Mr. Chair, it is a great privilege to participate in this take note debate. I have appreciated the move toward more conviviality in this place. That is what I experienced in the last take note debate. I had a high regard for all of the members in every part of this place. We are all in this together. We are all Slava Ukraini.
New Democrats, as I know do the other parties in this place, stand with the people of Ukraine. My colleagues and I express our deepest condolences to the people of Ukraine for those who lost their lives and those who remain seriously injured. I know that all members in this House tonight share those condolences. We are relieved that the violence has come to an end. We are hopeful that violence will not start up again.
My colleagues and I have been trying to follow closely and there have been missives coming hourly from all parts of the globe, and particularly from Ukraine and Ukrainians across the globe, updating us on what is going on. I understand that as we speak the new Ukrainian government has been formed, and in a few minutes I will speak about the incredible conditions it is trying to place on who it is appointing into its cabinet.
We continue to take guidance from the people of Ukraine, those who we can communicate with in these difficult times, and with the Canadian Ukrainian community. As other colleagues mentioned occurred in their hometown, in Edmonton more than 200 people showed up in very frigid temperatures for a memorial to those who lost their lives in Ukraine. Following that, as my colleague from Edmonton East mentioned, there was a gathering at a residence for Ukrainian students at the University of Alberta to appreciate and look at the posters that were produced during that time in December to try to encourage people to come to the square and to support the rising of the populace toward a more just society. It was very powerful. If members have the opportunity to have the show come to their town, I would encourage it. It is brilliant.
As many have mentioned, there are almost 1.5 million people of Ukrainian descent in this country. A good many of those are in my province of Alberta and in the city, which I know the hon. member for Edmonton East has shared. In my own constituency, there are many of Ukrainian descent. I have mentioned before that I have had the privilege to share in a beautiful Ukrainian feast on Christmas Eve. The more time I spend with my Ukrainian Canadian friends, the more I think that maybe a bit of me might become Ukrainian. If one lives in Alberta long enough, he or she is bound to pick it up in a certain way.
Free speech and the right to peaceful protests are fundamental to any democracy. That is what Ukrainians are calling for. It is important that as free Canadians, all of us should share some of our time and resources to support them to achieve that which they desire so strongly.
We are pleased that the government has sent a delegation over. We are disappointed however that it did not include representatives of the opposition. I am hopeful that in the next delegations that go, we will have representatives from all parties. Why is that? Because Ukraine itself is now forming a government of many parties together. Maybe even some of the people from the Party of Regions have stepped up to the plate, to join in a more democratic form of government. Therefore, it is important that we show good faith and show that co-operation is possible.
The Ukrainian Canadian community, including the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, has called on Canada to show leadership in the international community. I know that all of us are turning to the UCC for leadership. We all have components of that in our own communities. The UCC is calling for us to support the Ukrainian people to achieve a lasting political solution that includes justice for human rights victims and respect for democratic freedoms. It is my understanding that those measures are on the forefront of the considerations and conditions for appointment to their new government.
To date, there has been a lot of support by Canada to the economic and democratic development of the Ukraine. Back in 2009, I think Ukraine was designated as one of the priorities for Canadian aid through CIDA. Considerable money was dedicated, a lot of which was not only for economic development, particularly in small and medium industries, but also for civil engagement to a certain extent. A year and a half ago, a number of the members in the House today participated in a mission to Ukraine to look into concerns about the erosion of the rule of law and democracy.
We met with chambers of commerce, human rights activists, and opposition and government members. We certainly heard a lot of ideas on measures they would like to take and how we could support them. It is incumbent upon us to be working with other nations around the world to figure out a way for the government of Ukraine to put measures in place so that it can start combatting the corruption, which is endemic in its society.
I have worked in other countries where there is the same problem of corruption. It stems from simply not paying their civil servants enough, who then get on the take so they can survive and look after their families. That is going to be one of the biggest challenges the Ukraine government will face and will require some international expertise in. It has been offered to other nations around the world, and I think that is one of the areas where Canada can really contribute.
Our delegation that went with Foreign Affairs made a number of recommendations to the Government of Canada out of that. We all unanimously agreed. There were a couple of additional ones that our party made. However, we did advocate, immediately and forcefully, for the prompt release of political leaders. Of course, we are all grateful that Tymoshenko has been released. There are others who have been in prison. There are others who have had to leave the country and hopefully, they will be able to come back and participate fairly in Ukraine.
We called for the strengthening of the rule of law. Of course, that has been what has fallen apart. What I am hearing a lot from people, including members of parliament in Ukraine, is it would be absolutely critical that the new government move toward justice for all and toward democracy, not revenge. Coming out of the heat of the moment and the reprehensible killing of people in the streets, there will be a lot of calls for revenge against the police and judges who allowed these activities. It is incumbent on us to send experts to work with Ukraine's department of justice and its police. We have done that before in other nations, and I think we can do that again.
Out of that mission, the New Democrats, particularly, called for a careful look at protecting Canadian investments in Ukraine and making sure they are protected from corruption. I spoke to a representative of the Canadian Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce just today, before I came to the debate. He said that a number of people in Canada are looking into some kind of investment fund that Canadians could invest in to support Ukraine. However, they want to be very careful that there will be stronger measures to protect against corruption, because we want to protect Canadian investments.
Certainly, Ukraine is cash-strapped. We have heard the pleas for support. It may well have lost the Russian support and it will need a major infusion of cash just to keep its government going, let alone its economy. One thing Canada could do, and it has shown leadership in the past—and I was part of that in Indonesia, where Canada gave considerable aid in the 1980s and into the 1990s—is we could show the leadership and bring together the donors from around the world, to sit down and try to coordinate where we could best give the expertise, the assistance, and the dollars, and where they could be targeted to move Ukraine forward in the best way.
As the Ukrainians are expressing very clearly, what went on in the Maidan is not about the EU versus Russia. It is about the call for a just society. We have heard a number of colleagues tonight say let us not talk about Russia versus EU investment and the divide between those who speak Russian and those who speak Ukrainian. It is incumbent upon us to help the Ukrainians to bring all of those divisions together again, and the hope for a united country.
I was going to share some of the terms they have imposed on the cabinet, but I am running out of time. Perhaps in a question I could do that. It is absolutely incumbent on our government, and it has shown that it is recognizing Ukraine's parliament. It may be a little early. They have just established that parliament. Perhaps that will occur when the government delegation is there, or perhaps when they return. Rather than just sending the political delegation, Canada should also be gearing up toward sending a delegation of experts: financial experts, anti-corruption experts, democratic reform experts, and experts in setting up judicial processes. This will be a long-term engagement.
In closing, I would simply say: Slava Ukraini