Mr. Speaker, it is rather unusual for a Prime Minister to make a ministerial statement in this House to announce that $15 million will be provided to the Asian Development Bank. I am glad to hear the news, however, because it means, at least I hope it does, that the Prime Minister realizes now that the multinational intervention in Afghanistan will fail if it is limited to military actions. It is important to give the Afghan people hope and to show them that they can achieve peace and prosperity.
The Prime Minister spoke about children, including over a million young girls, who are now going to school. This is tangible progress that is very encouraging. The Prime Minister also spoke about the women who have received microcredit loans. This is another step forward that we must commend.
The Prime Minister mentioned how important it is for Afghan farmers to have effective irrigation systems, particularly to help them substitute other crops for poppies, and he is right to emphasize this point.
The growing of poppies, which are used to produce heroin, is a blight on the Afghan economy and too often provides a source of funding for warlords. But to reduce poppy growing, we have to offer alternatives to Afghan farmers, in a country that is still largely geared to that industry. We have to develop other crops, use poppies for medicinal purposes and offer legitimate outlets for producers. For example, poppies are used in drugs such as codeine. I therefore urge the government to continue its efforts in this area.
While I applaud the government's reconstruction efforts and the fact that the Prime Minister recognizes the importance of aid, I am concerned when I hear the reasons he gives.
The Prime Minister tells us that it is important to help the Afghans, primarily in order to combat terrorism. That is a short-sighted perspective. Does the Prime Minister not realize that helping the Afghans is important in itself, as it is necessary to help people everywhere who are facing problems of extreme poverty? Does the Prime Minister feel that Canada has to help poverty-stricken peoples only in order to combat terrorism? That sort of thinking seems to me particularly disturbing. Let us not wait for terrorism to find fertile ground in which to grow. Let us tackle poverty and the absence of democracy precisely in order to prevent terrorism from developing. To take the Prime Minister at his word, we would have to wait for a terrorist threat before helping countries in difficulty. That is absurd and disturbing.
The second reason cited by the Prime Minister is that we have to regain the confidence of our international allies. Does that mean that Canada has lost the confidence of its allies? What allies are we talking about? I do not see how Canada has lost the confidence of its allies, unless as a result of Canada’s refusal to participate in the war in Iraq. The Prime Minister must understand that a sovereign country can and must make decisions on its own, based on its own interests and its own values. And if it has to disagree with a friendly, neighbouring country, it can disagree with all due courtesy and respect.
Finally, the third reason cited by the Prime Minister is the fact that the Afghan government and the Afghan people are asking for our help. That is a good reason. Canada is helping the Afghans because they are asking for its help. This is also the case with many countries. I am thinking for example of Haiti and numerous African countries.
So I ask the Prime Minister to reflect upon the significance of his own statements and act accordingly by increasing Canadian international aid. The Prime Minister says that Canada will put its full weight behind the United Nations missions. One of those missions is to combat poverty in the world.
I challenge the Prime Minister to adopt a credible and rigorous plan whereby Canada will allocate 0.7% of its GDP to international aid. Nothing can justify terrorism, but we have to realize that injustice, corruption and poverty are the fertile ground of violence and terrorism. If we attack these scourges at their very root we will build a fairer world, one that is less violent and more prosperous.