Maria Minna

[Guaranteed Income Supplement, February 24th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the government for fast tracking its commitment to increase the guaranteed income supplement, GIS, for low income seniors. Budget 2005 will raise the total payment by $2.7 billion over five years extending the government's earlier commitment of $1.5 billion. This means that monthly benefits for single seniors will rise by $36 and for couples, $58.

One million, six hundred thousand GIS recipients will benefit from the increase which is being phased in over two years rather than five. Since women account for over one million of the seniors receiving GIS, this is indeed a good news story.

It is also rewarding to have the Minister of Finance recognize the leadership of the women's caucus on this issue.

[Supply, February 15th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, first, I was not at the meeting, so I am not going to comment on that, but I find it incredible that the hon. member thinks children who go to a public school are learning values that are further and further away from families. That would suggest the public school system in this country is not working.

In fact, I think it works very well, especially in a multicultural society where children ought to be together in the same environment, where they are exposed to one another, working together, learning about each other and learning how to respect one another, how to work together and how to be able to build a country together. To be honest, I find the hon. member's comments about the public system not working for many parents because the values are different quite astounding.

[Supply, February 15th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, quite frankly and first of all, I have never said that parents could not give love, attention, affection and guidance to their children, because of course that is fundamentally important and parents do that.

The member is totally wrong about his empirical research when he says it has been shown that the best way to make sure every child gets a better start in life is to ensure that they all have parents staying at home. There is no question: if every parent could stay at home, they might, but quite frankly, not every parent wants to stay at home. This is 2005. Not every parent can afford to stay at home. My mother could never afford to stay home. And not every parent chooses to stay home.

All of the empirical data in fact shows quite the opposite. It shows that early education is absolutely fundamental to the proper start for a child. If the hon. member is saying that every country in the western world except for Canada has a better handle on this, all of the other countries have it all wrong, and all of the data that has been accumulated on the other side, apart from the one that he is referring to, is all wrong, then I think the hon. member is not being very sure.

There is one country that knows where to put its value: on its money. If we look at the money of one country, it shows a mother and a child at the table studying and on the other side it has Mama Montessori. That country understands the value of education. It puts its value on its own money.

[Supply, February 15th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Oak Ridges--Markham.

I will not be supporting the motion before us today. I believe very strongly that our children deserve a better start in life. At least 70% of women in families in Canada work. They work because they have to and they work because they choose to; I do not think it matters why they work. The important thing is that 70% of women in this country do work. I say that only because this issue of child care goes along with the issue of poverty. Child care is a major issue for women who work, especially single parents.

I want to broaden the debate, though, because this is not just about child care. It is not just about childminding. It is not about babysitting. We are not talking about babysitting. We are not talking about looking after children to make sure they are safe. Of course we are talking about children being safe, but also we are talking about the developmental issues. I believe that every child, regardless of whether the parent is working or not, needs to have at least half a day of early education experience.

I am not talking only about assisting families where parents both work or assisting single parent families that need early education and child care in order to be able to work. I am talking about giving all children, regardless of whether the parents work or not, the best start in life. This is extremely important.

It is not about babysitting. It is about early education. It is about providing a quality program, a developmental program, universally inclusive, for everybody, accessible to every child. This is about providing an environment in which every child is encouraged to learn and feel safe. We cannot provide a professional developmental program, a quality program, without having professional staff, and those professional staff need to be well paid and well trained. I believe, of course, that the system should be a not for profit system and should be publicly administered.

I should point out that our caucus has been getting ready for our next convention, coming up in March. We were allowed to prioritize five resolutions for presentation to the national convention and one of those resolutions deals with early education and child care. This shows the importance that our party and our government place on this issue. We also reiterate very clearly in the resolution the importance of the quad principles: quality, universality, accessibility and developmental focus.

We also reiterate in the resolution the importance of a publicly administered, not for profit sector. We remind the Government of Canada to negotiate a requirement that provinces and territories maintain or increase their own child care funding. Because the last time that we negotiated something, in the year 2000, was $2.2 billion with the Province of Ontario, and the Government of Ontario ratcheted back off the table money that it was putting into child care and then opened up new little centres, calling them early education and early learning centres, and put its logo on them. It did this with moneys transferred from the Government of Canada. Children suffered because early education spaces were actually reduced in that province. We do not want that to happen again.

Also in our resolution, we ask the Government of Canada to maintain its current federal funding commitments under the early childhood development and multilateral framework agreements which we already have and were established in the last budget. We are talking about establishing a real commitment to early education for every child across this country.

