Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for South Shore—St. Margaret's.
I will begin my remarks by commending the Prime Minister, the Minister of National Defence and his parliamentary secretary, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and his parliamentary secretary, as well as the House for the tremendous progress that has been made by our government since it established the independent panel on Canada's future role in Afghanistan.
The independent pane, in its report of January 22, outlined the need for Canada to continue with its responsibility for security in Kandahar beyond February 2009 with increasing emphasis on training the Afghan national security forces. Since these recommendations were made, our government has achieved a bipartisan consensus and has taken action to secure to the 1,000 additional troops required. I expect Canada will argue its case strongly before the upcoming NATO conference.
I am proud to stand before the House tonight to speak in support of a motion that responds directly to the recommendations outlined by the Manley panel and that will ensure the future success of Canada's mission to Afghanistan.
I am proud that the House recognizes that we must fulfill our obligations, our international obligations, yes, but also our obligations toward the Afghan people and toward our men and women in uniform.
Our government realizes the importance of the Afghan mission in terms of Canada's international reputation and obligations. The mission has put Canada at the forefront of international diplomacy and capacity building like no mission in recent memory, and it has done so in a truly international context.
Canada is in Afghanistan as part of the United Nations mandated and NATO led International Security Assistance Force, a force of some 43,250 troops from 38 countries, countries like Jordan, Switzerland, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and Romania. While we are ready to fulfill our international obligations, we recognize the necessity to share the burden with our allies.
The Manley report noted that our commitment to stay past 2009 should be contingent on the assignment of an additional battle group of about 1,000 soldiers to Kandahar by our allies. We fully endorse this recommendation and believe this increase is necessary if we want to improve effectiveness on the ground.
The Prime Minister and other key members of the government have been actively working on securing additional troops as reinforcements in Kandahar. I believe that our allies understand that for NATO to be successful, some of our partners will need to make those additional commitments in Kandahar and elsewhere.
The foreign ministers meeting in Brussels last week was a crucial stage toward a partnership in Kandahar and we are looking forward to next month's Bucharest summit where further advances will be consolidated.
Our commitment to the international community is central but it is more than a commitment toward our allies. We must not forget why we are in Afghanistan in the first place. Afghanistan has suffered decades of conflict, destruction and poverty. The international alliance is establishing the conditions in which Afghanistan can enjoy self-sustaining peace and security.
Last week we had the honour of hosting six Afghan women parliamentarians on an official visit to Canada. The House receives many distinguished visitors but what set last week's dignitaries apart is that their visit would not have been possible only a few years ago. Now Afghan women are part of representative, democratic government. They have access to health care and education in numbers never seen before.
The International Security Assistance Force is helping establish a safer and more stable environment that is allowing roads, hospitals and schools to be built and other development work to take place. These gains are encouraging but Afghan people must receive the additional support needed to consolidate these advances and bring them to an even greater portion of the population.
Canada plays no small role in these advances and in this consolidation. Our troops are in a region where much progress has been made but where more needs to be done to bring security, stability and better livelihoods. To pull Canadian troops out of Afghanistan in 2009, or worse, as early as right now as members opposite have suggested, would be an easy way out in the face of adversity. That is not the Canadian way. Imagine if we had pulled out in World War I or World War II or if we threw up our arms at Juno Beach or the Battle Britain or on Vimy Ridge.
Our government believes that we cannot let the Afghan people down and we will not let them down.
Our third fundamental obligation is to our men and women in uniform who believe in their mission. They were asked by politicians of both parties in 2001 to take part in this difficult but extremely important mission.
Since the first major Canadian deployment in early 2002, more than 15,000 Canadian troops have been stationed and rotated through Afghanistan. Every day Canadian men and women are putting their lives on the line for all of us. They believe in the mission and in what they are doing for the Afghan people, and so does this government. This is why we have taken concrete measures to support our troops.
The Prime Minister announced last month that the government has decided to set aside stable and predictable funding for our Canadian forces by increasing the automatic annual increase in defence spending from 1.5% to 2%. This funding, together with new and upgraded equipment, will improve the general effectiveness and safety of our troops.
Support for our troops goes well beyond funding and equipment. It requires that we give our troops the opportunity to continue the important work they have been doing and to continue this work without interference from third parties.
I commend the Liberal Party for respecting the operational decisions of our military leadership in Afghanistan who are best placed to understand the needs and tactics to succeed. Our government has always been a strong advocate of this kind of independence and we believe that operational decisions should be left to Canadian commanders on the ground in Afghanistan.
The military mission is, of course, only one component of the 3D strategy. Our diplomatic and development gains also have been numerous. For example, Canadian assistance has supported skills development in the Supreme Court, the Attorney General's office, the Minister of Justice, including training for judges, prosecutors, public defenders and court administrators, as well as setting up legal aid programming.
Canada is working to strengthen the Afghan national police and improve the prison system so that the new Afghanistan can effectively police its own population and bring law and order back to the country and people can feel safe in their communities. This also includes a recent $1 million investment to upgrade prison facilities.
In early 2007, Canada announced a $20 million contribution to the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan which helps pay Afghan national police salaries. Canada's total contribution to the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan is nearly $30 million and has paid the salaries of nearly 65,000 Afghan national police members and their staff. Canada has contributed over $50 million to the national solidarity program, nearly 20,000 community development councils have been elected nationwide and over 30,000 projects have been approved by these councils to date.
Those are just some of the gains made in the last six years. I am sure with more effort and with the passing of this motion, Afghanistan will see many more.
We cannot forget the many gains made for women. Women now have health care, education, they can vote and, as we saw last week, they are sitting in parliament. This is a gain we are staying for and a gain worth fighting for.
As a father of three daughters, I want to see women around the world, especially in Afghanistan, have the same opportunities, rights and privileges that my daughters have.
I would like to congratulate this House once again for achieving a bipartisan consensus on the future of this mission. We have recognized that we cannot and will not abandon our obligations. The Afghanistan mission is important enough in terms of Canada's international reputation and obligations and in terms of the obligations we have taken toward the Afghan people and, of course, to our men and women in uniform.
I urge all members to vote in favour of this motion that will bring greater coherence and effectiveness to Canada's efforts.