National Defence committee  Correct.

National Defence committee  When we met this summer with Minister Bibeau, she advised us that there was no commitment for any further funding past the 2018-19 expiry date of the existing programs.

National Defence committee  It is important to understand the context in which both Minsk agreements were signed, the second one in particular. That was a time when there was an active taking of territory, and significant casualties and losses being suffered by the Ukrainian soldiers, or the Ukrainian army, as they tried to defend themselves in Debaltsevo and other areas.

National Defence committee  There are 2,300 kilometres on the Russian-Ukrainian border that Ukraine does not control. It is extremely porous. The OSCE just issued a report yesterday which says the OSCE is only able to monitor two checkpoints, only a few hundred metres is what they're able to monitor of that Russian-Ukrainian border, so it is extremely porous and uncontrolled.

National Defence committee  I was not aware that Canada is underfilling its commitments to the OSCE mission. I thought it was robust. That's one thing we should look at, but quite frankly, the OSCE mission in Ukraine is handcuffed in the sense that they don't have access to areas that they've asked for, such as the border of Russia and Ukraine.

National Defence committee  It's in monitoring the border. Russia's proposal is to monitor the conflict zone, not actually to create peace and stability in the occupied territories or to monitor and control the border between Russia and Ukraine, which is frankly one of the important points in the Minsk agreement, that Ukraine will have control of its border between Russia and Ukraine, which it does not have today.

National Defence committee  There's no need for further OSCE monitoring when you have peacekeepers on the ground in Ukraine. You're essentially requiring all the forces to lay their arms down and you have a peacekeeping force that is keeping the peace and allowing those territories to rebuild themselves and rebuild the institutions that any sovereign country should have.

National Defence committee  In Russia, yes.

National Defence committee  That's correct.

National Defence committee  If the Ukrainian people so desire, I believe they should be given that opportunity. I believe that we are no longer living in a world of big power politics and that we should always listen to the big powers. I think we now have a much more.... I think we share the same values that the Ukrainian people do, like the right to self-determination and the right to choose your own destiny and not be told by another bigger power.

National Defence committee  Thank you for the question. First of all, we have to understand the value that the Baltic countries—Poland, Romania, and others—see in NATO membership. They see it as security because they are all afraid of Russia's increasing aggression. In terms of Ukraine's readiness, they've set out a road map, and 2020 is a very aggressive road map, but they need to set aggressive road maps if they're going to accomplish things because they don't have the time.

National Defence committee  I'll start with the indigenous people, the Tatars. The Mejlis, which represents the Crimean Tatar people, has been outlawed in Crimea. The organization and the group that represents the indigenous peoples of Crimea have been outlawed. Their leaders have been either imprisoned or banned from entering Crimea.

National Defence committee  It's difficult to say. Number one, that region was the industrial heartland of Ukraine. Since the war broke out, that economy has been decimated, so to say that it is extracting high costs, absolutely. The question is, is Russian President Putin looking for an off-ramp? I'm not sure.

National Defence committee  Number one, the sanctions are extracting financial penalties against Russia and those who are supportive of Putin's aggression around the world. I think there is a significant economic impact on Russia with these sanctions. That's why you're always hearing Vladimir Putin calling on the world to stop these sanctions, because it is a very important lever.

National Defence committee  First of all, before you have a diplomatic solution, you need to have willing parties that are looking for a diplomatic solution. Right now, Vladimir Putin is not looking for a diplomatic solution in Ukraine. He has not reached out for one, and that's why we need to continue to, first, provide Ukraine with the ability to defend itself, and second, help it become a successful economy and a successful society, which I think Canada has been doing an amazing job of.