All our experience shows very clearly that development of the brain or what some people call the wiring of the brain starts at a very early age. Many people have read the Fraser Mustard and McCain report which indicated that brain development starts from the time a child is born. From zero to three years of age, brain development is very rapid. From three to six years of age, it is extremely rapid. By the time the child reaches six years of age, which is when they would generally start grade one, it levels off somewhat, so in a sense we are investing a tremendous amount of money in elementary school, and I am not suggesting that we should not.

In this country we have decided that elementary school is compulsory, that it must be professionally delivered by professional teachers, and that it must have a proper curriculum. Why is it that we are not prepared to give the same advantage to younger children when they are at the most critical time of development in their lives, the early years, which are much earlier than elementary school years? I find it totally astounding that these many years later we are still talking about doing it through tax cuts and whatever instead of looking at the importance of every child.

I am on the finance committee. I hear about the productivity problems that Canada has. I hear about all kinds of things. Members should know that early education goes to the issue of productivity because every child would have the best start. I spoke to the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Mr. Dodge, who made a statement to the finance committee. He said that if he had one dollar left to invest, and one dollar only, and he had to choose, he would invest that dollar in early education. That was said by the Governor of the Bank of Canada, so members need not tell me that this is something we have somehow dreamed up overnight.

The OECD has chastised Canada for being so far behind. Let me tell members about what the OECD countries do and then see whether people here think they somehow have it all wrong, because there are a lot of them. In Europe in general, access rates to publicly run services are high for children aged three years to six years. About 98% of all children receive free full-day places in Belgium and France, about 96% in Italy, and about 85% in Denmark, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the U.K. Many of the same countries also provide highly subsidized places for children from one to three years of age. They have an actual target: to reach 90% of all children aged three years to six years and from zero to three years as well.

I cannot believe that everyone here is saying that Germany, Spain, Sweden, the U.K. and Denmark are somehow off the mark and have it all wrong. Quite frankly, I think we have it wrong and it is about time that we got it right.

The OECD makes some pretty strong recommendations and suggestions to our country with respect to this issue. For instance, six recommendations deal with the aspect of quality: in particular, to link accreditation of services to essential structural requirements, such as adequate funding, sufficient numbers of qualified staff, favourable child/staff ratios, enriched learning environments and resources, and the achievement of quality targets. These are very strong and very good recommendations. I believe that this is very important.

The best examples I have seen in Toronto, where good early education and child care really work, is where child care centres are attached to elementary schools. I have visited a couple of them. Where they are attached to an elementary school, the fantastic thing is that the child has a continuum, the same place to go to, and the parents have a local place to leave their children, the same place where they leave their elder children.

In one instance, the kindergarten teacher comes in to teach in the child care, the kindergarten, in a more formal way for the first half of the morning, and in the afternoon it is more creative, with the early development teachers. The point is that in one case I know of a child was having some difficulty but it was identified early on. Before the child gets to grade 1, grade 2 or grade 3 and is lost in the system, the assistance is given very early on. This creates a seamless approach.

I would say that the challenge we have is not one of whether or not we should provide it, but one of making sure that we actually meet the needs of the different families across the country. Families have different needs, such as families in rural Canada, families who work part time, shift workers, our aboriginal communities and so on. That is where our challenge is; it is not so much in whether or not we do this but in making sure that when we in fact do it every child is included and we do not lose.

This is why we introduced parental leave for all parents as well as what I was very involved with, which was increasing the child benefit for families to ensure that there is proper income for families. This is the last piece that I am convinced we have a moral duty to provide to our children, the last piece to make sure that they have the best possible start in life.

[Finance, February 1st, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the prebudget debate today given that I am a member of the Standing Committee on Finance. I was very involved in getting some of the recommendations in that report, specifically ones that are very dear to my heart.

I will start with the recommendation on children in the Liberal minority report which is a bit different than the main report. The recommendation calls for a national, accessible, affordable, high quality, publicly regulated, not for profit child care system. I would call that an early learning and care program.

We asked for an increase in the Canada child tax benefit provided that no province is permitted to claw back the relief, which is happening now. It is high time for that to stop. In addition to the recommendation, I would like to encourage the government to put all of that in a legislative framework to ensure that we have the same standards across this country.

I would encourage the government to negotiate a requirement that provinces and territories maintain or increase their own child care funding because, as we have seen in the past, the money comes in and some provinces have taken their own commitments off the table.

