Mr. Speaker, the reason we are here today at what we like to call the question period late show is that we have been unable to get any straight answers from the government for a solid week on the matter of Canadian passports being used by Israeli agents in Jordan.
Every day we have stood and asked straightforward information-gathering questions of the prime minister, of the foreign affairs minister, of whomever the files seemed to be pawned off on that particular day. One day we even heard from the Secretary of State for Latin American and Africa, a mistake only remedied when the government finally realized that neither Israel nor Jordan are in Latin America or Africa.
Simply put, they have been evasive, sloppy and inaccurate. They have embarrassed our country at home and on the world stage in their handling of the matter. After more than a week our questions remain outstanding and unanswered. They have been asked in good faith on behalf of concerned Canadians both at home and abroad and deserve a reply.
We know that the issue is delicate, that Israel and Canada are strong allies economically, culturally, politically, and of course allies in the fight against international terrorism. Canadians believe in the State of Israel and its right to defend itself against attack.
Our concerns have centred on the fact that Canadian passports have been used to engage in covert operations. By using Canadian passports as part of their cover, Israeli agents have made Canadians unwitting players in a very dangerous game.
The Canadian passport like the maple leaf is a trusted symbol of our country. Our passport enjoys unparalleled respect the world over, undoubtedly a reason that the Mossad found it useful. Using Canadian passports may be good for counter-terrorist missions, but it unfortunately jeopardizes the reputation of our passport and of Canadians who travel abroad every year. That means it jeopardizes the safety of those Canadian travellers as well.
Over the past week the government has said that the passports were forgeries. Then it said they may have been forged or stolen. Then it said that Canadian officials had seen the passports, then that they had not seen the passports but other people had seen them. It goes on and on.
Surely this is such a sensitive issue that it deserves a clear answer as to what has actually happened. Surely after nearly two weeks of inquiries the government should know the truth.
Therefore I ask again, and solicit a straight answer from the government, will the government please explain to Canadians what exactly happened in Jordan and how it came to be that the Mossad was using Canadian passports as a cover?