Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question is a considered one that needs to be answered.
There have been times when getting certain mandates, either through NATO or through the United Nations, has been thwarted by other political efforts. It does not mean that these concerns and missions do not deserve our attention and our contribution, because they do. When I bring up the idea of NATO, and I have worked in both NATO and in the United Nations, it is to identify the difficulty and what it takes to build a coalition that is working together to achieve a common goal. When there are 60 countries trying to work together to achieve something, there will always be differences of opinion on how we should move forward, what our priorities should be, or what the phase of a certain operation should be. However, when we have 60 countries step up to say that they want to contribute and make a difference, I think that sends a very strong message. Canada has always stepped up when we have been asked.