I would encourage the Government of Canada to maintain current federal funding commitments under the early childhood development and multilateral framework agreements.

I would encourage the Government of Canada to tie provincial and territorial accountability to plans that would include timelines and targets for using federal funds to build universal, publicly funded systems recognizing that provinces and territories would develop their own priorities and related plans. That is very important if we are to build a truly sustainable early learning and child care program across this country.

In the main report of the finance committee, as well as in the Liberal minority report, the environment issue was highlighted quite aggressively. Environment is important in our society. Climate change is a serious issue. We must meet the Kyoto standards that we have set for ourselves. The report referred to quite a number of other things, such as the production, purchase and use of fuel efficient vehicles. It promoted finding appropriate incentives to encourage that. Public transit, including measures relating to the tax treatment of employer financed transit passes, is an issue that has been before our committee for some time.

Renewable and alternative energy development and commercialization, including measures relating to wind energy and fuel cells as well as ethanol and methanol, including brown field development are some other things contained in the Liberal report. The report adds a few other items and I will give the House a bit of the breadth of the discussion that we had in committee on this issue.

The report recommended that the government create some form of incentive in the form of a credit, a deduction or GST relief rebate for the purchase of hybrid motor vehicles. We need to encourage the use of hybrid vehicles.

Instituting and enhancing wind power production by providing incentives was also included in the report. It is important that we increase our efforts in green power production by creating incentives and by extending support to all green power technologies. Renewing and enhancing the Federation of Canadian Municipalities green municipal fund and green municipal investment fund is important because these are partnerships we have with municipalities in the area of environment.

We could do a great deal more in retrofitting buildings and housing and the use of solar panels. In my own riding a laundry is powered by solar panels. The individual who established it, Mr. Winch, won a major international award for the work he has done. He is now embarking on much larger projects. There is a tremendous amount that can be done to meet the Kyoto targets and we must do it.

In speaking about cities and retrofitting, it is important that we keep the commitment we have made to cities. As members know, the government has already introduced and passed in the last budget the rebate of the GST for all municipalities, which is saving a great deal of money. We must also work with cities and develop a tripartite agreement among the provincial, municipal and federal governments to meet all of the needs of our municipalities.

The large cities in our country are not only huge economic engines but also are very complex communities with social, economic and cultural factors. For instance, in the area of immigration and immigrant settlement, it is important that we work with the cities very closely since they are the ones that have to deal with some of the more serious issues with respect to settlement.

On the issue of transportation, it is important that we maintain the commitments we have already made in the areas of transportation and infrastructure in the cities, in addition to the 5¢ of the federal tax which we have committed to introduce in the next budget. I would encourage the government that we in fact do that. The recommendation in our report is very clear with respect to that.

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to work with municipalities and with cities across this country to ensure that we in fact have a very vibrant country. The partnership is very important.

A nation however is more than infrastructure, buildings and mortar. It is also what I call the soul of a country, that is the culture. It is the culture that we share and the culture that we share with the world around us. To that end, I am very proud that I was quite instrumental in pushing for a strong recommendation in this finance report on culture. I would like to read the recommendation because it is very important to note. It states:

The federal government provide stable, long-term funding to the following elements of federal support for arts and culture: the Tomorrow Starts Today program; the Canada Council for the Arts; Telefilm Canada; the Museums Assistance Program; the Community Access Program; the Canadian Television Fund and initiatives designed to promote Canadian culture internationally.

Moreover, the government should increase funding for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Radio-Canada.

As well, the government should allocate funds to build capacity and assist archives with respect to archival content.

Finally, the government should increase the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit to 30%

This is a very important part of our program because our soul and image, and who we are is defined by the culture that we share and the culture that we export abroad as well.

Mr. Speaker, I neglected to say that I am splitting my time with the member for Etobicoke Centre.

I would like to talk a little bit about another commitment that we made in the last election, but certainly a recommendation that is also in this report, and that is seniors. It is critical. We have poverty among seniors in our society, especially unattached seniors, and especially among single women. It is very serious. It is critical that the government move on its recommendation to increase the guaranteed income supplement.

I would recommend that we increase that to the amount committed all at once and not phase it in because the poverty is very serious, and to meet the commitments we have made on home care and family caregivers. These are very important issues for our seniors. We must meet their needs. At the same time, I would recommend that the government establish a long term study on aging because we have some other issues that we must address in the long term.

