Mr. Chair, I am not sure if there was a mistake in the translation, but I did not talk about soldiers. I talked about police forces. This has often been done in many countries to ensure a minimal level of protection. I did not say it was absolutely necessary to send 500. I was giving an example of what has been done elsewhere. It could be a different number.
If we invited members of the diaspora, people who have become Canadian citizens and who understand how a democracy works, a large number of them would probably be willing to return to their country of origin to take part in observation missions, for instance.
Why is the parliamentary secretary being so negative? What a wet blanket. We are having a take note debate in order to explore ideas. We are proposing solutions and he reacts negatively to them, saying that maybe we should be more minimalist.
His Minister of Foreign Affairs has said that humanity's greatest challenge is terrorism. In the current situation in Mali, terrorists have practically taken control of the entire country. Yet he tells us not to overreact, not to stir things up too much. I find that attitude quite disappointing.