Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Defence.
Media reports published this morning suggest that in the event of a war against Iraq the Canadian government would send our troops to Afghanistan to relieve American soldiers. Only eight months ago we were unable to sustain a deployment of 750 ground troops for more than a single rotation.
Is this actually the government's plan? If so, where does the minister expect to find the manpower resources to replace our American allies?