I want to make one very quick comment with respect to women. It is a fairly long recommendation so I will not be able to do it justice. Women in our society do need to have acknowledgement. Some of the things that I was very strong in recommending and pushing in the Liberal minority report was re-establishing the advisory council on the status of women in Canada and appointing a deputy minister for the department.

It is high time that we at the minimum have a deputy minister who is responsible for women issues in this country, not to mention of course increasing funding for emergency shelters and for employment assistance, as well as self-employment for women and EI. There are a great many other recommendations that I will not go into right now, but I would hope that the government address at the minimum some of those recommendations with respect to women, especially a deputy minister and the advisory council on the status of women.

[Tsunami Relief, February 1st, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour the memory of the more than 200,000 people who perished in the devastating earthquake and tsunamis of December 26.

In my constituency of Beaches--East York, over 300 members of the Sridurka Hindu Temple have lost family members. This incomprehensible tragedy was a call for action, and the people of my riding have responded by uniting and giving generously.

This past weekend I had the privilege of attending a local fundraiser which raised $8,000 for tsunami relief. I would like to thank organizers and participants of this event and, simultaneously, events held across Canada.

I would like to commend the Government of Canada's contribution of $425 million to provide immediate and long term support. Canadians can expect their government to be a continuing leader in efforts to restore and reconstruct Southeast Asia.

I ask all members to join in making a commitment to helping those affected to fully recover.

[Peacekeeping Service Medal, December 8th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay homage to Mr. Domenic Cirone, a constituent of mine and a recent recipient of the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal on behalf of the Department of National Defence.

In 1993 Mr. Cirone was recruited by CARE Canada to work for the United Nations Protection Force. Domenic was dispatched in May 1993 and was stationed in the territories formerly known as Yugoslavia, routinely travelling to wartorn areas of eastern and southern Croatia and northwest Bosnia-Herzegovina. During that time, Domenic exemplified the Canadian spirit while serving on behalf of our country.

Queen Elizabeth II approved the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal in 1997. It recognizes the service of Canadians deployed outside our country with the agreement of the Canadian government in support of United Nations peacekeeping missions. I have the honour of awarding Domenic this prestigious award later this afternoon.

I ask all members of the House to join me in congratulating Domenic on his service and commitment to this country.

[Department of Social Development Act, November 26th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, this legislation is important because it reflects some of our most deeply held values: the belief, for instance, that all Canadians deserve a chance to live rich and rewarding lives, and the genuine concern that our communities express for our most vulnerable members, including children, seniors and people with disabilities.

Bill C-22, which would create the Department of Social Development Canada, is a vehicle through which we can achieve a most worthy goal: to help Canadians translate their ideals into meaningful and effective actions on behalf of the society we all share.

The bill would give legal effect to a transformation that began last December when the former Human Resources Development Canada department was split into two departments, including this new Department of Social Development Canada. Building on the many highly successful programs and services long delivered by HRDC, Social Development Canada intends to become a centre of expertise in social policy and programs which will ensure that Canada maintains and indeed surpasses our global reputation as a caring nation.

The mandate of the new SDC is to secure and strengthen Canada's social foundations while respecting the jurisdictions of all levels of government. Its vision is to create a country where everyone plays an active role.

To strengthen Canada's social foundations, SDC will work with its partners to promote the social well-being of and income security for Canadians. In concrete terms, Social Development Canada will focus on the social needs of Canadians, whether that be through income security or other types of programs and services. While all Canadians stand to benefit equally, the department will have a particular focus on children, people with disabilities, seniors, families and caregivers, and the voluntary and not for profit sector.

Let me emphasize that Social Development Canada is hardly alone in this. Indeed, in pursuit of its mission, it is working closely with other federal departments and other levels of government and is actively engaged with non-governmental organizations and communities.

I would also underscore that the legislation before us casts nothing in stone. As proposed, the department would be a living, breathing entity ready to respond to our needs and evolve along with them. In the next few minutes, permit me to outline some of the new department's key priorities.

Let us begin with children, our most vulnerable resource. As you know, Mr. Speaker, my government is committed to ensuring that every child has an opportunity to attain his or her own potential. With our partners, the Government of Canada is pursuing a comprehensive strategy to support families with children. Since 1998 a cornerstone of this strategy has been the successful national child benefit, a flexible tax relief program that helped lift 55,000 children out of poverty in the first two years alone.

All children, no matter what their circumstances, deserve an opportunity to learn and develop even before they reach school age. That is why the Speech from the Throne observed that the time has come for a truly national system of early learning and child care, a system based on the four key principles of quality, universality, accessibility and development.

