Mr. Speaker, I would like to address the concerns expressed by the hon. member for SelkirkâInterlake.
We are very proud of the quality of the people who were sent to Haiti by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and with the way they co-operate and work as part of the full team with Canadian armed forces personnel.
Canada has had a large number of people serve in Haiti and the police have certainly received all kinds of praise during their tour because of their excellent instruction and the models they have presented to the Haitian police.
In terms of the numbers of people who were there, we had 650 Canadian forces personnel and more than 50 members of the Canadian civilian police, mainly the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. When we left we did leave some protection. We left the Bisons, the armoured personnel carriers, so that when they paroled they would not be fully exposed. They would give them protection while patrolling from one town to another or within the cities of Haiti.
The main accomplishment of the military components was to establish some form of stability. It was not perfect when we left but it will take a long time before we ever get the Haitians to conform to the kinds of patterns that we would like to see. The modelling was never there. The kinds of rules and respect for the rule of law were not instilled in the civilian population. As a consequence, our police and our soldiers going in as peacekeepers had to play a lot of it as they saw it and use common sense.
They performed indispensable functions in monitoring and training national police forces. They played a major role through the assistance of local police forces in restoring civil order and contributing to the building of confidence and security between the parties and the local populations. That was what the Royal Canadian Mounted Police did.
With the 46 members of the police force there we have not had a major incident. They have looked after themselves well and have been well protected in due course.