Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you for allowing me to be here.
Dzien dobry, drodzy przyjaciele z Polski. Bardzo sie ciesze, ze jestesmy dzisiaj razem.
Congratulations on the canonization of Pope John Paul II. I know that's a tremendous achievement in Poland today.
A lot of this conversation is focusing on energy security, and Mr. Chair, I appreciate your comments at the beginning.
There are three intersecting circles that have constantly been coming up in this conversation. They, of course, are natural resources, defence, and foreign affairs, which seem to have arrived at a crossroads here.
We've talked a lot about energy security, and Poland had a model, by the way, that my father fought by in the Second World War: Za Nasza i Wasza Wolnosc, which in English means “For our freedom and yours”.
I think that a lot of this discussion focuses on energy security and the ability to supply our allies with stable sources and supply of energy. In Ukraine, a lot of the issue has been the unpredictable supply of gas and the unpredictable pricing structure that Gazprom has put in.
As we recall, when President Yanukovych rejected the EU deal, all of a sudden as a reward Putin lowered the price significantly and now has arbitrarily raised it again. Part of Ukraine's problem is that there is political interference in terms of being able to subjugate them through price controls on Gazprom. That, of course, affects everybody in Central and Eastern Europe, which has become a problem.
Perhaps I'll start with Mr. Langrish. What would your view be, sir, on an east-west pipeline in Canada not only being able to supply our own energy needs but clearly being able to supply the energy needs of our allies through a safe, stable, fairly-priced commodity product like gas or even oil?