Mr. Chair, I would like to ask the member for Westmount—Ville-Marie a question concerning the role of sanctions.
I know he mentioned the diplomatic efforts of François Hollande and Angela Merkel, and the lengthy and ongoing, 18 hours I think, negotiations to get the Minsk agreement, which was denounced by the Conservative government. It at least provided a framework where the tone was turned down a little, with the question of the sanctions for the ceasefire holding perfectly still at large.
On the point of sanctions, have there been enough sanctions and have they been specific enough on whether they are conditional? Will these sanctions be there forever, as long as Crimea is in the hands of Russia, or are they sanctions such that some are there forever until that happens and others may be conditional upon the behaviour of the Russian federation in what it does in eastern Ukraine? Would the member care to comment on the value of sanctions and what they actually are for?