Mr. Chair, as is my custom, I would like to thank the voters of Saint-Jean for having chosen me for a fifth consecutive term in the House of Commons. I promise to defend them with all the vigour and strength necessary, as I have been doing for 13 years. Some of my voters are listening to me right now, and I think it is important to explain to them the kind of procedure that we are following. I want to assure my voters in Saint-Jean that if I am surrounded by Liberals, it is because we are in a committee of the whole, which allows us to move around the House and sit wherever we like. They can therefore rest assured that I have not crossed the floor and have no intention of doing so.
The basic question is the following: should we stay in Afghanistan or leave? This is the debate that is raging now. Let us start with a little history and recall the sad events of 9/11, when airplanes hit the twin towers in New York. The response was not long in coming. The next day, the UN stated that this was a case of self-defence, of an attack on the United States, and the United States had a right to respond.
NATO reacted in the same way. Article 5 stipulates that if one of the 26 states that are members of NATO is attacked, the others must come to its defence. The same day, September 12, NATO established the legal basis for intervening. Everyone agreed that it was a case of legitimate self-defence. Several operations were launched. Operation Apollo made it possible to invade Afghanistan, with the help of the British among others. Canadians took part as well. Then there was Operation Athena.
We are now in the third of the four phases of Operation Athena. This is an international plan. The first phase consisted in stabilizing the capital because that was where the major infrastructure was located and where we eventually wanted to establish a government, a militia and public safety. This first phase has been completed in Kabul.
Then, during the second phase, the north and west were stabilized. Troops were dispatched to ensure that the north and west were stabilized.
Now we are in phase three, when Canadians offered to maintain the provincial reconstruction team in Kandahar, one of 13 PRTs in Afghanistan. This is proof of an international effort. Why is there such an effort? Why do 36 countries want to get involved to restore stability? Because they know that it is not enough to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban, to push them back to the borders and maybe even into Pakistan. That is not enough. The Taliban have to be prevented from coming back. Canada decided to maintain one of the 13 PRTs, and Kandahar was chosen. Based on my frequent trips to Brussels, I can tell you that the international community is extremely grateful to Canadians and Quebeckers—because the Royal 22nd Regiment will certainly be called on to serve as well—because they know that it is the toughest place in Afghanistan. They commend us for what we have done.
Phase four, which is still to come, will target the eastern part of the country, and NATO will take charge of all operations in Afghanistan. It is important that people understand that. The legal basis is solid, and the UN has given its approval. NATO has not only given its approval but will take part as well. NATO has 26 member nations, and 10 additional countries are lending support. Australia, for instance, wanted to get involved to prevent the Taliban from returning to power, for obvious reasons.
What happened before the international community got involved? There were terrorist camps. Al-Qaeda had a strong presence and controlled the Afghan government and the Taliban. There were terrorist camps everywhere. People planned attacks on western capitals. All this was done openly, and no one raised any concerns. No one prevented it.
After the events of September 11, people said that we could not wait any longer and that it had to end. The international community got involved by first ensuring a very solid legal basis. The current situation in Kandahar is not complicated. Some people are trying to tell us that it is like the war in Iraq, but that is wrong.
Of course it is under the Americans' Operation Enduring Freedom but Canadians command in Kandahar. When a Canadian commanding officer needs troops, he will often call headquarters in Kabul to say, “I need this or that,” and he is supplied. It is not the Americans who are dictating to the Canadian commanding officer in Kandahar what he has to do. In any case, this is going to change soon because NATO is going to take over. The Canadians are making the transition and NATO will eventually take control.
At present, there is a command of 250 soldiers in Kandahar. There is also a team in the provinces where the economy and diplomacy have to be restored and the government has to be supported. So we need more than soldiers. However, in Kandahar, we need many more soldiers because it is the most unstable place. It would be idealistic to think that diplomats—we have already lost one—could go there or that CIDA could do development work there, knowing that the climate is unstable. There must first be a military force there to stabilize the situation.
There are 1,000 soldiers on a combat mission. Of course, stability must be ensured and the Taliban must be pursued. However, if we leave, either the international community will come to our rescue when we are no longer there or the Taliban will resume their old ways of doing things.
Has there been any progress in this area? To my mind, we have made some progress. Presidential and legislative elections have taken place. At present, 2,000 schools have been built or restored. Over 5 million children have gone back to school, one third of whom are girls who did not have the right to go to school before.
I believe that if Canadians and Quebeckers knew the real story, support for the troops would be much stronger. That is why I appreciate the debate. It is wrong to say that we should leave now. We cannot invite the Taliban to burn the 2,000 schools we have just built or restored. We cannot tell the Taliban to return to having only men in power. We cannot tell the women they have no right to schooling and no place in the country's political structures. That is not acceptable. That is why the Taliban commander made me smile when he said that we were afraid and we were showing indecision.
As I see it, we are showing no indecision here, this evening. We will not let the Taliban return to power and tell 5 million children there are no more schools, tell girls they have no right to go to school. We will not allow the growing of poppies and the manufacture of heroin to continue. Afghanistan is the source of 90% of the world's production of opium and heroin. That has to change, and that is the task of CIDA. It is the task of the RCMP to train the state police and military so they can be given more and more responsibility.
We cannot permit a recurrence of scenes such as we saw in Rwanda. It is wrong to think that Quebeckers and Canadians sitting in their living rooms are going to watch massacres and say, “No way are we going to send our soldiers: it’s too dangerous”. I do not believe that people think like that. On the contrary, when they are well informed about the mission of our Canadian Forces, the people will be in agreement, and that will provide us with more support. So let us continue. We will assess the situation.
I could also talk about prisoners, but I will probably do that in question format. Finally, we have the international effort. The effort of the Canadian Forces is recognized worldwide. I believe that we are in the process of getting a country on its feet again. The feeling of solidarity in Canadians and Quebeckers will ensure that they support their Canadian Forces and restore Afghanistan to a more decent life.