Mr. Speaker, because of the tragic situation in Zaire and the horrible potential for mass starvation, it was absolutely necessary for the United Nations to intervene.
The Secretary-General of the UN, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, called on Canada to step forward and lead this crucial humanitarian effort. Canadians believe that this nation has a moral responsibility to do all that we can to prevent the loss of life in central Africa.
I have had considerable input on this crisis from my constituents of London-Middlesex. While there are dissenters, the vast majority of my constituents, and I believe of all Canadians, support our leading this humanitarian effort.
Although we have economic problems at home, Canadians know that our so-called problems pale in comparison to the tragedy in central Africa. Given the rapidly changing nature of this crisis, obviously there is uncertainty about the exact nature of this mission. However, there is no uncertainty about the fact that
Canadians are proud that the government and the nation will do all they can to prevent the loss of life in this troubled region of the world.