Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the hon. member for participating in this very important discussion at this late hour. I will not say “debate”, because I think we are in agreement here.
The hon. member has been very active in Edmonton in an activity I have also been engaged in: combatting trafficking of girls and women. Before Christmas I attended a session sponsored by a group in Edmonton, the Maple Leaf group, at which an author spoke about the depth of the problem with the trafficking of Ukrainian girls and women.
I think it is important to keep in perspective that judicial reform and democratic reform have many components and that there are many in our non-governmental sector, in addition to the government sector, who may well be able to provide assistance. It is my experience in working internationally that it is often much better for the federal government to provide money to non-governmental organizations, which in turn can work with the NGOs in that other country.
I wonder if she would speak to that point. Those are the kinds of initiatives through which Canada could actually do good work with a smaller amount of money.
With the decline of the judicial process and the rule of law in Ukraine, many are falling through the cracks, and they include the girls and women being trafficked both into Ukraine from other nations as well as out of Ukraine to Canada and other countries.
Does the member agree that there may be innovative ways that Canada could provide assistance in a very economical way?