Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  We do this through strengthening the media's ability to cover human rights stories in places where the commitment to media freedoms and human rights is fragile. Currently, we do this work across 17 countries, including Mali, Iraq and Yemen. Over the past six months, we have worked to evacuate journalists under threat from Afghanistan. This is the work I want to focus on in this discussion, but I wouldn't be a good journalist if I didn't start this talk with a story.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I'd just like to add, on the subject of journalism inside Iran, that while the world was so focused, and rightfully so, on the atrocious death and tragedy of Jamal Khashoggi, it completely overlooked Rahul Azam who was lured to Iraq, abducted, taken to Iran and executed after a grossly unfair trial. So we're really not hearing enough about the struggles of civil society inside Iran.

Petitions  I remember, in the early 1990s, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the international community came together to impose an economic embargo on Iraq. For a few months I remember that nothing went in and nothing came out. It makes sense to do the same thing today with Russia. Finally, the third petition calls on the Government of Canada to take steps to increase Canadian oil and gas exports to western Europe and to alleviate our allies' dependence on Russian oil.

Business of Supply  This would be a real, long-term solution that would make us less dependent on products whose prices can increase drastically based on whatever is going on in Ukraine, Afghanistan, or Iraq, or based on Christmas, holidays or summer vacation. Gas prices are always bouncing up and down and, unfortunately, consumers are the ones who suffer.

Foreign Affairs  Speaker, I and many other combat veterans were disappointed to hear the Minister of Foreign Affairs state that Canada “is not a military power.” I have led some of Canada's finest warriors in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. I would like to educate the minister that Canada's success in “making sure that diplomacy is happening” during global conflicts is predicated by our ability to back it up militarily.

Appendix  I have lived long enough to see many illegal wars based on lies, in Vietnam, in Afghanistan and in Iraq, with too many innocent lives lost, and now, never again, not one more Ukrainian child. Please, God, stop the bombs. Please let us have a ceasefire. Please leave a pathway for Vladimir Putin to make it to a negotiating table and find a peace.

National Defence committee  The Americans lost a bit of attention on North American defence when they were engaged in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. As we saw from a series of policies and strategies on a northern strategy released by every single branch of the American forces personnel, I think they get it in terms of how they need to co-operate with Canada.

Arab Heritage Month Act  In my riding of Pierrefonds—Dollard, I have had an amazing conversation with a gentleman who is living here today who lived in Iraq and who is attached to the Arabic language and culture of Iraq. Arabs are also of Druze faith and the Baha'i faith and no faith at all. Arabs are actually quite diverse in terms of their religion and background.

Arab Heritage Month Act  Each one has a different story of how they or their ancestors came to this country. No matter where they came from originally, whether it was Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Morocco, Palestine, Jordan or any of a dozen other countries, one of the things Arab-Canadians have in common is that they came here seeking a better life. Another thing they have in common is their desire to give back to Canada.

National Defence committee  I've talked about how we have excelled in the air policing mission and our leadership in the NATO mission in Iraq. When we come to the table and we provide capabilities to NATO, we provide excellent, high-readiness capabilities that are fully mission capable. That has always been our mantra, and our allies recognize that.

National Defence committee  We have extraordinarily capable armed forces and we are present to do heavy lifting. Our role in Latvia and in Iraq are examples of that. Yes, we are very confident of our role within the alliance. We're also leaders in cutting-edge issues, and the work we're doing on climate and security is an example of that.

National Defence committee  For example, we have led the enhanced forward presence battle group in Latvia since its inception and we were the founding framework nation for the NATO mission in Iraq. Our role within NATO reflects our values, including our commitments to diversity and pluralism. Recently, Canada's three most senior NATO commanders were all women, a demonstration of commitment to gender equality that no other ally can match.

Foreign Affairs committee  We know that American intelligence provided the apparently reliable information that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. How reliable is this information from American intelligence?

Foreign Affairs committee  One of the reasons Turkey is not very content as a NATO member is that obviously it has had a lot of regional disruption, with what's gone on in Iraq and Afghanistan. Already we have a general area where it's more militarized than it probably has been in a long time, so we're creating a situation in which there's a lot of risk. The question also comes back to countries like Georgia and Kazakhstan and whether they have the domestic political resiliency to push back any sort of....

Foreign Affairs committee  Some argue that we should provide small arms and anti-tank weapons, which are sitting in warehouses and were originally destined for Kurdish forces in Iraq. Maybe. Cybersecurity assistance, in co-operation with Estonia and the European Union, is an option, but time is running out. As noted by your previous panel, we should also be ready for cyber-attacks and social media disinformation campaigns that will be directed at us.