Mr. Chair, this is probably the most fundamental point of this entire conversation.
Our democracy is based on the fact that a standing army is accountable to the elected official so that Canadians can trust that our military is not running rogue and is totally accountable to what the will of citizens has decided. That is why the National Defence Act has the chief of the defence staff reporting directly to the minister of national defence.
If the Minister of National Defence is not going to assume his responsibility for ensuring that the chief of the defence staff behaves in accordance with the National Defence Act, then I would like to understand from the minister what precisely he thinks his role is.