Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We had more or less the same discussion when the small committee met the other day. However there is one argument that I hold strongly to that has not yet been made by my colleagues.
Mr. Hawn would like us to proceed without delay to review Canada's preparations and plans for the upcoming withdrawal of Canadian Forces. I would like to point out that we had an excellent opportunity to do just that after the holidays, for four weeks, but the government decided to shut down the House. In the process, we lost a considerable amount of time.
I would also like to remind you that the committee was prepared to continue this work before the holidays, but that the Conservative Party delegation boycotted the proceedings. So then, when I hear that we should get down to work without further delay, I have to respond that the delay was of the Conservative Party's own making. That is an important argument in the context of today's discussion.
We also agree that the words “without delay” should be stricken.