PM unveils revised motion on the future of Canada's mission in Afghanistan

Good morning ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you very much, General Manson, for your kind introduction.

Greetings to the foreign ambassadors who are with us today and, of course, special greetings to all the serving members and veterans of the Canadian Forces in the audience, including General Hillier and his senior commanders.

For 76 years, the Conference of Defence Associations has been a passionate and eloquent advocate for the Canadian military.

You understand the vital role it serves in defending our sovereignty, projecting our values, and asserting our interests on the world stage.

So I thank you for the opportunity to address this organization.

Today I’d like to address the role Canada should play on the global security landscape and the role our military should play in support of our contribution to global security.

I believe that all Canadians are proud of the fact that, throughout our history, Canada has been a force for positive change in the world.

We were a founding member of the League of Nations, the first concerted attempt by modern sovereign nations to achieve international collective security.

Through the League, we championed our foundational values: freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

We were also instrumental in the creation of the United Nations:

In fact a Canadian – John Humphrey – authored the seminal United Nations Declaration on Human Rights.

Former Prime Minister Lester Pearson was the architect of U.N. peacekeeping.

And recognizing that economic and social development are essential to peace and prosperity, our country has long been an advocate of free and fair international trade.

Canadians are also recognized far and wide for their humanitarian work among the world’s poor and oppressed.

These noble international efforts reflect a fundamental characteristic of Canadian society. Unlike our friends to the south, this country has never been isolationist and we have always harboured a strong desire to contribute to a better and safer world.

It springs from the very origins of our country. The dominion of Canada was not born of conflict. We have never displayed a taste for imperialism.

We have largely escaped foreign aggression, and we are a nation of immigrants who came here seeking to leave behind us the violent histories of many of our ancestral lands.

To a greater extent than most countries, we have also learned how to resolve our domestic disputes through democratic debate, honourable compromise and peaceful evolution.

From all of this history, stems our reluctance to take up arms. Our reluctance to take up arms is a virtue.

Yet, at the same time, our country also has a long, honourable and distinguished military history.

When the cause is just and the sacrifice necessary, Canada has always answered the call.

In the First and Second World Wars, in Korea, in the Cold War, in countless peacekeeping missions, and in various regional conflicts up to our mission in Afghanistan today,

We have always demonstrated a willingness to take up arms in defence of our values and our interests, when it has been necessary to do so.

We have always demonstrated this willingness, but we have not always maintained the capacity.
As our great military historian C.P. Stacy wrote in 1938, and I quote:

"(Canada’s) history is marked by an alternation of long periods when the national defences are utterly neglected, with short violent interludes arising out of sudden foreign complications, when the country awakes to the inadequacy of those defences, and tries to make up for earlier inactivity by measures taken in the teeth of a crisis."

This tradition of dramatic swings between armed to the teeth and armed to the toes – if I can put it that way – has been repeated throughout our history.

But even if we stand down between military crises, we must always be prepared to stand up for Canada, its sovereignty and its interests in the world.

That is as true today, when the threats are diffuse and unpredictable, as it was in the era of nation-versus-nation wars.

In their own thoughtful, civilized way, I believe our fellow citizens have demonstrated in recent years that they have wanted Ottawa to take a more serious approach to our sovereignty and our security.

They have showed it by turning out by the tens of thousands for the milestone anniversaries of the Second World War, and by attending Remembrance Day ceremonies in ever-increasing numbers.

They showed it with Red Friday rallies in cities across the country and other displays of support for the troops such as the ubiquitous yellow ribbons.

They showed it by demanding that Ottawa show more respect for our brave men and women in uniform by paying them what they deserve,
– Buying them better equipment,
– Looking after them as veterans,
– And providing them with real leadership.

These demands became particularly urgent in 2005, when the previous government took the decision to deploy Canadian troops to Kandahar, Afghanistan’s most challenging province.

Our government took office not long after that decision, and we immediately began to deliver on our commitment to rebuild our military.

Each branch of the Canadian Forces is getting new or upgraded equipment including new Arctic-offshore patrol ships and modernized frigates for the Navy,  new tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery and trucks for the Army and new helicopters and tactical and strategic lift aircraft for the Air Force.

In fact, our government is close to finalizing a long-term plan to thoroughly reverse the so-called "rusting out" of the Canadian forces.

I am therefore pleased to announce that the government has decided to set aside stable and predictable funding for this plan by increasing the automatic annual increase in defence spending from 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent, beginning in 2011-12.

This funding, together with new and upgraded equipment, will not only improve the general effectiveness and enhance the safety of our troops. In some cases, it responds directly to the needs we have faced since deploying to Kandahar.

In others, it will provide us with entirely new capabilities.

Strategic airlift, for example, is something Canada has lacked for far too long.

In the past, when we needed to get people and equipment somewhere in a hurry, we often had to beg rides from our allies or commercial carriers, even for emergencies within our own borders.

The first of four new C-17 Globemaster aircraft arrived in August, just months after we signed the contract. 

Within days, it was providing aid to hurricane victims in Jamaica and delivering supplies to our troops in Kandahar. 

Tomorrow you will be hearing from our Defence Minister Mackay, who is better placed to talk about equipment and procurement than I am.

Instead, allow me to concentrate on the role we think Canada can and should play in the global security environment.

There are many competing views on this subject among Canadians, among the parties in Parliament, and even within the parties themselves.

Many yearn for a return – indeed in some cases to a virtually exclusive focus - on classical international peacekeeping.

Peacekeeping is a wonderful concept. A Canadian invention and frequently necessary.

But it covers only a limited portion of the security challenges we face in today’s international environment.

