Mr. Chair, I am not sure I am going to have enough time to answer all those questions.
Let me quickly address the first on cost. Let me quote directly the spokesperson from the coalition for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
By the way, I should say it continues to be a source of great frustration to that coalition that it has not been able to get a hearing with the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. I hope that is going to change since everybody agrees that this is a very critical issue for us to be addressing.
On that issue, the president of the Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Bev Delong, said the following:
What will be the cost to the public purse of our participation in missile defence? Will we pay 10% as with NORAD or 40% as with the construction of the North Warning System? If there is no cost, what will we 'owe' to the U.S. in upcoming trade discussions? Must we kowtow for ever? Will that political debt ever be paid?
Let me go on to the second question that was raised. It was about whether we do not recognize that there are some threats, that there is some basis for people feeling insecure in our world.
This is an e-mail that I received today from a representative of the Voice of Women for Peace, one of the finest peace building, peace educating groups in this country, with a very distinguished record. Eight answers are offered to that question. Let me very briefly cite three of them.
BMD will not protect North Americans from terrorism. Terrorist acts such as the attack on the World Trade towers tragically demonstrate that Cold War defence strategies will not work in the 21st century and instead will provoke rather than deter attacks.
Second, human security is dependent upon respect of internationally recognized human rights and an equitable distribution of the world's resources. Defence policies must recognize that peace will come from justice, not from military might.
Finally, human security would be greatly assisted by diverting monies from ill-conceived weapons to social programs, environmental solutions, international human rights protection, disaster assistance and development aid.