Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take part in the debate on the NDP motion about military operations in Afghanistan.
As I said last week, I want to commend the people in my riding, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, and the Canadian Forces personnel from 3 Wing Bagotville who are serving in Afghanistan. I salute their bravery and their generosity.
The NDP motion has some similarities to the Liberal motion we debated last week. The difference is this: the NDP take the position that Canada should put an end to this mission immediately, whereas the Bloc, like the Liberal Party, believes that we should tell the international community that the mission will end in February 2009.
It is true that, whatever disagreements the members of this House may have about the mission in Afghanistan, we still have full confidence in the men and women on the ground.
Even though we supported the Liberal motion, we propose a rebalancing of the operations in Afghanistan, particularly in regard to Canada's strategy for supporting peace in Afghanistan and the mandate and methods of the Canadian Forces.
The House of Commons has made a commitment until 2009, and it must honour that commitment. To my NDP colleagues, I say that it would be irresponsible for the members of this House to support this motion.
Just imagine what would happen if the Government of Canada adopted such a motion. Imagine how the members of the coalition, NATO and the International Security Assistance Force would react. We would be sending the message that we are giving up, and that could tarnish Quebec's and Canada's international reputation.
It is crucial, however, that we inform our allies that the Canadian Forces will no longer have a mandate in Afghanistan in February 2009.
The Bloc Québécois has always supported sending troops to Afghanistan as part of a NATO mission. Unfortunately, that mission has become a war operation. The framework of the operation has changed, but Parliament has made a commitment until February 2009, and we must honour that commitment.
The Bloc Québécois deplores the fact that this motion suggests that we withdraw. Once again, we will vote against the NDP motion.