Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his excellent speech which was very comprehensive and covered the topic. I certainly appreciate his support and I am sure all Canadians do, as well as all parties.
I want to make two comments. The one concern that was raised in the debate was whether our soldiers might be charged for collateral incidental damage. Basically, the rules of engagement as they are written explain that those things that are done not intentionally and by accident are not covered. Therefore, there would not be a problem there.
The member who just spoke referred to the timing of this legislation. Normally when Canada signs protocols we try to get all the legislation in place first just in case we were to sign a protocol and something were to happen that the legislation could not pass, then we would be in contravention because we could not implement something we had signed.
However, I want to commit to the member that as soon as we can get this legislation through, we will be signing the protocols and implementing them as quickly as possible. I know he would appreciate that.