Mr. Chair, with regard to Venezuela, we remain concerned by the situation. We called for the violence to end. We want the government there also to hold itself to account and to be held to account so there is no further loss of life. We have called for a renewal of dialogue between the government and the opposition.
However, tonight's debate is about Ukraine. We have to remind ourselves that, despite the events that took place over the weekend, most of them heartening, most of them positive from Canada's perspective and that of the Ukrainians, the hard work of building a new, more credible regime, a government more credible in the eyes of the Ukrainian people, is only just beginning. There are challenges. All of us who have worked in eastern Europe and transitional countries know it is extremely difficult, especially in the wake of a regime that was so corrupt and so brutal with its own people.
One challenge is simply delivering honest government, delivering service to people at every level that does not involve a bribe. Also there is the challenge of avoiding the further loss of economic momentum. There has been loss of economic momentum as the protests and chaos grew in Kiev. Thirdly, there is also the whole issue of the rule of law and justice institutions, which are issues in every post-Soviet state but especially in countries like Ukraine where unaccountable oligarchs, true autocrats, and other forms of abuse have been all too present.