Mr. Speaker, all of the reductions the minister mentions in his response were included and considered before the recommendations were made.
The defence review recommended that Canada be able to commit to the United Nations and sustain approximately 4,000 personnel. However, the white paper commits numbers that could "conceivably involve in the order of 10,000 military personnel".
As we know from Bosnia and other UN commitments, it is easier to become involved than to disengage. Canada cannot sustain such numbers. Why are we committing them?