Mr. Speaker, September 17 marks the United Nations International Day of Peace. It is a day for us to be proud of the contributions that Canada has made to the United Nations such as those of former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson who won the Nobel peace prize for creating the concept of peacekeeping during the Suez crisis.
Since that time, Canadians have been involved in numerous UN missions including Korea, Cyprus, Rwanda and of course our ongoing mission in the former Yugoslavia.
Last year Canada was credited with initiating a UN rapid reaction force that would act in times of crisis.
Canada has good reason to be proud of its past performance, and must continue to work in conjunction with the United Nations on behalf of peace in Cyprus, Lebanon, Iraq and anywhere else in the world where human rights and international law are not being respected.