Mr. Speaker, I welcome that question and all the aspects of it. First, on the issue of Afghanistan, we are very proud of what we have been able to do for the people of Afghanistan through our intervention, our support and our development assistance.
My friend says that there is insufficient development assistance. Guess what, Afghanistan is the largest recipient of Canadian development assistance and the results are paying off. That is why in a poll that was released last week we saw that an overwhelming majority of Afghans felt that their lives were better today than they were before Canadian troops were there, making them safer. The Afghans want those troops there, they believe that they are making their lives better, and that they are safer.
This is why we see millions of children in school who were not there before. We see women enjoying rights that they never had before. I know that others may not want to be willing to make the sacrifice necessary to protect people in troubled areas of the world, to protect women's rights, to protect children. Canada is proud to take on the leadership role today that we have taken in the past.
I am particularly surprised when we have members of the Liberal Party raising questions on that, when they talk about principle. They were the ones who took the decision to send those troops into Afghanistan, who took the decision to send those troops into the troubled southern portions of Afghanistan, and they are the ones today who are abandoning those troops and demanding withdrawal. I believe that principle says when a decision is made, we stand behind the decision. We are proud to do that.
On the question of the environment, this is another excellent contrast of the previous Liberal government that spoke a lot and did nothing and allowed greenhouse gases to rise massively. Our government is delivering with a program, an agenda of tackling greenhouse gas emissions and delivering actual, real reductions in greenhouse gases, as well as taking action to clean up our water, our air, address pollution and protect endangered spaces.
I could on and on, but Canadians are happy to finally have a government that is taking action.