Mr. Speaker, I too am pleased and honoured to be able to rise today in support of Bill C-22. I am particularly pleased but not at all surprised that this bill has received support from all parties in this House.
We do not agree often, but on this issue we do because we stand first as Canadians and stand for peace in the world. I was honoured along with my colleagues from Brossard—LaPrairie and from Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca to participate with the minister at the Oslo conference in Norway this September as the treaty was being negotiated and at the forum for the non-governmental organizations with the people who have been driving this issue for years and years.
The Canadian delegation performed admirably. Their action, their commitment, their perseverance in Oslo was second to none and as a result, countries from around the world look to Canada for leadership on this issue.
In fact, with the passing of this bill, we will be in a position to be the first country to ratify the treaty to ban land mines. This, coupled with our recent destruction of our last operational land mine, signifies the level of our commitment to ensuring that land mines are destroyed and lives will be saved.
During this debate we heard the member for Nepean—Carleton talk a great deal about the impact of active land mines and what he has witnessed and the important role Canada has played in bringing this issue to its present place.
We all have a vested interest in this House and across the nation in ensuring that the world is de-mined. I thought I would focus my comments, therefore, on why Canadians are working so hard and at such a speed to impose this world-wide ban. What are the next steps?
This is a bill about peace and international security. It is a bill about taking steps to protect people's land, allowing people to provide safely for their families. For too long people in a number of countries have starved while their rice paddies and fields lay empty for fear of the consequences of entering those areas.
Most important, this bill is about people. It is about saving lives. It is about preventing senseless deaths and it is about restoring hope to communities.
It is frightening to think that even with the tremendous co-operation in this House, in the amount of time that we have taken to debate this bill, hundreds of people, civilians, women, children and farmers will be maimed or killed by anti-personnel land mines, one person every 20 seconds.
During this presentation and that of my last colleague, 30 people were hurt by land mines. Some will die immediately. Others will take weeks to die. Physically, we have already heard it is a tremendous injury on the individuals and medical care is not always accessible.
I heard stories in Oslo of having to take six days to reach emergency help and even then sometimes it not being adequate, of getting help for their immediate injuries and then suffering gangrene later, of being fitted with 30-odd prostheses through their lives if it is a child who is injured, the cost of that alone, the inability for people after being injured to provide for their families because in a lot of countries jobs are very scarce.
They can no longer manoeuvre in the rice paddies, go out and work on the farms. The effect for young women on their marriageability is rather drastic. If they should be so fortunate to get married, often there are later complications in childbirth.
There are many obstacles along that road. Of course, as the member for Nepean—Carleton has mentioned already, emotionally it has a devastating impact on children and adults who are injured.
The social reintegration of the individuals is absolutely important. These are innocent victims. They are women working in their fields supporting their families, children playing freely or gathering firewood.
On December 4 when delegates return to their respective countries and heads of state leave with their official copy of the treaty, our work will just be beginning.
Colleagues, we must really focus on our work at that point and we must work in earnest. The signing of this treaty is only the first step. We must sustain political and public attention on the issue. We must continue to encourage non-signatory countries to sign, otherwise there will still be countries that can buy land mines, transfer land mines, stockpile land mines and they will wreak havoc on our world.
We have the momentum. There is a lot we can do with this energy. We must encourage all countries to move forward. We must universalize the treaty.
This treaty is a fantastic example of diplomacy, of what can be achieved when governments listen to the people and then act, and of what can be attained when individuals and groups work together relentlessly and of what our country, Canada, as a middle power, as a peaceful nation, is capable of advancing in this century and in the next.
I would like to add my congratulations to those of all members of the House of Commons to the individuals who have been involved in this historic treaty, especially to the member for Brant for her initiative and for helping to focus me several years ago on this issue, and to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for his insight, perseverance, commitment and energy. He took a risk last year and has followed through and worked doggedly on this. I congratulate the Prime Minister for using his political pressure to bring people into the fold. It was critical.
On December 2, 3 and 4, the world will be watching as we take this important humanitarian step and lead the world into a new phase of disarmament. There are more issues that we can tackle in this progressive new way to deal with things.
On December 4, evil will be defeated, good will triumph and people around the world can be joyous that we will finally be on the progressive side of dealing with this deadly, indiscriminate weapon. They will know that finally one day we will see that end, we will see when mines are removed from our land. My colleague has identified opportunities for Canadians to participate in that process. We can know that without mines being used in such a terrible fashion that our peacekeepers, who are trying to help in various nations around the world, will have a better chance and will be a little safer.
This has been a terrific debate and I am proud to have been a part of it.