Mr. Speaker, if the objective of the exercise in which we are involved is simply to attach blame to one or two individuals or to indicate that there were problems such as the hon. member describes, then surely the inquiry at some point will tell us what it thinks is the appropriate remedy.
I want to suggest respectfully to my colleague that the armed forces and Canada are faced by a major crisis. One person or two people being involved or being singled out for special attention, especially when they are in positions of leadership, is understandable. But I believe the problems in the Canadian Armed Forces go far beyond just a couple of people who, for whatever reason, are being singled out for special attention today and have been for some weeks. I am not going to be drawn into that at this point.
I began my work this morning by meeting with the chief of the defence staff and the deputy minister. What I have said to them and will say to my hon. friend is that what we do will have one objective. I hope that together we can make sure that the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces work in an environment where they have a mandate and the people of Canada through Parliament give them the resources to carry out that mandate.