I also believe that it should be a publicly administered and not for profit system and that these objectives need to be entrenched in a legislative framework. That way, each province and territory will be able to address its own particular needs within the national framework. There is broad consensus that affordable and accessible child care is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity for Canadian working families, whether headed by one parent or two. We therefore want to work with our partners to respond to this reality. My government will also be investing $5 billion toward the reality of this program over the next five years.

Persons with disabilities are another priority for SDC. We are working to level the playing field for people with disabilities to ensure that Canadians with disabilities have the same chances others do to achieve and succeed in our country. We recognize that they have abilities that differ from others and we want to support them in achieving their full potential.

Social Development Canada delivers Canada pension plan benefits for people with disabilities, along with programs such as the opportunities fund. Under the new labour market agreements for persons with disabilities, the Government of Canada contributes funding to provinces for programs and services to promote the full participation of Canadians with disabilities in the labour market.

With respect to seniors, our focus is on active living. We provide seniors with the support they need to be active participants in their communities. Again, Social Development Canada has programs to achieve that purpose. Nearly five million Canadians receive benefits through the Canada pension plan and the old age security program. Many more are helped out of poverty through the guaranteed income supplement, which my government has already promised to increase by up to $400 for a single person and up to $700 for a couple.

I am particularly enthusiastic about another program spearheaded by Social Development Canada. Known as New Horizons for Seniors, it will work with partners to develop activities that keep seniors fully engaged in their communities.

Canadians have also told us that providing support to families and family caregivers needs to be a priority of the Government of Canada. Indeed, family caregiving is a growing issue as more and more Canadians enter the “sandwich generation”, those with the dual role of raising their children while being an informal caregiver to an aging parent or a person with a disability.

The Government of Canada recognizes the vital role of Canadians who care for aged or infirm relatives or those with severe disabilities and is committed to helping people better balance work and family responsibilities, and it recognizes the important contribution of caregivers in Canadian society. That is why the government will be investing $1 billion in the family caregiver program.

The social economy is a venerable tradition in Canadian communities. We think of co-operatives, credit unions, community economic development associations and a lot of non-profit groups. Canada's not for profit organizations, community groups and volunteers are major partners in building strong and resilient communities. They fill a growing and very real need in Canadian society.

That is why SDC is an enthusiastic supporter of the social development partnerships program and the voluntary sector initiative, measures that reach out to the more than 161,000 not for profit organizations and six million volunteers who work so selflessly to strengthen the social fabric of Canada.

In all of its programs, SDC believes it is crucial to work with partners: the provinces and territories, of course, the municipalities, not for profit groups and agencies, and the voluntary and not for profit sector. This collaborative approach recognizes that many social programs are shared jurisdictions. It also increases capacity throughout the community in both the private and the voluntary and not for profit sector

I am pleased to support the bill.

[As Prime Minister Awards, November 25th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to rise today to congratulate Wendy Yu, a constituent of mine currently attending the University of Waterloo, on being named a national finalist in the 2004 As Prime Minister Awards.

Ms. Yu responded to the question, “If you were the Prime Minister of Canada, what political vision would you offer to improve our living standards, and ensure a secure and prosperous global community?”

Wendy was selected as a finalist from hundreds of entrants for offering some of the most innovative visions for the country, demonstrating her ability to defend her ideas in front of a panel of judges, and her contributions to the community and volunteer organizations.

It is exciting to see Canadian youth put forth their vision for Canada. I am a strong supporter of youth involvement in the political process. I ask the House to join me in wishing Wendy the best of luck in her future endeavours.

[Ukraine, November 24th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak with a heavy heart about something that is very sad. It is the irregularities in the election in Ukraine. My heart goes out to the citizens of Ukraine tonight who are either in their homes or out in the squares demanding their rights.

When I was minister of international cooperation, I had the privilege of visiting Ukraine. I found a country that was full of promise and hope. As we know, Canada has had for a long time and continues to have a special relationship with Ukraine. Meeting with officials, while I was there, showed me a society that was working very hard to rebuild, a society full of promise, and a society and a government working together for the future.

Canada's programs were working very hard in partnership with the Ukrainian people to strengthen the governance structures, institutions and civil society structures. I found a country with enormous potential, a country that had a very highly educated population, but also a country that was in need of reform of its institutions. We as Canadians worked very closely with the Ukrainian people.

