Foreign Affairs committee  In all the countries I have examined, the people of those countries want peace. Parties, like the mercenaries and Wagner, that prey upon the local populations and that use war as a means to enrich themselves are the ones that are resistant to peace. The peacekeepers should be there for the protection of civilians.

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes, there is disappointment from the local population. However, having some presence is much better than having no presence, so we need to support the peacekeepers who are there. The peacekeepers need adequate equipment, including non-lethal weapons, because most of the time you can solve problems without killing people.

Foreign Affairs committee  It's at least five to 10 times cheaper than a U.S. operation. If you do the accounting, it's extremely reasonable to do UN peacekeeping. Also, for countries like Canada and other countries, the UN reimburses some of the cost. However, we have the problem that a lot of the very capable countries, like Canada and those in Europe, are not providing the forces necessary to get to the level of capability necessary to have really well-equipped troops.

Foreign Affairs committee  We need to get that balance back.

Foreign Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, I would like to thank you for your invitation and the committee for its interest in Africa. Africa is a much neglected continent that in previous centuries was subject to great abuse by western countries. Even now there are external forces that prey upon the vulnerabilities of the continent.

National Defence committee  I would recommend finding a name that captures your thesis—I tell this to students who are writing essays—and then subtitling it “Canada's role in international peace operations”.

National Defence committee  The high price is that we are not as familiar with the United Nations as we could be, so when we go into those missions, we do not have all the knowledge we need to network effectively in that system. We have paid a high price because we're no longer providing the leadership at the military level.

National Defence committee  Sure.

National Defence committee  You'd have to ask cabinet members.

National Defence committee  Well, one of my concerns is that we're not even at the levels that had been approved by previous governments in the current missions. We're in five missions now, and we're not even at the levels that we could have deployed at in those missions, so we're not gaining any experience.

National Defence committee  I don't think we've ever stopped our troops from doing combat.

National Defence committee  What we have lost is the training that's specifically for the UN. We do far less of it and we have far less experience.

National Defence committee  I am personally embarrassed by that. When I go to the UN headquarters, sometimes I feel that I have to apologize. I'm very sorry, but when I was in the field speaking to UN officials, one of them said it has become kind of a joke that the Canadians are coming. We take lots of time from UN officials.

National Defence committee  I'd assess the threat as moderate at this time, but unpredictable.

National Defence committee  Sure. To put it in 60 seconds, I'm in favour. I think we should be doing more. We should deploy a quick-reaction force, and we're looking for a place to do that. I think that Mali corresponds with both our values and our interests. Mali is a long-standing democracy that's faced challenges, including a coup d'état.