Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I'm going to start my questioning with Mr. Baird, and there's a reason for this.
But before I do, I find this disheartening, having worn a uniform for 30 years. Here we have a small contingent of Canadian soldiers whom we've asked to assist in Iraq, the people fighting for the freedom of Iraqis, the people who are fighting to be able to protect Canadians. Ultimately that's why we're there. That's going to be the direction. Just as we're becoming successful, Her Majesty's third party and loyal opposition seem to want to throw a damper on things when we're beginning to see some success. I just find that and I believe most Canadians find that very strange, when we should be there supporting our men and women when they're doing what we asked. I just don't think that we....
The reason my question is going to be to Minister Baird is that his constituency is in the city of Ottawa. In October the city of Ottawa saw some very terrible things happen. Two people in this country, whose only sin was to wear the uniform of a Canadian soldier, were killed. These very halls here were invaded by somebody who was infected by the warped Islamic belief of a very few. We know in this country that many people like this, some of these extremists, are being funded by people like ISIL. The reason we are there is to protect our own citizens here, which is the most important thing a member of Parliament has to do, and that's the health and safety of our citizens.
I wonder, Minister Baird, if you can talk about that, how it affects the average Canadian, why they appreciate what their government and more especially the sacrifice of our men and women—very few of them—are doing in Iraq right now, and why they need our unequivocal support.