Madam Chairman, I commend the hon. member for standing with many of her constituents and speaking out against the possibility of war on the people of Iraq who have already suffered so tragically as a result of the economic sanctions which this Parliament in the foreign affairs committee unanimously recommended be lifted.
I see one of the members of that committee joined in that eloquent plea which to date has fallen on the deaf ears of her own government.
First, does the hon. member agree with the position that is taken by her colleague, the Liberal chair of the defence committee, who has said that there is no need for United Nations support, that Canada should join in a U.S.-led coalition of the willing? To quote him, he said:
We were prepared to say, “If the UN doesn't approve military action in Iraq, then we're not going. I think that's an abdication of a national responsibility”.
That is the position of the chair of the defence committee. The national defence minister in Washington, D.C. took a similar position. The Minister of Foreign Affairs had another position. The Prime Minister had yet another position, on which we are not quite clear.
Could the hon. member perhaps enlighten the House and through the House, Canadians, as to where the Liberal government stands on this issue?
Second, and very important, because the member is one for whom I have great respect and she has been in the House for a while, does she not agree that on an issue this fundamental, that if indeed it comes to the point that Canadian men and women are called into military action under the umbrella of a United Nations resolution or otherwise, that each and every member of the House should have the right to vote, not just to debate but to vote, on that fundamental question?