Story:How did your life change when you were in Rwanda?

Totally. It gave me a sense of the rest of humanity where before, it was a purely white, European-focus on the world.

At what age did you decide to go into the military?

My first diapers were khaki. My son was a captain in the infantry and he’s fourth generation.

What’s Canada’s role in Afghanistan going to be after 2011, when our troops are to be pulled out?

I think to sustain the development work and good governance work and to participate in continuing to build capacity. And that capacity in the security area is, I think, still to be defined.

How many speeches do you give in a year?

Oh. (Pause) I don’t know. It could be two to three a week but it’s at all different levels. High school, fundraisers for the family troops, for my foundation, stuff like that.

What’s your fee?

My fee depends on the agency and you do that through my agency.

What’s your favourite city in Canada?

Quebec City, where I live.

What’s your favourite city outside of Canada?

Kigali. It’s the capital of Rwanda.

Will the world’s attitude ever change about human rights? You mentioned in your speech that Bill Clinton took his troops out of Somalia because there was no U.S. self-interest.

Yes it will. It might take a couple of centuries. But that’s OK. Imagine if in two centuries we have differences, but we don’t resort to conflict. It’s worth it.

How close did you come to being killed in Rwanda?

How many times?

How did you avoid it?

Sheer, sheer, sheer luck. I’ll give you an example. I usually was driving my vehicle and one late afternoon, my ADC was driving it. And he was looking that way (straight ahead). And all of a sudden we spoke, he turned his head, and the bullet went right between his ear and his head.

Where is the most inhumane activity going on in the world right now?

Darfur.

Any chance Canada will make an effort there as it did in Rwanda?

I hope so. I was part of the team in 2005 with Prime Minister Martin. I hope we do go back.

What advice would you give to a young Canadian who’s interested in human rights?

Get a couple of thousand bucks and go to the developing world, particularly in Africa. Go see and taste and touch and hear and get your boots dirty for a couple of weeks or a month or so, and then come back.

After one year there, how did you finally get out of Rwanda?

I asked to be relieved of command because I had nothing else to offer.