Mr. Chair, I want to thank the parliamentary secretary for his hard work on the foreign affairs and international development committee, as well as for his speeches here this evening. I would like to follow up on some of his remarks in regard to hemispheric security.
The Americas, like other parts of the world, are facing new forms of security risks and challenges in the 21st century. They are trying to adopt programs to help facilitate those concerns. Canada needs a strategy as well and we are developing that strategy. We need to strengthen security and the rule of law in this hemisphere.
Of concern in some of the Americas is the violence and the drugs there. How can we stop violence and drugs there before they come here? Canada must face up to the challenges that diseases and emerging forms of lethal viruses such as the Avian flu pose to our collective safety and well-being.
As we enter the hurricane season in this hemisphere, I think all of us are still horrified by the pictures that we have seen coming out of Burma as well as the pictures following the earthquake in China. This should serve as a chilling wake-up call that disasters can wreak havoc on citizens and on economies just as much as terrorism and wars.
In the case of the Americas, these security challenges are not halfway around the world but quite literally on our doorstep. The parliamentary secretary mentioned that 2.5 million Canadians travel to the region every year. I think of the citizens in those countries and those Canadians who could be in harm's way. I think of the potential diseases that could inflict the region and could easily be brought back to our cities. A doctor in Chestermere Lake, Alberta, has written to me a number of times with concerns about the kinds of diseases that could make their way back to Canada and hurt our economy.
My question to the parliamentary secretary is: How is Canada prepared to manage these security challenges?