I commend the individual members of the Permanent Defence Forces who have served and continue to serve on overseas missions, together with their families and loved ones. As we enter the Christmas season, it will be a difficult time for families with loved ones far from home. I hope, however, the arrangements we are putting in place, the provision of telephone services, Internet access and a direct mail service, will help ensure there is good and effective ongoing contact between our peacekeepers and their families. I assure the personnel being deployed and their families that we will do whatever we can to protect our personnel and return them safely to their families.