Mr. Speaker, I am sorry for not mentioning that at the outset.
We have to be sure we will put ourselves into the enforcement of the legislation and continue to promote it even though it will be difficult at times.
We also have to talk about the huge problem of de-mining that exists around the world. We have figures like 200 million or 300 million mines being out there. The numbers are huge. We need to help people to help themselves in that area. Our Canadian troops are doing the job by helping children to know where the mines are, to alert the authorities and to actually do something about it. Those are the kinds of commitments that do not cost a lot but are important if we are to rid the world of this serious problem.
We must understand some of the reasons some countries will not sign initially. We heard Mr. Clinton in Vancouver yesterday say that the reason they could not give up land mines was for the protection of their own soldiers. We may or may not agree with that reason, but we need to encourage them to come up with alternatives to the use of regular land mines. There are alternatives. As science progresses I am sure these alternatives will be used by countries like the U.S.
We also have to look at renegade states and their potential use of land mines. I am a firm believer, as I have said in this House many times, that in the 21st century terrorism is probably going to be one of our biggest threats as citizens of this world. Of course we have to be concerned about the presence of land mines, the use of land mines and the use of different types of explosive devices. We could talk about plutonium being sent to Canada from Russia. We could talk about that whole area.
It is important for us to put a diplomatic and organizational pressure on the world which we are in an excellent position to do. I think of our membership in organizations such as the Francophonie, the Commonwealth and APEC. Through those organizations we can bring a lot of pressure to bear on countries to consider signing this treaty and getting rid of land mines.
The point that we need to make in the House is that we are not just going to talk about it. We are not simply going to pass this bill, pat ourselves on the back and move on to something else. We have to be sure that this is an ongoing process and one which will last a long time.
I know that a number of members of the House have experienced firsthand what it means to see people living under the fear of land mines. We in Canada are lucky. When we come back from places like Bosnia, Cambodia or Laos we realize how lucky we are to live in this country. Our children do not have to worry about running out and playing in the field because there are no land mines. Let us never let there be land mines in this country and let us try to remove them from the world.
It is important that we broaden this to look at UN reform. The minister made reference to this. Certainly the streamlining of the UN is something that will help us all to achieve what we want in the 21st century. Changes within the UN are desperately needed. We must work with the NGOs and other countries to make sure they are not so busy fighting turf wars and fighting over what they are going to do that we have this this terrible duplication of services and the terrible bureaucracy which ties up so much of what they do.
I should mention the foreign affairs committee. Many people do not know what we do in that committee. There are several members in the Chamber who are a part of that committee, as well as others. It is important for us to deal with issues such as this and that we deal with current issues that are of concern to the Canadian public. So often we get hung up on writing big reports. The big reports basically end up consuming a lot of time and expertise. They cost a lot of money. Ultimately they end up being put on the shelf.
This is an example of a case where there is an issue that is real. We can put a face on it. It is something which people care about. It is something that the committee can get involved in.
A lot of members have urged the government to make committees relevant. We have urged the government to let the committees deal directly with the minister. We want the committees to talk about the issues, be they slavery in the Sudan, the terrible problems in Nigeria and Iraq, the kidnapping of Canadian children or terrorism. Let us talk about those issues which are real to Canadians and real to members of this House for which we can, hopefully, have the same sort of conclusion as we have seen today.
That is something to work toward. Some of it will be a dream. We have seen this sort of presentation before. We all know about the failures which have happened. However, it is time for us to look at what we are doing and try to make things better.
That is why it is a privilege to stand and to co-operate on the implementation of this piece of legislation.