Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Kanata—Carleton.
I rise to speak against the Conservative motion which states:
That, given that ISIS has taken responsibility for recent deadly attacks in Paris, Beirut, and Africa, and has declared war on Canada, this House: (a) acknowledge that now is not the time for Canada to step back and force our allies to take on a heavier burden...
We oppose the motion because it has a false premise.
First and foremost, let me reiterate that the Liberal government is acutely aware that ISIS, or Daesh, which is its name, poses a real and serious threat to security. Our government believes that Canada has a role to play in the international effort against ISIL. The Liberal government is not stepping back from its burden in the fight against terrorist groups. Instead, the Liberal government understands its obligations to protect the freedom and security of Canadians. That is why it is taking a very smart approach.
Recent history has shown that bombing alone will not defeat terrorist groups like Daesh, or ISIL, as we call it. We know that to be successful we require highly trained, well-equipped local forces. That is an intelligent thing to do. Why? Because the local forces have not only the linguistic and cultural ability to understand the fight against the terrorist group, they have been the victims of the horrors by this renegade group of terrorists.
People in the countries in which ISIL operates are subjected to the horrors, because ISIL is not a religious group. As a Muslim, I can proudly say it is a renegade group of terrorists. They have nothing to do with Islam, but by us giving them the target of Islamic State, we are giving them credence that they do not deserve.
Let us look at what the Conservatives have done. On October 7, 2014, the previous Conservative government passed a motion in the House to join a coalition air campaign to combat ISIL for six months. In April 2015, the House passed a motion renewing the motion for a year and extending air strikes into Syria.
Liberals did not support the previous Conservative government's efforts, because we do not strike people indiscriminately. By doing that, we basically have created a sort of pseudo attraction for those who are not aware of what ISIL really is. Having watched in horror what bombing has done to the cities in Syria, in Iraq, and surrounding areas and having visited the Middle East on many occasions, I can only imagine the pain and fear that these populations are facing. Daesh is attacking more Muslims than any other communities.
Basically it is a Sunni militant group whose goal is to build a state that people do not understand. A caliphate is only a name allocated to the first four Rashidun caliphs. Those who do not know Islamic history choose to address this issue in ignorance. I think it is high time that we, as Canadians, understand that this is not a clash of civilization; it is basically ignorance that we are not able to make the right decision.
I think the Liberal government has taken the smart approach. It is stopping the air strikes and ensuring that we help to build capacity on the ground. This is an intelligent thing to do, because the forces on the ground are well in tune with the nuances. They are aware of what is going on, on the ground. They are also aware and they have the best network for figuring out where the information is coming from. We do not know it.
It is better for us, as an intelligent move, to help these people. Our men and women in uniform have years of combat and training experience in places like Afghanistan. Our Minister of National Defence is very well aware of what gone on there. We will have a major impact on ensuring that the local Iraqi and Kurdish forces are well prepared to defeat ISIL once and for all.
Our government has never been opposed to deploying our armed forces into combat when it clearly serves Canada's national interest. We feel that Canada's commitment to a non-combat mission focused on training and humanitarian aid is a better approach.
Young people from different parts of the world are getting enticed by ISIL. Why? It projects the image that there is something in west that is attacking their so-called countries and religion. That is far from the truth. By our continuing to attack them unilaterally, not unilaterally but without any thought to collateral damage, we are really playing into ISIL's agenda. Their agenda is to tell these young people that there is a clash of civilization, which is far from the truth. That clash is not there.
We, as Canadians and as western countries, need to understand it. By striking indiscriminately, we have created a greater problem for security. We have given ISIL the weapon it wants, the rhetoric that it is somehow fighting a holy war, which is far from the truth.
I think our government's position in showing the way forward. Its interest in training and equipping Iraqi forces to fight and destroy ISIL is a better approach.
I have heard from other members that we have to stop the outside forces that are supplying arms and the illegal trade in the black market of oil. I think that is another way that we can address it. I have worked with Transparency International and with the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption. This is one of the most important weapons that we can use, stopping the flow of funds so that ISIL is cut off at its knees.