Madam Speaker, before I begin my comments today, I would like to take a moment to point out that it is profoundly disappointing to be having a debate on this motion when the government has already begun implementing some of the motion's recommendations before this place has even seen a vote.
Why bother having the debate, when the government cannot be bothered to at least show this House the respect of having a vote before it begins actions such as withdrawing the CF-18s? Of course, that is the point. It is so the government can boast that it did have a democratic vote, even if it was after the fact. We all know that this is part of the so-called new tone in Ottawa.
What also troubles me in this case is that the decision to withdraw our CF-18 fighters was made by this Prime Minister before the mission even began. Let me explain.
On October 3, 2014, the former Prime Minister came before this place and put forward a motion asking the House to confirm its confidence in a government decision to join our allies and partners—the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates—in launching air strikes against ISIL.
During the former Prime Minister's speech, he also provided all of the specific mission details. If members happened to be in the House that day, they would also know that the then-leader of the third party responded to that motion, reading directly from a pre-written speech. The reason I point this out is that the pre-written speech opposed the mission to join our allies in the fight against ISIL. In other words, before the member from Papineau even knew the details of the mission, he had already written his speech opposing it.
As we also know, in an interview with CBC journalist Terry Milewski, when asked, “If you don’t want to bomb a group as ghastly as ISIS, when would you ever support real military action?”, our Prime Minister called that question nonsensical. As we all know, that is not really an answer.
To this day, we have never heard a clear or articulate answer as to why this Prime Minister does not support our CF-18s bombing ISIS. There is a reason I say our Canadian CF-18s. If we look at this motion our Prime Minister has proposed, Canada will continue to provide our Aurora aerial surveillance aircraft to, among other tasks, find ISIS strategic targets to be bombed. We will also continue to provide our Polaris refuelling tanker aircraft to help our allies' aerial bombers reach those same targets.
Finally, as General Vance has confirmed, our expanded training forces will continue to operate near the front lines, painting targets to be bombed. In other words, Canada remains actively involved in the campaign to bomb ISIS, only we are no longer willing to pull the trigger.
Last week the Prime Minister said that “on the beaches of World War II and in the trenches of World War I, Canadians have never shied away from standing up and doing what is right”.
The point is that in those campaigns, Canadian soldiers did stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies, and we did share the burden of pulling the trigger against those who would do us harm. That is no longer the case here. The question is why. Does the Prime Minister not believe that bombing can be an effective part of the campaign to defeat ISIS?
Last week the Prime Minister said, “The air strikes by our allies and by RCAF members have been effective in a measure of impact against ISIL”.
It seems that the Prime Minister has finally recognized the effectiveness of our air strikes by withdrawing them. Of course, that is not a coherent explanation. When the member from Papineau, as the third-party leader, spoke on the original training mission, he had some interesting things to say.
I quote directly from the member for Papineau, who said:
We now know that Canadian troops have been at the front lines, calling in air strikes and engaging in several direct firefights. In a matter of months, despite assurances to the contrary, the government steadily and stealthily drew Canada into a deeper ground combat role in Iraq.
Now the Prime Minister seeks to increase the number of trainers on the ground. General Vance has confirmed that the expanded training force will continue to paint targets for air strikes and will return fire if fired upon, as we would expect them to.
If the Prime Minister considered that a “deeper combat role”, then how can he now claim that this new mission, which expands the number of soldiers doing the same work, is a non-combat role? Once again, this is not a coherent explanation or position.
In this regard, I can relate to the frustration of the New Democrats, who also see this blatant hypocrisy. However, what is also interesting is that back in March 2015, our Prime Minister stated that the work of our trainers “...should take place away from the front lines”. Yet we know that our trainers will continue to work near the front lines painting targets. Once again, the Prime Minister says one thing when opposing the original mission against ISIS and then does another when announcing his own mission. These are not coherent positions.
Let me also ask the House who said this: “The government owes it to Canadians to be more honest about how long this mission will truly last”. Once again, that was our Prime Minister, then, not now.
Of course, I could continue, but the more I study the Prime Minister's various positions on the mission against ISIS, ironically I am forced to use the term nonsensical.
Before I close, I would like to take a moment to sincerely thank our Royal Canadian Air Force pilots and their support team for the important work they have completed in this mission. I would also like to thank our Canadian Forces soldiers who are bravely serving as trainers. I give sincere thanks to the many support personnel who are also serving in this mission.
While we have much to debate in this place on the scope of the mission and how it has changed, let us not forget that while our CF-18s may be coming home, many of our Canadian Armed Forces personnel will remain. To them and their families, let us give thanks for their ongoing sacrifice. God bless them. May they all return home safely when this mission is complete.
I have one parting word. I was quite happy today to rise in this place during question period to ask the Minister of National Defence whether those people who are currently deployed in Iraq will be eligible for the post-combat reintegration allowance. This is an important benefit that allows members to stay and support their families, and it recognizes their great sacrifices while they serve abroad, not only in taking risks but also in the time it takes away from their families, something we generally all can understand. I was happy to see the Minister of National Defence say in this place that those men and women would be eligible for that particular allowance.
It is important that we as Conservatives, and taking away party labels, all members in this place, should support those who risk so much to protect those who need it. I am proud to be a Canadian. I am proud of the efforts put forward by all of our Canadian Armed Forces members. Again, I wish them safety and security and wish them to be home with their families safe as well.