Marc Garneau

[Situation in Iraq, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, we have seen that the United States has taken the initiative to create a coalition of countries willing to try to defeat ISIS. How important does my hon. colleague feel that it is to have an involvement of some of the neighbouring Arab countries in the region to show that this is not just a western type of initiative in terms of trying to dislodge ISIS, but really something that has a much broader support?

[Situation in Iraq, September 16th, 2014]

It is all I could do.

[Situation in Iraq, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have to come back to the same question. The NDP has been talking nonstop about the need to have a vote. It seems to me that New Democrats want to have their cake and eat it too. Today they had the choice. They had an opposition day with the possibility of it entailing a vote, yet they chose to talk about the minimum wage, which is an important subject, but in terms of timeliness, it certainly does not compare to what we are talking about right now in terms of the urgency of it. They have made the point repeatedly themselves.

Why did the NDP not use this opportunity today to force a vote on this issue?

[Situation in Iraq, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, listening to the NDP members, I have the impression that they do not want the military to get involved, but they do not want to admit it. They are looking for all kinds of excuses not to answer this question.

I have a hypothetical question. Several NDP members said that they would be forming the government next year. I have the impression that the Islamic State will still be around. In the unlikely but hypothetical event that the NDP forms the government next year, would there be no question of military involvement to try to help the other members of the coalition do away with this scourge that is the Islamic State?

[Situation in Iraq, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I agree with the government that there are no junior or senior members here. Therefore, I know the member for Edmonton Centre will answer my question.

If we are to take on ISIS to try to defeat it, we must do it on both fronts, not only in Iraq but also in Canada. Apparently, about 130 Canadians have gone over to the region. Some of them have come back and they have been radicalized. The government has said that if people are accused of and found guilty of terrorism they could lose their citizenship, if they are dual nationals.

I want to ask my colleague what happens if one is just simply a Canadian and is found guilty of terrorism. What would be the consequences in that case?

[Situation in Iraq, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her comments and I agree with her that we need to increase our contribution for humanitarian aid to Iraq. This need is considerable and extremely urgent.

Would the New Democratic Party consider a non-combat military role for Canada in Iraq to help the other coalition members dislodge ISIS and to ensure that the people now in refugee camps can go back to their villages?

[Situation in Iraq, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad we are having this debate, but I am finding it difficult to understand what the NDP's real position is.

At the beginning of the evening it seemed to be that they needed more details so that we can fully understand what is involved in this mission that is being proposed by the government. However, the last two speakers gave me the impression that what the NDP really wanted was more humanitarian aid—with which I agree—but not to be involved militarily, either because the Peshmerga and the Iraqi forces can take care of their own country and do not need our help, or possibly because enough other coalition members will go in there and do the hard work of helping to get rid of ISIS.

Is it that New Democrats would like to have more details and may decide to step up to the plate and support this initial mission, or is it that they really do not want to get involved at all?

It would be nice to get a good honest answer.

[Situation in Iraq, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I want to confirm with my hon. colleague that there was a demand for humanitarian aid. There is no question that there is a crying need for humanitarian aid and we have made that very clear. Hopefully the government will act on that.

There is a flip side to the coin and the flip side is this. If we do not want those refugee camps in northern Iraq to be there for many years, we have to do something about ISIS. There is a problem here, because if nothing is done by anybody about ISIS, even those refugee camps will be threatened eventually.

I think I heard tonight my hon. colleague from the NDP say more or less clearly, as did the Leader of the Opposition, that they do not want to get involved in any way militarily, that other countries can do that job and that we are only in there to do stuff like humanitarian help. Is that in fact what I understood this evening?

[Situation in Iraq, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, multinational operations are always very complex and take a while to organize. Here, we are talking about many members of the coalition. I myself remember, from when I was in the navy, participating in the Standing Naval Force Atlantic, a NATO squadron made up of many different countries, that it is very complex.

I am not expecting an answer from the government tonight, but one of the questions that has come up deals with the Kurdish forces, the Peshmerga. In some places, I have read that they are not going to move from where they are. In other words, they are going to maintain a defensive line to protect the Kurdish region. Is it, in fact, already decided that they will stay there and be purely defensive, or will they, at some point, possibly move into an offensive posture and advance out of the Kurdish region?

Can the government shed some light on that? When that information is known, I would certainly like to know about it.

[Situation in Iraq, September 16th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the hon. Leader of the Opposition the following question.

If at the end of this evening there were a vote, and if all of his questions were answered, if all of his questions were answered to his satisfaction, and if he understood this to be a non-combat role, behind the wire, to be reviewed after 30 days; if that were the situation and all his questions were answered, would he tell us how he would vote?