Mr. Speaker, this all relates to Somalia and the airborne. The hon. member is clearly misguided in his attempts to discredit the Minister of National Defence and the government.
The Reform Party platform of using specious arguments and half truths for partisan gain has done nothing to help Canada deal with the issue at hand.
By contrast, the Minister of National Defence and the government have acted forthrightly and effectively. I believe this is what Canadians are seeing and what they are asking for. They are rejecting the disparaging arguments being put forth by the Reform Party.
Let us look at the facts. It was this government that called for an inquiry. More specifically, it was this member as opposition defence critic who asked for the inquiry two and a half years ago, not the Reform Party. It was this government that ensured the inquiry would be public. It was this government that made the commitment to make Canadian forces members available to the commission when they were called upon to testify. It was this government that encouraged people with any information that may be of interest to the commission to go forward to the inquiry. It was this government that ensured the Somali inquiry was provided with complete and accurate information and that relevant documents were made available to the commission.
DND and the Canadian forces have and will continue to co-operate fully with the commission that has been established. Not all our actions have been easy. The public rightfully demanded that the government address this serious issue in an expedient manner, but this had to be tempered with prudence. Where others may have attempted to score quick political points, we stayed the course waiting for the Westray mine decision so that justice would not later be undone as a result of a legal technicality.
These actions point toward leadership, integrity and a willingness to get things done. There is nothing to sustain the utterly fallacious and ultimately destructive arguments being put forward by the Reform Party. We will certainly not be goaded into taking ill advice and precipitous action. We are monitoring the commission proceedings. Canadians can rest assured that appropriate actions will be initiated when and where they are warranted.
Now is the time to let the commission do its work. We look forward to hearing the recommendations of the commission. In summary, the Canadian forces have a long and proud heritage that we are not prepared to discard. I suggest that the Reform Party shares this sentiment.