Mr. Chair, I would like to start by personally acknowledging the long-standing commitment of the member for Edmonton Strathcona to Ukraine and the work she has done over many years in supporting Ukraine, very much in collaboration with and on behalf of her constituents.
The member referred to the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement. I know that my colleagues in the New Democratic Party are not always wildly enthusiastic about trade agreements, so I was particularly pleased that the NDP supported, together with the rest of the House, the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement. That says a lot about the cross-party support in this House for Ukraine and a lot about the understanding we all have that supporting Ukraine economically is such a central part of the support we can give that country.
As I said earlier, I share with the member opposite a real admiration for and belief in the power of Ukrainian civil society. That is probably the strongest element of Ukraine right now. It is what Ukraine really has going for it: an active, engaged, often querulous, courageous, unafraid-to-criticize-the-government civil society, particularly with very engaged young people.
Canada's government and Canadian civil society are very closely engaged with Ukrainian civil society. We are already working hard to support them. However, I would agree with the member opposite that this is a group of people we should be working closely with and supporting.
The member opposite referred to the parliamentary internship program. A lot of us have worked with Ukrainian parliamentary interns. It has been a pleasure for me to go to Ukraine and discover how many members of this new democratic government of Ukraine cut their teeth learning about democracy in this House. I certainly join with the member opposite in strongly supporting that effort.