Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. In a report on the defence choices that Canada must make in this post cold war period, a think tank called the Canada 21 council made some thirty recommendations on defence and security. It recommended among other things, that Canada builds three support ships for humanitarian aid and peacekeeping.
Could the Deputy Prime Minister commit herself today to implement this recommendation of Canada 21 and give the MIL Davie shipyards a mandate to develop the smart ship, a ship that could effectively support the Canadian contribution to peacekeeping?