Mr. Chair, I was privileged to be part of the foreign affairs committee that went to Ukraine two years ago. When we were in Kharkiv, we met with a small group of people who were part of the free media. They too were telling us how difficult it was for the free media to have any effect or influence in Ukraine, simply because they did not have enough private sector advertisements to keep the free media functional. I am pleased to tell the House that while I was there, I wrote a personal cheque for $200 to give to this one gentleman who was running his own radio station. I said to him, “I am buying advertising from you. This is a fair exchange of goods and I don't care if the only thing you say is that Lois Brown supports free and fair elections.” However many times $200 would buy, I wanted him to put that advertisement on the radio. I am pleased to say I have supported the free and independent media in Kharkiv and certainly hope that it has the opportunity to continue.
We will continue to do that with our development dollars. We know how important civil society is to the growth of a free and democratic society.