Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
Where I come from, we say that if people rob a bank, the person holding the bag is just as involved as the person who puts the money in it. It may not be the most elegant analogy, but I wanted to share it anyway.
Withdrawing the CF-18s but supplying refuelling aircraft amounts to the same thing. We are no less involved. When we triple the number of troops on the ground for so-called training missions, we are not talking about university training. They are not teaching theoretical courses in a university setting.
During training missions, our soldiers are on the front lines helping to target the enemy. Our soldiers could also be targeted by enemy fire or even friendly fire if there is a communication problem. They are in the thick of the action. Sure, they are training people, but they are also taking on the risks associated with combat missions because they are on the ground all day, every day.