Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the member for Saint-Jean for his presentation, which shed light on certain aspects of this issue. The other members of the House will in turn attempt to do the same this evening.
Our Department of National Defence has deployed soldiers to Afghanistan to establish democracy. Sometimes the newspapers report that when we ask questions about why our military is there in order to explain the reasons for our involvement to Canadians and Quebeckers, it is as though we are demonstrating a lack of confidence in our military. I find it quite regrettable that we allow ourselves to be told, by certain groups or by the government, that questions may not be asked about support for our troops in Afghanistan. This is a lack of democracy in our own country. It is unacceptable. As parliamentarians, we cannot accept this.
I would say this to the member. We want support for our troops in one way or another. First of all, with full democracy, the opportunity for a debate on the issue is provided in Parliament . Second, would it not be reasonable for us as leaders of our country and representatives of our regions to speak on the matter, before deciding on the mandate of our military? We live in a democratic country. We have sent our troops to another country to establish democracy. We do not believe in dictatorship. However, a government that acts on its own, without these questions being raised in Parliament, could be called a dictatorship.
Both scenarios should be possible. We, as representatives of Canadians, should be able to conduct a debate and a democratic vote in the House of Commons.