Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to begin by apologizing to Mr. Wilfert. Last week, he read a statement in French, which I didn't fully understand. I jokingly said that I would like a translation. I just want Mr. Wilfert to know that I appreciate his efforts to speak French. I hope he continues to make an effort, even though he has problems at times, which is totally understandable. I promised him that I would apologize, and so I have.
Welcome, Ms. Vukojevic. I hope you are well. Everyone has agreed on the meaning of “peace keeping”. There are several different types of peace operations, namely peace keeping, and peace building. In my opinion, the two principles are quite different. In the case of Afghanistan, our operations fall more into the category of peace building. Our military is helping to build the peace much more than it is helping to keep the peace. Peace keeping implies that the various parties have reached an agreement, that our military's sole role is to ensure compliance with the terms of the ceasefire agreement. Our soldiers have been deployed to Afghanistan on a peace building mission, because there is no peace. That is quite different. I'd like to hear your thoughts on the subject.
How do groups like Oxfam interact with Canadian Forces? Soldiers often tell us that NGOs such as yours would never be able to offer appropriate services without their protection. Others feel that providing humanitarian aid is not really the role of the military. What role do you believe Oxfam and other NGOs should be playing in a hostile environment like Afghanistan, where soldiers are engaged in peace building, not peace keeping, operations?