Mr. Speaker, today our first group of peacekeepers returns from Haiti.
For the past two and a half years these troops and others have worked to build stability and democracy in a state which has for too long been ruled by a brutal dictatorship. They also helped to train a national police force so the Haitian people could walk the streets free from fear.
We sent our peacekeepers into a volatile situation that few people could handle. They not only handled it but they performed extremely well.
They earned the respect of the Haitian people and the world with their hard work, their kindness and their dedication. They did not solve Haiti's problems but no one could reasonably have expected them to.
On behalf of all Canadians, I would like to thank our peacekeepers for their good work and congratulate them on a job well done. I would also like to thank their families for their sacrifice and their crucial support.
And so I say to our peacekeepers, thank you and welcome home.