Team:Edinburgh/mapxmlcanada



Canada <![CDATA[Canada was the first government to sign and ratify the Mine Ban Treaty (Ottawa Convention) on 3 December 1997.

Canada's activities in humanitarian mine action builds off the Mine Ban Treaty’s framework, and almost without exception, are intended to facilitate its universalization and full implementation. Government activities in mine action go beyond provision of funds to include promotion of regional and international cooperation, provision of technical and administrative support, and donations of equipment for clearance activities and protection of deminers.

While Canada is mine-free, Canadian Forces personnel have been killed or injured by mines during their work overseas. On 2 October 2003, two Canadian peacekeepers were killed and three injured in an antivehicle mine incident in Afghanistan. There are also unconfirmed reports of a Canadian civilian injured in a landmine or IED explosion in Algeria in 2003.

Other known Canadian landmine casualties since 1999 include an incident on 28 April 2002 when a Canadian soldier received minor injuries while on patrol in a US Humvee that hit a landmine near the Kandahar airfield in Afghanistan. In another incident on 14 March 2001, a Canadian soldier serving with the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea was slightly injured when his vehicle drove over a landmine on a road that had just been cleared by a Canadian Forces mine clearance team. ]]> <![CDATA[]]>