Canada was involved in helping Ukraine write and create for the first time its civil law, which was not part of the Ukrainian experience up until then. We were involved in working very closely with the Ukrainian government and other organizations to work with land reform in the agriculture field. There was a tremendous amount of work to be done there because Ukrainian farms have the potential of being the bread basket of Europe and of the world, and the Ukrainian people know that.

We were sharing the knowledge that we had from our farmers in the agricultural community with the Ukrainian people to reform and build a very modern agricultural industry in Ukraine. These are very positive things that were happening in Ukraine. The work and partnerships that we had are continuing.

As I said before, the population of Ukraine is well educated and is on its way to building a very modern, strong economy, and to becoming a strong partner in the World Trade Organization, the European market, et cetera. It is all the more saddening this evening to have to talk about the setback in the democratic process of Ukraine, which could put all of these successes at risk. I hope and pray that none of this in fact will come to pass.

I am also thinking tonight of the young people who have been interns in my office and for many of my colleagues here for the last 11 years. I believe there are well over 300 of them at this point who have come to Canada and spent three or four months with us. In the last election some of them worked on our campaigns to learn about the democratic process in this country.

They worked side by side with our office staff just recently to learn about the democratic process, about our institutions, how our legislative process works, how our judiciary works, and to learn all of the things they wanted to take back with them. There was so much hope and pride in these young people. They were going to be the future of their country. They are the future of their country. They went back with such hope, vision and enthusiasm.

Before the last group left only a few weeks ago, some of them said they were going back to organize and work hard for their country, to make a difference. They were the generation that was going to make the difference in their country. I am thinking of these young people tonight. Some of them, I am sure, are out there as well fighting for their country and the democracy that they love and believe in.

I call on the leadership of Ukraine not to blow out the light that has been burning bright in that country, but to allow it to continue to burn bright, and to do the right thing and allow for a transparent review of the electoral process. Democracy is a very difficult and fragile thing. We cannot allow for it to be diminished because without it we are all diminished. The rule of law must be respected because without it we have no hope. There are no human rights and there is no respect for humanity.

I encourage and I ask the Ukrainian government tonight to respect the human rights of its people, the demonstrators that are out there in the street, not to do anything that would harm or hurt them in any way but to listen to their voices. They are the voices of democracy. They are the voices of their country. They are the voices of tomorrow. Listen to them and do the right thing. Open up the transparent process and do not declare a winner until such time as a proper transparent review of the process has been taken.

Not too long ago we took time on Remembrance Day, November 11, to remember the people who died and fought for the rights of freedom and democracy, and to give that privilege to all of us. In that war, many Ukrainians as well lost their lives in the big fight.

We remember November 11 and we keep saying “Lest we forget”. Tonight I want to remind the government of Ukraine that we must never forget. We must never go back. People who fought hard for democracy and for the respect of the rule of law must be listened to.

I also want to call on the UN. It is important that the United Nations visit Ukraine. I think it needs to send representatives to Ukraine to meet with the leadership of Ukraine, and discuss the situation and the crisis that is taking place in that country right now.

We must not allow it to escalate. We must have a dialogue with the leadership of Ukraine. I would recommend to the UN and to the House that the leadership of the UN take the initiative at this particular time because without the involvement of the multilateral institutions, each one of us can do our best, but we are strongest when we are united.

We want to send the message to the Ukrainian people that we love them, that we care for them, that we respect them, and that we want them to be prosperous. We want them to continue down the road that they have started to work with us as partners, to build a fantastic future for themselves in a country that is free, a country that is full of democracy, and a country that has a tremendous amount of hope and promise. It is all there. Ukraine is on the verge of becoming one of the most successful countries. It has all of the ingredients that are needed.

When I was there, I can tell the House that the people I met with were very active and extremely involved with the development of their country. Those things cannot be lost because if they take a step back it will be a long time before they get back to where they are and it would be such a sad situation.

Tonight my message is for the leadership of Ukraine to respect its citizens, to not announce the results of the election, but to allow for an open and transparent review of the situation. My message is also for the United Nations, to please send emissaries immediately to open a dialogue to ensure that there is a discussion as opposed to a show of force of any sort.

It is extremely important that our multilateral institutions act right now. We do not want what happened in the past and that is why we remember November 11 every year. It is a very sad time for me when I think of the millions of people who lost their lives to give us the freedom of speech that we have in the House today, the freedom that the world has today, and the freedom that Ukrainians have today.

Therefore, I ask again that the UN send emissaries and representatives to Ukraine to start a dialogue immediately so that we can discuss and work our way through this as intelligent people.