Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary's arguments are no more convincing than those of his counterpart at foreign affairs.
One of the reasons they are even less convincing is that this morning one of his colleagues reminded us that this House had voted on several occasions on sending troops, not only to Iraq, but also to the Congo, Cyprus, and the Middle East.
There are examples when the House voted. Why is the government refusing to change the practice it brought in when it came to power, according to which it refuses to hold a vote after a debate?
The government should learn something from this war, a lesson in democracy.