Madam Speaker, it is nice to see you in the chair. Congratulations on this special role.
I listened to my friend's speech with some interest. It seems he quotes John McCain in the United States without even understanding the context of that quote.
The original mission, we all might remember if we followed this for a few years, was to degrade and destroy ISIS or ISIL. Canada has been a proud part of an international coalition of countries from around the world doing just that. In fact, it has been successful. In between 25% to 30% of the land area in Iraq and in parts of Syria, ISIS has been pushed out and there has been the containment.
What Senator McCain was actually asking for was the destruction of ISIS, which is the next step. The President of France has been going around the world urging all countries to step up, not just to degrade but to destroy, because we have seen what leaving that threat out there can cause to even democracies far away.
My question for the member is: Having played the role degrading ISIS to this point, when our allies are actually calling for the effort to be stepped up, why are we the only one stepping away?