Mr. Chair, I wish to congratulate my colleague on her speech. She emphasized the humanitarian aid that can be offered to a country like Afghanistan, given all the difficulties it has gone through in the past. This is the way of the future that should be promoted, to my mind. Perhaps it is even more of a royal way than military intervention.
We have to recall a few facts about Afghanistan. For example, the life expectancy of men is 48 and that of women is 45. The infant mortality rate is 147 for every 1,000 births. These statistics are absolutely appalling.
However, this evening’s debate is not necessarily concerned with the relevance of intervention in Afghanistan. It is concerned more with the fact that we all have a responsibility, both the members of the previous Parliament and those now part of it. Perhaps Canada’s mission has not been defined clearly enough.
I quote the comments made by the current Minister of National Defence on November 15, 2005, when he was seated in the opposition:
When a government decides to intervene in a failing state there are a number of considerations that must be taken before committing troops...[For example, its] mandate is realistic, clear and enforceable.
Can we really say that the mandate given the Canadian troops was realistic, clear and enforceable from the outset? Let us not conceal it: we have had difficulty explaining to our fellow citizens the difference between the start of the mission and the turn it has taken today.
Next, the minister said that the mission must have “an effective command and control structure”. We are presently debating about who is really controlling this mission. Is it being directed by the Americans or by NATO? This is the type of situation that has to be put on the table.
Another criterion mentioned by the minister was that “there is a definition of success”. In other words, should today’s debate not permit us all to agree that a fairly short timeframe should be established, and very closely monitored? That way we would be sure of not finding ourselves in a quagmire from which we are unable to extract ourselves. The best intentions in the world can lead us down a very bad road, if we have not properly identified the methods we should be using.
In the minister’s opinion, should we not take the advice that was offered by the new Minister of Defence when he sat in opposition? Should the government not commit to meeting those conditions which he himself laid down and which are not well known at the moment to Parliament or to the Canadian population at large? In no way does this cast any doubt on the relevance of the mission. However there are additional efforts to be made in terms of the way this mission is being deployed. We expect the government to be much more clear on this point than was the previous government.