Mr. Chairman, I join my colleagues in saying this evening what a privilege it is to be participating in this debate and to have an opportunity, however late the hour in the House, to discuss with one another how we are to deal with the changed circumstances in the world in which we now live as a result of what happened in New York City on September 11.
I will introduce my comments with a few thoughts. The first is that I like other members of the House totally support the government's action in pursuing Osama bin Laden and the Taliban government that harbours him. If we did not take strong actions now, we would never be safe in the future in our country or anywhere else in the world.
I believe our actions are legal. I do not believe as some members of the House have suggested that what we are doing is illegal. Our actions conform to the wishes of the security council and of the United Nations itself. In acting as we are, we have world opinion with us and world legal sanction to do what we are doing.
As other members have said, our men and women in our armed service as they go out to defend the values of Canadians deserve our support, our congratulations and our gratitude for the work and the effort they will be making on our behalf.
The Canadian people support our actions. They are united as never before with our American partners on this continent. This weekend I happened to be walking in the country. As I walked down a small country road by a little river that was so Canadian in its nature and looked at the beautiful fall colours in the Ontario countryside, I saw a small bridge going over this river. At one end of the bridge was a Canadian flag and at the other end there was an American flag.
For me that bridge symbolized in many ways what the Canadian people are presently feeling in terms of their spiritual affinity to our colleagues and friends in the United States who have suffered as a result of what happened in New York City.
We in the House have to take the opportunity provided by this take note debate to reflect on what happened and to ask ourselves how we can ensure that our actions are designed so that it does not happen again.
Everyone has said that the world has changed since September 11. Yes, but then our response to terrorism surely must change as well or we will not be able to deal with this menace. Armed response is only a part, an essential and immediate part but only the beginning of what we must do. This is not the Korean war. It is not the gulf war. When we allocate our resources we must bear that in mind.
The Americans, to their credit under the leadership of Mr. Bush, have recognized this fact. That is why NATO's campaign is clearly restricted to the Taliban and not to the people of Afghanistan. It is why food aid for the population accompanies the destruction aimed at the Taliban and the terrorists. It is why Mr. Bush has initiated his imaginative and laudable campaign to raise money in the United States for Afghan children.
Let us imagine if we had applied these same principles in other places where conflict raises charges of terrorism, in the Middle East or in Sri Lanka, for example, or in the former gulf war. If we had taken steps to diffuse the grievances that give rise to and give support to terrorists and populations that live in terrible conditions, surely we must now double our efforts to find just and equitable political solutions to these conflicts if we are to eradicate terrorism in the long term.
As I watched Mr. Blair in his press conference this morning with Mr. Arafat, I saw a statesman in the world attempting to do just that. It seems to me that we as Canadians must find out where our niche is, where we can bring our assets to bear.
We have many assets besides our military of which we have spoken tonight and of which we will speak in the future with admiration. We are a country that provides its citizens of whatever origin with opportunities in life. In respect of international relations we have worked with other countries and civilizations in the same manner of openness, tolerance and respect that marks our domestic political environment.
We can bring this goodwill to bear in the diplomacy which will be essential if the coalition against terrorism is to hold. We can leverage the respect we have as peacekeepers in the struggle we must face in the coming months and years as we deal with the menace of terrorism.
We have an asset to which we often refer when talking of our comparative advantage in international trade: our population. I represent a riding where I am proud to say 12,000 people live. In Toronto Centre--Rosedale, in a place called St. James Town, some 57 languages are spoken. A multicultural society which speaks most of the languages of the world is found in Toronto. That is an asset in the multicultural and interdependent world in which we live, but surely today it is also an asset from a trade and other points of view.
How will we as a government find a way to use this asset in the new fight against terrorism, particularly in the crucial area of intelligence? If it is languages and cultural knowledge we require, will our armed forces, diplomatic corps and security services take advantage of what we have or will we waste this precious asset?
We must listen to the ideas of Canadian citizens. A constituent phoned me the other day and suggested we use some of our aid to drop radios into Afghanistan to enable the population there to understand what is going on in the world. Small radios cost something like $7 apiece. This might be a practical suggestion. We should be listening to the ideas of citizens to help bring better understanding to the fight before us.
I agree entirely with the observation of my colleague, Mr. Lincoln, who said we must look at the way Canadian aid is developed. If we are to address the root causes of terrorism, attempt to alleviate poverty, reduce oppression and bring good governance, we have many wonderful programs in CIDA and other Canadian government programs. However if this is to be expanded, and expanded it must be, we must find better, more efficient, more attractive and more culturally sensitive ways to bring these assets to bear so we truly can eradicate the conditions which give rise to terrorism.
Other members tonight have mentioned the introduction of the bill in the House this morning that deals with anti-terrorism measures. I would agree with many of them when I say we will be called upon to look at the bill to ensure it preserves the values and traditions of our society.
The Prime Minister was clear when he spoke to that this evening. He said he would be calling on the justice committee to bear the bill with great scrutiny. Those of us in the House who do not have the privilege of sitting on the justice committee will be equally vigilant in ensuring the bill respects and preserves our democratic values. These are the values we are called upon to preserve when we are elected to the House, as Mr. Lincoln said in his quotation from Senator Biden.
Much work has been done in the House which enables us to have a greater understanding of the issues we must now confront. My own committee, the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, has recently reported on the Caucasus, the sanctions on Iraq, and other issues which enable us to have a better understanding of the world in which we live.
The challenge is that we must now adapt to changed circumstances. We must work together in ways we have not done before to increase our understanding and knowledge of the complexity of the world in which we live. We must make sure that understanding is informed by the values of our society as reflected by the constituents we have the privilege to represent.