Mr. Speaker, this week the Minister of Foreign Affairs announced that Canada
was sending 12 Canadian forces personnel to Cambodia to take part in the dangerous task of removing five million land mines which literally cover half of the country.
The terrible legacy of two decades of civil war left a deadly variety of land mines which kill or maim 300 Cambodians every month. It also makes any kind of agricultural activity virtually impossible.
I congratulate the bravery of these 12 Canadian soldiers who are going to Cambodia to support the demining operations there.
In view of the international conventions against the use of biological, chemical and other diabolical weapons of destruction, I will recommend that the use of land mines in warfare be considered on the agenda of the Canadian foreign affairs and defence policy review which this government is preparing to launch very shortly.
[Translation]