Madam Speaker, my colleague's argument seems to be rooted in the notion that the American authorities have criticized the security at Canadian borders. I have listened to this debate all morning. This is the fourth reference made to criticisms by Colin Powell. Sometimes I get nervous that if something gets repeated often enough, it becomes fact.
I am fully aware of an interview that the American secretary of state gave to ABC News in which he spoke the almost identical words that the member referred to. For anyone who reads the transcript or heard that interview, there is absolutely no misunderstanding that he was referring to Afghanistan and Pakistan. That interview transcript appeared in an article in the Toronto Star , subsequently followed by a columnist's paraphrasing of it.
The member has stated that Colin Powell, the secretary of state of the United States, is critical of and has concerns with Canadian border security. Is he prepared to table a document in the House, and I am not talking about a columnist's paraphrase of an interview, which demonstrates that the secretary of state for the United States has made a direct criticism of Canadian border security?
The member has made a very serious accusation here. I think that this is an important time to clear this up. I therefore ask that if he has such a document to table it. If he does not, then stand and admit that he does not. Let us deal in fact not myth because I believe that is one of the problems we are faced with when we are dealing with this crisis.