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Canada was the first country to ratify the Ottawa Convention, depositing its instruments of ratification with the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the day the Convention was opened for signature. As part of the ratification process, Canada completed the destruction of its stockpiles of anti-personnel mines and passed domestic legislation making it illegal for any Canadian to produce, use, transfer or possess these weapons.
Canada also takes its obligations under Article 6 of the Convention very seriously. This Article says that "states in a position to do so" shall provide assistance for mine clearance, victim assistance, mine awareness, mine action planning and technology, and stockpile destruction. To this end, in December 1997, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced the establishment of a five-year, $100 million Canadian Landmine Fund (CLF) to help universalize the Convention and achieve its humanitarian objectives. In 2003, this Fund was renewed for another $72 million over the next five years (2003 - 2008), with a commitment to substantially expand that resource base through more vigorous engagement of bilateral development programmes. To date, this "development mainstreaming" strategy has generated an additional $52 million in support for mine action in some of the world's most mine-affected countries. It will also serve to ensure that the Convention's aims and achievements are sustainable well into the future.
The Canadian Landmine Fund is currently governed by an innovative collaboration among three government departments:
To coordinate this effort, and to signal its priority, Canada appointed a special ambassador to serve as Canada's international focal point on all matters pertaining to the Convention. In 2002, Ross Hynes was appointed Canada's Ambassador for Mine Action. Canada has also established a special unit at Foreign Affairs Canada (FAC) dedicated to the landmines issue and to the universalization and implementation of the Convention.
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