Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday we asked the Minister of Defence whether the Canadian soldiers lent to foreign units in the past had taken part in armed conflicts without Canada being at war. We got no reply. We asked the same thing on Thursday, still with no answer, but the minister said he would look into it. On Friday it was once around again, this time with the parliamentary secretary, who said it was still being looked into.
If the government refuses to respond, is this not because it wants to hide the fact that the situation in Iraq has set a precedent, because it wants to conceal the fact that this is the first time Canadian soldiers are fighting within foreign units while Canada is not officially at war?