As a Quebecker, I am offended when the media and other sources imply that we are genetically programmed to oppose the military participation of Quebec. Some people have even said that we lack courage. I am offended by this and by the fact that people think that Quebeckers are a little dim and misinformed, or that they don't know what is going on. I completely object to that.
I think that Quebeckers are well informed and that they are very skeptical and critical, and justifiably so, of the current deployment and the way it is being managed. Further, I do not believe that the deployment in Afghanistan will be successful with the help of a couple of spins—pardon the expression—that is, with a little more help, with a few more Leopard tanks, helicopters and 5,000 troops. No.
I don't believe that the situation will succeed with that approach because it was badly thought out since 2001, and even before then. We have to honestly recognize this and look at the root causes to adopt a completely different strategy from what is currently the case. That will be extremely difficult, because everyone knows full well that the major players are the Americans. So let's stop kidding ourselves.
However, as I said earlier, in some cases, Canada has, in certain circumstances and with certain allies, objected to American strategies which did not make sense, such as supporting the Apartheid regime throughout the 1980s. So we did stand up to the Americans and force them to back down on that issue. In this case, we need to show the same courage. That would take real courage.