Thank you. I do have some information to share.

I also spoke earlier about the importance of my job as Minister of State for Consular Affairs. The consular issues are my issues. I would like the committee to understand that it is my responsibility to answer Mr. Dewar's question on Mr. Fahmy. We have done a lot for Mr. Fahmy, as he well knows. I do think that he should understand that his questions should be directed to me, as yours should be directed.

We have three Rs when it comes to travel.

First of all, we want people to read up. Our government has revamped the travel.gc.ca web page so that it's a one-stop-shop educational resource for the Canadian traveller, featuring an up-to-date informative travel advisory mobile device while on the go. I can't stress how important it is to ensure that people who are travelling have valid travel insurance before going anywhere, regardless of where they are travelling to or from. I want to encourage all of you to promote this website to ensure that people see that there is valuable information available for all Canadians who are travelling so they can avoid situations and be aware of some of the advisories that we are posting.

I would also like to encourage young people to register when they are travelling. We do have registration. We encourage travellers to use the registration of Canadians abroad service. It's called ROCA. It's free. It's a critical tool to allow contact of Canadians during an emergency so we know where the Canadians are. It only takes a few minutes to complete for wherever you're going. It is quick, confidential, and mobile-friendly. As I said earlier, people are travelling to many different and remote areas around the world, and in the event there is a tragedy or a crisis, we will be able to reach those who might be in these serious situations.

Finally, “reaching” us is our third R. We want you to know that there are consular services offered to Canadians, as I said, 24-7. That's 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by phone, by email, and by social media. Canadians can call collect from anywhere in the world when they need assistance from us.

Again, this information and more on travel can be found at travel.gc.ca. I'm wishing that Canadians do enjoy their summer travel and read up on their excursions.

Lynne Yelich

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