Mr. Speaker, our foreign affairs minister recently told the foreign affairs committee that the idea of a North American security perimeter was simplistic. He was right, but only in the sense that we need to have much more than a security perimeter to keep Canadians safe and the Canada-U.S. border open to trade. In other words, a North American security perimeter is necessary but it is not sufficient.
This hard reality seems to be lost on the Liberals. What more evidence do they need? We had the bracing attacks of September 11, reports of planned attacks on Montreal's Jewish community, the slowing pace of trade at the Canada-U.S. border and now U.S. military patrols along what was the longest undefended border in the world.
This Liberal reluctance is nothing more than anti-Americanism dressed up as nationalism, and a cheap nationalism it is. Canada is a great country but its greatness is not defined by how often we set out to tweak the nose of the Americans. We should embrace, without apology, a North American security perimeter because it is good for Canadians and all North Americans.