Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Last week and again today, the Bloc Québécois has moved a motion calling on the committee to examine the specifics of Canada's mission in Afghanistan because, as I feel we must acknowledge, we do not have a great deal of information to go on. Before sending men and women off to war, the government has a duty to first inform parliamentarians of the specifics of their mission. It is unacceptable to us that as parliamentarians, we have been kept in the dark and that many of our questions have gone unanswered. I believe this is the first opportunity that we have had to debate this very important issue here in the National Defence Committee.
As I said earlier, we tabled the motion because many questions remain unanswered. We have a role to play in terms of educating and informing our fellow citizens. Every day, all of us hear comments and receive questions from constituents. Here's a brief sample of the questions we field. How long with the mission to Afghanistan last? How much will it cost? What is Canada's role in Afghanistan? Many Quebeckers and Canadians are concerned about the lack of information and are not willing to support extending the mission without getting more facts and without seeing a genuine debate on the subject take place.
May I remind you that in November 2005, the current Minister of National Defence, while in opposition, stated that it was important for the objectives, success criteria and duration of the mission to be debated, along with the status of our personnel, before expanding the role of our military. The minister expressed concern at the time about whether withdrawing from the mission was a plausible option.
The Bloc Québécois totally agrees with the Minister's statement, hence our reason for introducing this motion today. In order to know if this mission can be successfully carried out, we need to have as much information as possible. Unfortunately, many of our questions have yet to be answered.
We need to have a debate and to find out more about this mission. In our opinion, we need to act responsibly and shed more light on the subject. I repeat, we need to educate and inform the public. We need to be open about our actions because lives are at stake. Before we make any life and death decisions, we need more information.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'll have more comments to make later, as will my colleague.