Mr. Speaker, the member is asking hypothetical questions that are excluded by the motion. He knows perfectly well of the complexity of the situation in Syria, and he knows that we have been invited by the government of Iraq to provide assistance, which is what we will do. He is asking this hypothetical question because he is plainly trying to evade the grotesque irresponsibility of his party and leader, outside the best Liberal tradition, in the position it has taken on this motion.
While most of our major allies in the democratic world, including social democratic governments and parties, have endorsed or committed military support to this mission in Iraq, the leader of the Liberal Party, in an extreme variation from Liberal tradition, is making adolescent jokes. He characterized prospective Canadian military action, referring to the use of the Royal Canadian Air Force jet fighters, as “whipping out our CF-18s to show how big they are”. How profoundly unserious. I would suggest that the member instead listen to voices such as those of former Liberal ministers Lloyd Axworthy, Ujjal Dosanjh, Jean Lapierre, le premier ministre du Québec, to Liberals who understand the great Liberal tradition of standing in solidarity with our allies in defence of international security.