Mr. Chair, I suppose I could start by saying what price freedom.
I can say that these are estimates that are being very carefully thought out. It is true that the previous government committed troops to Afghanistan. We were in support of that. As I have already said, we are in support of our troops there.
In the last question period before this one it was our Prime Minister who very clearly said that no longer will our troops have to suffer from lack of proper equipment, be it uniforms, equipment, lodging or whatever. We will properly care for our troops wherever they are in this world. Those have been cost accounted and laid out very clearly and independently audited.
The member opposite also raised questions about how long should we be there and what are the costs. Of course these are questions we need to address. That is why we are having the debate. We have also clearly said that future engagements such as this will require a debate and a vote here in the House of Commons. However, we are in fact committed here.
We are not surprised that the member has raised these questions. I am glad that he did. That is what debate is all about. Let us not forget that tonight two NDP members were outside protesting with a group saying to bring our troops home. That is what they were doing. Let us let Canadians know that. That is not a surprise because in the second world war it was their leader who said we should not even engage against the Nazis and let them run roughshod.