Mr. Speaker, yesterday in response to my question on the tragic suicides reported at Valcartier the minister stated: "The rate of suicides is lower in the armed forces than it is in the population as a whole".
However a review of relevant Statistics Canada data shows a suicide rate of .02 per cent, whereas the rate at Valcartier for the past year is .12 per cent, or six times higher. It should also be noted that the suicide rate at Valcartier among peacekeeping forces sent to the former Yugoslavia is still three times higher than in the population at large.
Given these facts, will the minister not agree this issue must be addressed before more troops are sent to Bosnia and Croatia?