Mr. Speaker, it is an honour today to table this petition on behalf of petitioners who are part of the peace train movement. They highlight that for lasting peace, military deterrence must take place within the context of long-term solutions identified through research and analysis.
They also note that, within its NATO funding commitment, Canada can and should establish a national centre dedicated to peacebuilding and should contribute much more funding, training, equipment and personnel to UN peacekeeping, and that Canada's pre-eminent free institutions dedicated to peacebuilding have been terminated, including the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre and the Canadian Institute for Peace and Human Security. They point to a national defence report that recommends that the Government of Canada re-establish the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre with a mandate that includes, but is not limited to, conflict research, conflict prevention, mediation and civilian protection.
Lastly, they recommend that the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association also advocate for the re-establishment of the former peacekeeping centre.
The petitioners' call to action is to establish and fund, as a fundamental part of Canada's increasing commitment to defence and security, an independent Canadian centre for peace dedicated to peacekeeping and global security through research, education, policy and training in conflict resolution, diplomacy and peace operations for Canadian civilians, police and military personnel, and the international community.
As members can imagine, this is a timely petition given the global conflict that we are enduring right now.