Madam Speaker, I am appalled at the lengths to which the member will go for purposes of politicking and drama, especially to go to the lengths of using the tragedy that occurred in Afghanistan.
May I assure the House, although I do not think it is necessary, that the minister is well aware of his duty and fulfills it to the absolute utmost and that no soldier died in Afghanistan because of inadequate equipment. As I say, I am appalled that any member, such as the member opposite, would make such allegations.
When preparing deployments for peace support missions abroad, the top priority of both the Canadian Forces and the government is always our soldiers' security. This was certainly the case when the time came to organize the Canadian Forces deployment to Afghanistan as part of Operation Athena, the Canadian contribution to the International Security Assistance Force.
Operation Athena is a crucial but dangerous mission. There are those who oppose the international community's efforts in Afghanistan and who will try to dissuade us from our mission. However, the Canadian Forces will neither retreat nor run away from this important task. They are fully committed to their mission in Afghanistan.
Before any unit is declared operationally ready, it is completely certified by the chain of command to be prepared to meet all missions and all tasks. This assessment includes examining equipment requirements, readiness and training. Based on numerous sources of information and intelligence, commanders in the field assess the security situation and based on that assessment, they decide which equipment will be used.
The situation on the ground and areas of responsibilities can change or evolve during a mission. At times the threat level may increase, while at other times it may decrease. Therefore, it is merely prudent military planning on the part of commanders to constantly reassess which equipment is required for the mission at any given time.
Rest assured that every effort was made in the planning of this mission to ensure its success and the safety of our troops. We took steps to provide our men and women in uniform with high quality, appropriate equipment which includes remotely piloted vehicles to survey Kabul from the air--