Mr. Chair, would the hon. member, my colleague, agree with me that we do not invest for the sake of spending money but for the sake of results, and we take heart from the fact that our allies and our African partners are getting results.
There is something like 4,000 French troops on the ground, and they have had success. There are 3,800 troops from ECOWAS, most in Bamako but now moving northwards, and they have had success. Troops mobilized within Africa are meeting the military demand, and therefore none of our allies, who do not have troops based in Africa, are participating with troops on the ground. We are simply following their example.
Does the hon. member not agree that this has proven to be, in a very short time, a wise course of action, and that our longer term commitments to Mali, which have given institutional results in the form of some of the best units of the Malian army and the institution that is now serving as the headquarters for AFISMA, will be continued over the longer term?
In the meantime, the most urgent need, which we have met with incremental funding, is the humanitarian need. That is probably the issue that we in Canada need to be following most closely, so long as the military mission continues to progress in a positive direction.