Mr. Speaker, today marks a historic day for Canada when we will pass in this House a law which will ban the use, production and sale of anti-personnel mines.
By doing this, Canada will be one of the first nations in the world to actually have a law banning these heinous devices that claim over 30,000 lives a year and lays to waste economies of some of the poorest nations of the world.
Canada, along with NGOs, has led the charge to ban these devices. Mines Action Canada, foreign affairs personnel and members of Parliament have stood together to pursue this. This is an example of what Canada can do on the international stage.
Now we must move beyond land mines and use this Ottawa process to address the larger security issues that affect us all. We must move from a reactive foreign policy to a proactive one. The 21st century needs a leader to pursue these objectives and Canada can be this leader.
The 21st century belongs to Canada. We must seize the day and move forward.