Mr. Speaker, I have a bushel of questions for this hon. member. I will start with a few.
At the close of his presentation, the hon. member talked about the opportunity presented through this legislation. I agree with the hon. member in a way that this is the time of opportunity in terms of reforming the military. We have had calls from many different places for major and positive reform to the military. We have had the Dickson report. We have also had the Somalia inquiry with a report that recommended substantive change, including the establishment of the office of an independent inspector general, which is not in this legislation.
The hon. member listed one after another after another new bureaucratic bodies that are being created by this legislation. I know the hon. member has a background in the military or certainly a background knowledge of the military. I will ask him a straight question. Does he believe the Department of National Defence needs more bureaucracy? Does the Department of National Defence need more bodies, more places to make patronage appointments, more complexity? Does the hon. member really believe that is what the Department of National Defence needs?