The great man for whom the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre (PPC) is named once commented,"The fact is that we prepare for war like giants, and for peace like pygmies." My hope is that were he alive today, the Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson would take extreme pride in the role the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre is playing in changing this paradigm.

November 2006 marked the 50th anniversary of peace operations. Canada played an important role then and continues to do so today. But peace operations are not what they were 50 years ago, when the first United Nations multinational mission was deployed to the Suez. Today, we are waging peace in a different environment - one that is characterized by intrastate conflict, unorthodox tactics and a host of armed groups with different value systems.

Contemporary conflict is also messier, more intense and lasts longer. It complicates international relationships and causes elements of established peace operations doctrine to collide - like the responsibility to protect and issues of sovereignty and consent. It demands that we not only quell the violence but help societies ravaged by war to rebuild. It requires unprecedented cooperation among sectors - military, police and civilians - something the PPC promotes vigorously and in which it has extensive experience.