Canada could certainly help with the redevelopment of that region. There is a lot of work to be done, because 20 years have gone by and we have seen pictures of the civilians coming out of the northern areas that have been retaken by the Sri Lankan forces. The people have lived in extreme poverty while the Tamil Tigers were building beautiful palaces for themselves--air conditioned houses, every facility for the LTTE leadership. The people's labour was exploited to dig trenches and to dig bunkers, and they had to also pay a human tax. They had to donate a child or some member of the family. This was a big cost that they had to bear.
At the moment, what most of the people there have been telling some of my friends who have visited them is that all they want is to have peace, equality, opportunities, and a chance for their children to go back to school, which they very often lacked because they've been nabbed on their way to school or at religious festivals.
So if the security situation improves, things will move along and there will be space for everybody. I hope also that the Tamil community will not isolate themselves by only forming Tamil-only parties, but that they'll join the mainstream parties and voice their views and win their demands through the electoral process.