Mr. Chair, it is a pleasure and a privilege for me to speak about our soldiers in Afghanistan.
My riding of West Nova is home to CFB Greenwood, the largest air base on the east coast. I have seen firsthand the resolve and dedication shown by our Canadian Forces members as they stand ready to serve their country overseas.
Above all, it is imperative that our troops know that we stand behind them 100%. We have confidence in their skills and we must ensure that they have at their disposal the personnel, the resources, and the equipment that they need to do the job that we have sent them to do. Anything less would simply not be acceptable.
However, support for our troops should not be confused with support for the decisions of our politicians. Questioning our government does not at all question our support for our troops.
With that in mind, we are here tonight to debate the future of Canada's role in Afghanistan. As a nation, we have worked hard to cultivate our reputation as peacekeepers. Even as we stand by our allies and deploy our military in areas of conflict, we must preserve our reputation as peacekeepers and safeguard our independent foreign policy.
With this in mind, however, I believe that we have an important role to play in Afghanistan and I fully support our ongoing presence in this region. Make no mistake, we have a responsibility to finish the job that we started.
We went to Afghanistan as part of an international commitment after one of our NATO allies was attacked on September 11, 2001. We went because the Taliban government supported and facilitated the work of al-Qaeda. We went on behalf of the Afghan people because we have a long term interest in ensuring peace and stability in a region that remains volatile.
Afghanistan is now at a critical juncture. We toppled the repressive Taliban regime. On October 9, 2004 the Afghan people voted for the first time in democratic elections. We know that their government is less than perfect, but it includes the seeds of a burgeoning democracy and it needs our ongoing support. Some would argue the same of our Parliament. We must remain in Afghanistan because we cannot allow it to return to a failed state or become a safe haven for terrorists.
I want to touch briefly on the issue of prisoners of war. All prisoners must be treated with dignity and respect, in accordance with the rule of law. We must never do, through a third party, anything that contradicts our national values.
Finally, I want to speak about the nature of tonight's discussions. Our mission in Afghanistan is dangerous. We knew that when we went in. As the difficult reality of our peace support operations become apparent, my colleagues in other parties have been publicly calling for a debate and vote on the mission. This kind of debate may not serve a useful purpose and could in fact put our troops in greater danger. It could illustrate to our enemies the possibility of dissension, which might encourage our enemies to take action against our military in the hopes that they could break our resolve.
Moreover, the decision to deploy our military rests solely with the Prime Minister and cabinet. He asked Canadians to give him a mandate to govern and he must take responsibility to make these difficult decisions. Members of Parliament do have an opportunity to provide input into the decision making process to the Standing Committee on National Defence as well as the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development. These committees provide advice to the Prime Minister and Parliament.
That said, it is up to the Prime Minister to make the final decision on the deployment of our military. Only he is privy to all the intelligence material, in its entirety, as collected by our security agencies and those of our allies.
This is a dangerous mission and we have already experienced tragic losses. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who have been injured or killed in the line of duty. They have made the ultimate sacrifice and have done so in the greater interest of humanity. We must keep faith with their sacrifice and honour their memories.