Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the official opposition's critic on defence issues and very much respect his background and understanding of work with respect to Canada's military and Canada's priorities abroad. I think we have taken a very balanced view on many of these issues. His colleagues who worked on the bill in the committee have supported, in general principle, the idea of moving forward as quickly and as expeditiously as possible with the bill along with some amendments.
One of the amendments that was proposed was the five year review by Parliament to ensure that the legislation meets the requirements we have both internationally and here domestically within this department.
The hon. member will know about the recent disasters that took place in the world, both in terms of the tsunami last December in the Indian Ocean and, more recently, the devastating hurricanes. Does he and his party have a position as it relates to the importance of being able to help signal devastation, to alert our search and rescue and other efforts to find the best ways to get Canadians out of harm's way? Does he believe this technology will assist in that regard? Perhaps he could give some perspectives given his many years working in defence in Canada.