Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the leader of the Liberal Party for his assistance in ensuring the defeat of the irresponsible Bill C-440. We reject the ridiculous notion implicit in that bill that President Barack Obama is persecuting deserters from voluntary military service in the U.S. armed forces.
We further reject the basic inequity proposed in the bill that we would impose very severe penal sanctions on deserters from voluntary service to the Canadian Forces while welcoming as heroes deserters from voluntary service in foreign militaries. We believe that would send entirely the wrong message in terms of morale to our men and women in uniform.