Mr. Speaker, I can understand your confusion between the hon. member and me in the way we look. I can say that we share fundamentally different convictions about the country and about the direction of the armed forces.
I am quite surprised by what the hon. member has said. Somehow he has elevated the position of a general officer retired
from the armed forces into some privileged position within Canadian society. Well, I have news for him. We are all equals in Canadian society, whether we are ex-generals, plumbers or carpenters. We all have the right to take part in the democratic process and express our views.
The hon. member sat through the questioning last week. He did not take part in it. I think he understands the process. It is a process which he supported, and the former Bloc leader, now the premier of Quebec, supported when he was in the House, which is to have an open, independent inquiry so that all the issues can be heard and that no individual, no circumstances should be judged in isolation.