Madam Speaker, I usually say it is an honour to join in any discussion and debate on the floor of the House of Commons, but today it is not an honour. It is actually with a heavy heart that I join in the debate, because we are once again talking about sexual harassment and allegations of sexual impropriety in our armed forces.

Many colleagues have spoken very eloquently on this debate, including the member for Kildonan—St. Paul. A lot of people have brought their own personal experiences to this House today and have spoken passionately on why there needs to be a cultural change in our armed forces.

I am a six-foot four-inch 255-pound, or sometimes 260-pound, farm boy from Saskatchewan, so I have not had a lot of experience with sexual harassment personally. However, people who are close to me have. Talking with them about the experiences they have gone through, I have always taken this very seriously. It is a passion of mine that any kind of sexual harassment should be stopped dead in its tracks. We should stand up for the victims, always.

Some of the questions from the Liberal MPs today invoked the minister's past history. That is not what we are here to discuss today. We are here to discuss his overseeing of a continuation of sexual harassment and a culture of depravity in our armed forces. We need to listen to the victims when they come forward. That is what we are discussing.

For my Liberal colleagues, we are not tarnishing the record of the minister's service when he was a soldier in the armed forces; we are talking about his record as the Minister of National Defence of our country. It is not well suited for him to continue in this position. He misled Canadians when it came to the fighter jets. He misled Canadians when it came to Vice-Admiral Norman. He made sure that the culture of sexual harassment could continue in the armed forces.

When some of our senior people in the Canadian Armed Forces are golfing with someone who has had that charge brought against them, it shows a complete and utter disrespect for the members of the armed forces who have come forward to talk about their harrowing sexual harassment experiences.

The victims are not the only ones who have to go through this. Their family members do as well. They are there to support the victims when they have nowhere else to turn. For those family members, this does not go away. There is a lifetime of trying to get through what has happened at the hands of the aggressor. It is something that needs to be stopped in its tracks, and if the minister has shown an inability to do that, we need to hold him to account in this House by voting in favour of this motion. He does not have the moral authority or the legitimacy to continue on in his role as the Minister of National Defence for our country. The House has to say that in one voice. That would show that we do want this culture in the Canadian Armed Forces to change. It is something we need to do as a single voice.

I appreciate all the speeches from my Bloc colleagues, my NDP colleagues and everyone in the opposition who is going to stand with the victims of sexual assault in the Canadian Armed Forces by saying, “No more.” It cannot continue. Something or someone needs to be put in place to change that culture.

We could just look at the department plan, for example. A colleague, the member for Edmonton West, pointed this out to me. This is almost unforgivable. The goal for the Department of National Defence is to have 12% or less people reporting sexual harassment. That is the target. That is the goal.

Colleagues, that goal should be zero, not 12%. If they cannot figure that out on the other side of the House, then most of them are not fit to be in the positions they are in. There should not be a 12% goal of sexual harassment in any department anywhere in Canada.

The Liberals have said they are going to bring back reports. Some of these reports have not brought in any goals since 2018. The Liberals always say there are systemic issues in the departments or systems in Canada. They always like to say they are the natural governing party of Canada. Liberals have been in office more than anyone else, so it is their systems that they say they cannot change.

If they are not willing to do it, in the Conservative Party of Canada we have a government-in-waiting that will not stand for sexual harassment in our Canadian Armed Forces. Our goal will be zero sexual harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces, not 12%.

I am sure that when the member for Durham sends out his mandate letters to ministers, especially to the minister of defence, it will mention the culture of sexual harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces and the fact that it needs to change. The men and women in uniform will have a minister of defence in the Conservative government whom they can trust, whom they have respect for, who will make sure to have their backs.

That is not what is happening right now. Many colleagues who have very good relationships with the members of the Canadian Armed Forces have told their stories. They have said that it is almost impossible to continue to have respect for a minister who continues to let them down time and again. This is not a single instance. There are four or five defining moments in this minister's career over the past six years when he has failed to measure up to the bar of the minister of defence, whether it be Vice-Admiral Norman, the fighter jets, his taking liberties with his own record, or the sexual assault of individuals in the Canadian Armed Forces. We need to do better. Canadians and the hard-working men and women in uniform deserve better than the record of this minister over the past six years.

Warren Steinley

$465,527.00