experience of observing and being part of a democratic regime.
I have not yet heard mention of strong support for freedom of the media. What is going on right now in Ukraine is not different from what we have been hearing has been going on for quite some time. There have been politicians imprisoned for quite some time.
Could the member speak about broader support that Canada could give to help build a democratic foundation in the Ukraine?