Mr. Chairman, the message the Prime Minister must take to Washington is that whatever happens the U.S. and its allies must maintain the moral high ground. Our Prime Minister should commit to assisting in helping to build the global coalition to fight terrorism.
The Minister of National Defence mentioned that there may be military involvement. Canada must ensure that there is unequivocal evidence on who exactly the perpetrators are of the attack on America to maintain the moral high ground necessary to prosecute the terrorists and to continue to root them out.
Canadians need to know that in going into the meeting the Prime Minister will clearly state what Canada's objectives are, both from a military and from a political standpoint. Yes, it will be a broad mission but it will have specific objectives. While the pressure from the U.S. must be assessed very carefully we must uphold our NATO commitments.
We must know who is responsible for the attack if measures are going to be taken in retaliation. What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? Where are they for sure? What is their infrastructure? What is the likely response from the countries who are harbouring the terrorists and from the terrorists themselves?
We must know the answers to these questions so that we can have a mechanism in place to respond accordingly. The response to the terrorists must be a blended response, one from our national, provincial and municipal police forces. The terrorist activities must be identified before they begin to unfold.
Even before Canada becomes militarily involved, we must take steps to mitigate against any recurrence immediately. Intelligence agencies must determine the extent of the terrorist network in Canada and translate that information into an implementable campaign.
Conjuring up support during this emotional timeframe is easy but maintaining it will become controversial. In the long term, a much broader look at security at our borders and at our refugee laws must be taken because they not only allow terrorists through but they tend to attract them.
Over the last 10 years, the government has permitted the safety of Canadians to go adrift. The misplaced priorities of the government have left our professional, committed, very well trained armed forces shorthanded and ill equipped. It is time for the government to put Canadians first and until then Her Majesty's loyal opposition will fight for Canadians.