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On June 18, 2008, a Bill proclaiming Aug. 9 as National Peacekeepers' Day was passed by the Parliament of Canada.

National Peacekeepers' Day was created to recognize the work of Canadians from the military, police and diplomatic service, who have served on peacekeeping missions around the world, and their families.

However, Peacekeepers' Day also provides Canadians the opportunity to consider Canada's role in modern-day peacekeeping. Many Canadians know only of the classic peacekeeping model, under UN Charter Chapter VI, where a neutral UN force monitors a ceasefire agreement between countries.

In fact, many of those classic peacekeeping missions, in Cyprus, the Congo, the Balkans and in the Middle East, resulted in significant numbers of Canadian casualties and, in some cases, the use of force by peacekeepers.

Peacekeeping situations changed after the fall of the Soviet Union. Since 1990 most of the conflicts requiring peacekeeping have been civil wars rather than between countries. In many cases "spoiler" groups (including signatories) would renege on their commitments and seek to undermine a peace agreement by using violence, particularly against innocent civilians.

Both General MacKenzie in the Balkans and General Dallaire in Rwanda indicated that the UN Charter Chapter VI mandate was too limited to meet the needs of their missions.

To deal with this new reality the mandates in today's peacekeeping have expanded and range from reintegrating and demobilizing former combatants to rehabilitating the economic infrastructure. As seen in current UN missions in the Congo, Haiti, Burundi and Côte d'Ivoire, many more missions have a Chapter VII mandate. This means that peacekeepers can use "all necessary means" to carry out its mandate, including providing security assistance by means of coercive disarmament and the use of force to protect civilians under imminent threat.

The immense sacrifice and the lessons learned by Canadian peacekeepers on past missions from Cyprus to the Balkans, and the changes in global politics, have transformed peacekeeping. What is truly needed in Canada is a thorough discussion of the evolution of peacekeeping from the classic model to one that addresses the needs of today. It is important that Canadians understand these changes so we can build a national consensus about Canada's future participation in peacekeeping missions.

National Peacekeepers' Day on August 9th gives Canadians that opportunity, while saluting the service of those who led the way.