Mr. Speaker, it is with healthy respect for parliamentary democracy in Canada that I rise on behalf of the women and men of CFB Petawawa located in my riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, which is in the heart of the upper Ottawa Valley.
I rise on behalf of the veterans and serving soldiers in Petawawa, and all the veterans and serving personnel across Canada.
Democracy in Canada is under attack by the Liberal Party. It is a sad day for democracy that it is even necessary to have today's debate, however, no debate in the House of Parliament is more important than the defence of democracy in parliamentary tradition. Not once did the Minister of National Defence try to answer my question when I asked him why he misrepresented his service record.
Today's adjournment debate is all about honour, and in this case, stolen valour. The Minister of National Defence refuses to respect Canadian democratic tradition. Parliamentary tradition demands his resignation.
The Minister of National Defence lost the confidence of the House when he admitted to embellishing his service record. The Minister of National Defence's admission of guilt has lost him the confidence of the people in the ministry of National Defence to whom he was appointed to serve: the men and women in uniform, members of the Canadian Armed Forces.
The Minister of National Defence had the opportunity this summer to earn back the trust of the soldiers. Nothing disgusts Afghanistan veterans more than the $10.5 million payoff to convicted terrorist Omar Khadr. Where was the Minister of National Defence hiding when the Prime Minister announced the multi-million-dollar payoff? His silence during and after the payoff once again demonstrates how little respect he has for our veterans who served in Afghanistan, yet he is quick to steal their valour when it is politically expedient to do so.
The minister betrayed his constituents the first time he misrepresented his record of service to get elected. He betrayed his party, his leader, the House, and his country. He went on to dishonour Canada a second time by repeating this misrepresentation on an international stage. I challenge the Prime Minister's unethical support for a member of his party who fooled voters in the 2015 election concerning his service record, and who continues to confuse Canadians by repeating his false claims when he thinks he can get away with doing so.
Having grossly inflated his role in one of the largest Canadian military operations in recent history, the Minister of National Defence should have resigned. After he failed to do the honourable thing and fall on his sword, the Prime Minister should have fired him. The Prime Minister, by refusing to fire the Minister of National Defence, has lost the confidence of NATO allies. Defence expenditures are now at their lowest level since end the of the Great War.
This is how the Minister of National Defence chose to inaccurately describe his role in Operation Medusa:
On my first deployment to Kandahar in 2006, I was the architect of Operation Medusa where we removed 1,500 Taliban fighters off the battlefield…and I was proudly on the main assault.
Much has been written about this effort to take credit for whatever minor role the minister may or may not have played. What is particularly outrageous for the soldiers actually doing the fighting was the claim by the—