Mr. Speaker, I wish to remind the House that next week we will mark the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Ottawa convention banning anti-personnel mines.
Tomorrow, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister for International Cooperation will participate in a plaque unveiling ceremony in the Lester B. Pearson building. This plaque will be a permanent reminder of the leading role that Canada played in this historic treaty. This event will also mark the opening of an international symposium organized by Mine Action Canada.
A hundred and thirty countries have ratified the landmines treaty and, partly with the help of a $72 million grant from CIDA, millions of hectares of land have been cleared of mines. We must remember, however, that the tragedy of anti-personnel landmines has not ended. They continue to kill indiscriminately long after the conflicts themselves have ended. We must remember that in countries which have not yet been cleared of landmines they continue to pose a major obstacle to physical and economic reconstruction.