Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague not only for his question but also the tremendous service he has given Canada and democracy in Ukraine by being a co-sponsor of the motion we are debating this evening.
As the member would know, I had the opportunity to go to Kharkiv on two occasions, once on my own and once with the foreign affairs committee, to try to meet with Mrs. Tymoshenko. Clearly her imprisonment is politically motivated and just an example of what the government of Yanukovych is willing to do to repress political freedom in that country.
Mrs. Tymoshenko should be released. We have demanded that she be released. Canada was at the forefront of sending a medical team to Kharkiv to examine her in the prison hospital to find out what her medical problems were and to ensure that she got the proper medical treatment. We demand that she be released as part of any political process going forward. It is absolutely necessary to restore faith in democracy and it would be a good sign if the government of Ukraine were to release her immediately.