National Defence  Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence said that we need to be on the ground to combat the so-called Islamic State. Since he has confirmed that our soldiers are involved in ground operations where they could be exposed to enemy fire, he has the duty to protect them. Howeve

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent question. I was indeed a member of the Canadian Armed Forces for 22 years. I am still in contact with former colleagues who are still members of the forces and who share their concerns with me. At the NATO meetings, I was able

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his excellent question. As I said, when I spoke to parliamentarians from allied and foreign countries, they told me, in private, that Canada's position was weakened because we were withdrawing from combat. This is not hearsay. I think the go

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, the previous government sent CF-18s into combat and special forces to train Iraqi soldiers. We have never been against the training component. The new plan is problematic because it eliminates the combat capacity, which was effective. Even if we only carried out 2.5

Canada's Contribution to the Effort to Combat ISIL  Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I want to say that I will be sharing my time with the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke. The member for Orléans is a former military member like me. Today, we are in politics and our duty is to put our soldiers first. The decisions we make are cr

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government's plan for combatting ISIS is very simple: Canada will be a spectator. Furthermore, we will do less and it will be more dangerous. The Liberals have already withdrawn our CF-18s, even though we are currently debating their motion, and this puts

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, this week, the Minister of National Defence was unable to tell us about the plan to fight the Islamic State. We found out why. The Minister of Foreign Affairs was in Rome to present the plan to the international coalition, and the defence minister was not even in the

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, you are saying that the Minister of National Defence is a great minister, but we can see that you are the one who is actually coming up with the plan. First the minister told us that the terrorist threat is due to climate change, and now we have learned that the gov

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, I will ask the question again and maybe we will get an answer. For days now we have been asking the Minister of National Defence what his plan is to deal with the Islamic State. He said that the Minister of Foreign Affairs was dealing with it while he was in Rome.

Foreign Affairs  Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence has been causing confusion for weeks now. We still do not know how we are going to combat terrorism. We are not looking for reasons. It is time to find solutions. The minister is confused when he talks about the reasons for the rise

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, the number of terrorist attacks is growing. We have been waiting for weeks to hear the government's plan, but there has been nothing but silence. Yesterday, reporters asked the Minister of National Defence about Canada's plans, but he referred them to his colleague

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, the minister indicated in the Department of National Defence's performance report that he is going to participate in coalition operations abroad. Can the minister tell us how he is going to help our allies and fight terrorists by withdrawing our combat forces from S

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, 45 people were killed and 110 more were injured in an attack in Damascus for which ISIS claimed responsibility, but the Minister of National Defence says that his plan is not ready. Seriously? If the Liberals cannot come up with a plan, why should

National Defence  Mr. Speaker, I just got back from a NATO Parliamentary Assembly meeting in Washington. Contrary to what the government says, members of Congress and the U.S. State Department are very disappointed that Canadian fighter planes have been withdrawn from Iraq and Syria. Why is the g

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague's comments and I am truly disappointed in the two arguments we heard this morning. The first was that there are excessive costs and that we should bring back the pilots because it is dangerous. I want to restate what my colleagu