As the Manley panel on Canada’s Future Role in Afghanistan observed in its report, in the wake of humanitarian disasters in places like Bosnia and Rwanda, United Nations-mandated peace missions increasingly rely on the robust use of force to protect civilians.

These "peace enforcement" missions, sanctioned under chapter 7 of the UN Charter, have occurred in Haiti, Côte d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as in Afghanistan.

That’s the reality of our world for the foreseeable future and if Canada wants to contribute to global security, we will have to participate in U.N. peace enforcement missions, not just traditional peacekeeping, as well as intelligence sharing, aid and development, and so on.

And that means we will need a strong, modern, multifaceted military backed by the political will to deploy.

My party has been proud and consistent in support of the Afghanistan mission since the Liberal Government first decided to send combat troops to that country in 2001.

We believed, and continue to believe, that these actions are not only justified by the nature of the conflict, but also firmly rooted in the traditions of Canadian foreign and defence policy.

We also believe very strongly that, over these last few years, our men and women serving in Afghanistan have once again proven themselves to be highly skilled, disciplined and courageous.

They have provided security for our diplomats, aid workers and reconstruction teams, who have made substantial progress in restoring infrastructure, training Afghan forces, and making life safer and better for the afghan people.

We should be very proud of our contributions and accomplishments in Afghanistan.

We are making a real, positive difference there.

And we are demonstrating to our enemies and our allies that Canada is a reliable and resolute partner in the quest for global security and the fight against terrorism.

Parliamentarians also demonstrated that resolve in 2006 when the House of Commons voted for a two-year extension of the mission.

As the end of that mandate approaches, there has obviously been a vigorous debate over what happens next.

To prevent that debate becoming bogged down in the routine partisanship of the House of Commons, we created the Independent Panel on Canada’s Future in Afghanistan last October.

And thanks to the efforts of the panel, led by former Deputy Prime Minister John Manley, I am pleased to observe that there has recently been a coming together of resolve.

This is no small measure due to the work of Mr. Manley and his colleagues, who deserve to be recognized by name: Derek Burney, Jake Epp, Paul Tellier and Pamela Wallin.

To their enormous credit, they delivered a clear, fair and balanced assessment of the situation.

Their thoughtful recommendations not only paved the way for the bi-partisan parliamentary consensus that appears to be emerging on the future of the mission,

But they also gave Canadians a much clearer picture of what’s going on, what’s at stake, and what our options are as we move forward.

We subsequently tabled a motion reflecting the panel’s direction, including their direction that we increase pressure on our NATO partners to bolster their troop commitments in southern Afghanistan, and specifically by about 1,000 soldiers in Kandahar.

In recent days I have contacted the leaders of the major NATO countries and advised them that Canada’s continued role in the region is contingent on greater support from our allies.

Our government created the Manley panel last fall with the express intention of reaching a bipartisan position on Canada’s mission Afghanistan.

Of course, since we tabled our motion, the Liberals have responded with a motion of their own, clarifying a number of aspects of their position.

We have examined the details of their position very carefully.

We are pleased that there is some fundamental common ground.

We both agree that Canada should continue the military mission until 2011.

And that we should leave operational decisions to our commanders on the ground in Afghanistan.
It seems clear that we have moved significantly toward the kind of bi-partisan consensus that can be presented to Parliament for ratification.

To that end, earlier today, our government issued a revised motion on the future of the Afghanistan mission that incorporates large elements of the Liberal motion.

It remains my hope that this matter will be debated and put to a vote in the House of Commons before the NATO summit in April.

Let me just say that this motion now embraces an even wider expanse of common ground than before.

It acknowledges what is required for Canada’s mission to succeed in Afghanistan.

While reiterating our commitment to the UN mandate on Afghanistan, it affirms that our commitment is not open-ended.

It commits our government to notifying NATO that Canada will end its presence in Kandahar as of July 2011, completing redeployment from the south by December of that year.

We believe this is a reasonable compromise that addresses the important questions Canadians have about the future of the mission.

It is a clear and principled position.

But it is not a Conservative position or a Liberal position.

It is a Canadian position that can be supported by a majority of the elected representatives of the Canadian people so that our NATO allies, the government and people of Afghanistan and, most importantly, our troops on the ground, will know exactly where Canada stands.

First and foremost, this is a duty we owe to our troops.

Every day, they’re putting their lives on the line for us and it was politicians of both parties who asked them to do this.

Our overwhelming obligation is to support them with certainty about the future of the mission and the terms of engagement.

They especially need to know that we understand – as well as they do – the unbreakable link between security and development.

Without security, there can be no aid or development – not today, not for some time to come.

And without aid and development, there can be no security in the future.

This is a timeless, universal truth.

The successful pursuit of all of Canada’s interests around the world – trade, investment, diplomatic and humanitarian – ultimately depends on security, on the willingness of some of our fellow citizens to put their own lives on the line.

Without security, Canadian companies and consumers can’t take advantage of foreign trade and investment opportunities.

Without security, our aid workers can’t provide food, medicine and development assistance.

And without security, our diplomats cannot work to share the peace and prosperity we enjoy with less fortunate people in the world - and thereby ensure it for our own future generations.

That’s why we need to build a first-class modern military and keep it that way.

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe Canada should be a leader in the world, not a follower.

And in today’s dangerous world, Canada must have a credible military to be a credible leader.

You understand that countries that cannot or will not make real contributions to global security are not regarded as serious players.

They may be liked by everybody; they may be pleasantly acknowledged by everybody.

But when the hard decisions get made, they will be ignored by everybody.

That’s not what Canadians want.
They want to make a positive difference in a dangerous world.

They want us to lead.

Our government is resolved to provide that leadership.

And to provide the best military men and women in the world – the men and women of the Canadian military – with the equipment and the mandate they need to demonstrate that leadership.

Thank you.

Until next time.

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