Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are so nostalgic for the empire that they are counterattacking.
This is not a joke. They want us to undo a century of progress. First, they had an epiphany about the War of 1812 that they decided to share with every single one of us, and now rumour has it that the Prime Minister and his acolytes want to reopen the debate on the Naval Service Act of 1910, which came at a time when Canada was tentatively moving to distance itself from the British empire and develop its own foreign policy.
We were a strong, well-known nation that had found its place in the world, but under today's Conservatives, our Maple Leaf will now be tied to the Union Jack's apron strings, too weak to speak for itself. We will now be renting space in the Queen's embassies. How shameful. At least we can console ourselves with some free photocopies.
Before croquet replaces lacrosse as our national sport and before we start singing God Save the Queen in the House, I would like to see the Conservatives man up and defend our reputation and our interests a little more vigorously, if they do not mind.