Madam Speaker, before we broke for Question Period the hon. member had asked me a question concerning the defence white paper. I would just like to elaborate.
The question basically was: Would I support the government tabling a white paper on defence policy? He seemed to think that should be done prior to consultation. I had indicated to him very clearly that this is a different government on this side of the House. We consult first and then act. We do not act and then consult.
We committed in our red book to a period of consultation. We have said to the Canadian public and we have said to the men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces that no more would there be a slash and burn approach to defence policy. We recognize there is a fundamental responsibility as a government to modernize our defence establishment. We recognize we have certain fiscal restraints which we have inherited from the previous government. Over all, we recognize our fundamental responsibility to Canadians that when we get into areas such as national defence policy, social policy, fisheries policy, whatever it is, we have a responsibility to consult. What we have started here today with this debate on the floor of the House of Commons is to get that process going, to put it over to a standing committee
of this House and to ask that committee to review what we should be doing in a modern, geopolitical world context.
In conclusion, we will come back at some point. I will support our government, this party, putting forward and tabling in the House of Commons a white paper on national defence. It will not be done, and I underline this, until the work of the committee has been done and all of the interest groups and all Canadians wishing to be heard on this issue are heard.