Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. friend for his question, which hits the heart of two issues.
What is the role of our military? There is no clear description of the military's role. If it has a role as a fighting force with ground forces and if we need tanks to fulfil our NATO obligations or for our peacekeeping roles, then this would make absolute sense.
My colleague illustrated the important issue of why we do not hear whether or not we are accepting those tanks. It is like the submarine situation. We do not know why the submarines were rejected. We do not even know if they were considered properly.
We do not know what the minister of defence is thinking, be it regarding submarines or tanks because a direction for the military has not been articulated. The government waffles all over the spectrum. It is as if it goes with the breeze. We do not know what the government's plan is for the military. If we knew what the plan was, then we would know whether or not we should buy the Abrams tanks or the submarines. First should be the role. The government has been sitting here for five years and has not articulated a strong clear position on what the role of the military should be.
A second issue is that of the U.S. military. The U.S. military, as much as some people in our country like to criticize it, has been an enormous friend to Canada. We cannot do our job without its help. In many cases the U.S. military relies on our help.
The co-operation that exists between both countries on a military level is astounding, be it in the use of military satellites, communications skills, or our frigates protecting their ships against submarines. There is an intimate relationship between the U.S. and Canadian militaries which serves us both well. Our ability to protect ourselves would not be nearly as good if the U.S. military did not have such a co-operative relationship with our men and women in the military.
It is important that we do not treat Bill C-25 or this discussion as a witch-hunt against the military. There have been criticisms against the leadership in the military. As in any organization there are good eggs and bad eggs. It is the minister's role to separate them. Get rid of the bad eggs and keep the good eggs. Enable the many good people in the military to percolate up to the top, to strengthen our military to be the best that it can become.
There is so much dissatisfaction with the military personnel in their ability to advance. As a result huge numbers of extraordinarily talented people in the prime of their lives, in their thirties, forties and fifties have been lost to early retirement. They do not have the faith in the military to contribute to the organization they originally went into because they believed in it with their hearts and souls. Many of them came from families who gave their lives to the military for our country. What a sad reflection of our country that we cannot support an institution which has served our country and the world so well for so long.