Mr. Speaker, once again, I want to congratulate the Minister of National Defence. He is doing a superb job on behalf of Canada.
Certainly, the economy of Afghanistan is changing. As I touched on earlier, per capita income doubled between 2004 and 2007 and Canada is the top micro finance program donor. More than 418,000 people are accessing small loans and savings services in 23 provinces, including Kandahar.
More important than that, and another statistic I am sure people would like to know, more than two-thirds of those 418,000 people are women. There is no doubt that Canadian assistance is supporting skills development throughout Afghanistan and we are indeed making a difference in the lives of these people.
At the end of the day, the important thing is that the people of Afghanistan are given the opportunities that we have here in Canada, that they be allowed to grow, expand and have the freedom to be able to choose to do what they want to do. That is the underlying principle that we are trying to establish in Afghanistan and, more importantly, I believe and I am sure many Canadians believe, we are succeeding in doing just that.