Mr. Speaker, it is humbling to be here today to speak on Canada's mission in Afghanistan. This is probably one of the most important issues we will deal with as parliamentarians.
In my riding of Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, I have 17 Wing, which is located at CFB Winnipeg, an integral part of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
In addition to CFB Winnipeg, in Manitoba we also have CFB Shilo, both of which provide logistics and manpower for the current mission.
Moreover, my riding has very strong connections to the military. For example, Charleswood and St. James were settled largely by World War II veterans. We have the Royal Canadian Legion Nos. 4 and 100 nearby, as well as Army, Navy and Air Force Branch 183, all within the confines of my riding.
I would like to highlight the concentration of the military presence in my riding, both past and present, because it underscores the importance of this mission to the people of Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia.
The people in my riding have deep roots in the military. The chances are better than not that if we meet someone from my constituency, he or she has served or fought for Canada, or at the very least has relatives or descendants who did. Since 2004, 17 Wing has sent almost 400 personnel to aid the mission in Afghanistan.
I should say at this time that I am splitting my time with the member for St. Catharines.
In addition to the 4,000 personnel who were sent to Afghanistan, three of the five chaplains are included. I can tell members that 17 Wing has been at the centre of the mission to rebuild Afghanistan, whether it has been in helping men and women embark from Shilo to provide an in theatre support element or in providing essential chaplain services. It is for these reasons that no one underestimates the seriousness of this debate in my riding.
I have met with a number of men and women who have been to Afghanistan, and they all, without exception, believe strongly in the usefulness of their mission.
I have also visited several soldiers who have been wounded in Afghanistan, including amputees and spinal cord injury victims. What has struck me deeply is the fact that each one of these injured individuals wanted to rejoin his regiment. They wanted to go back. If they could not go back, they still wanted to serve the military.
I want to share the story of a corporal, a remarkable young man I met two summers ago just after he got a bullet in his spine. It left him a C6 quadriplegic, so he has the use of his arms but not his hands. It is a pretty serious injury.
I talked to him on the phone this afternoon in preparation for this speech and asked him how he felt today. With his permission, here is what was said by Corporal Chris Klodts, who on July 8, 2006, got a bullet in the spine: “Freedom requires sacrifice, and for freedom, I am happy to have sacrificed”. He went on to say, “I would go right back if I could”.
That is the best that Canada has to offer. If there is any doubt from anyone on the merits of our mission, we just need to look at the people coming back and hear their words.
From Facebook, I have another quote from the friend of a person I will not name. Again, I have been given permission to share this with Parliament:
Most of the anti-war crowd have currently attached themselves to a limited pragmatic argument; that no matter how moral our continuing presence may or may not be, they claim that it is not practical to stay here as we have no chance of success and that the expense in terms of money or Canadian lives is not worth any possible benefit.
Most soldiers I know feel that we have a realistic chance of success, even when constrained to fight in a moral manner...even though our enemies are under no such constraints. As I've written extensively on that subject before, I won't get into it again. However, we as a society have not investigated that benefit of our action in practical terms, and less so the heavy costs of not continuing to support the people of Afghanistan....
He is in Afghanistan today as we speak. He goes on:
--most of the soldiers I know understand what's at stake in our fight. Maybe they all haven't verbalized it to the same degree as I just have, but there is a general perception that Canadians don't quite realize just how much is at stake. We fear that they will throw away our gains and sacrifice our future security for immediate comfort and smug self-righteousness. To be honest, that fickleness scares the...out of us more than the Taliban do....
That is pretty heavy stuff and is from a fellow in Afghanistan today. I now have met hundreds of people who have gone to Afghanistan, and I can say that without exception I hear the same sentiments.
Although the families of these soldiers are sad that their loved ones have been injured, they are very proud of them.
It is hard to imagine anything more Canadian than these families, who gather to help those in need, whether it is their own families or people on the other side of the world.
I can tell the House that the people of Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia support the soldiers and the mission. They understand that freedom must be earned and not taken for granted. They understand that the price of freedom is sometimes paid in blood. They understand that in order for Canadian values to be shared with the world we may need to fight against those who wish to see them destroyed.
I want the members of the House to imagine a place where it is a crime to create music, where dancing is illegal, where creating art and freedom of expression is illegal and where 1,000 year old historical monuments are not cherished but blasted to rubble in the blink of an eye. I want members to imagine a place where being female automatically makes one an inferior person, not worthy of education, without any legal rights, let alone a voice of one's own, and where putting on nail polish is punishable by cutting of a person's fingers.
With those images in mind, I think we can understand why we are in Afghanistan.
The United Nations and NATO have recognized this. Canada is part of a world effort. This is not a Canada-U.S. effort or a U.S.-led effort. This is a NATO-led effort, with the support of the United Nations.Those people, if those who refuse to accept the realities of this world get their way, will, unfortunately, experience the realities in which many people live.
We are so fortunate to live in this great country. May the people of Canada and our armed forces keep our land glorious and free.