Mr. Speaker, I and the NDP believe very strongly that it was not only proposed paragraph 11(1)(c) that had to be eliminated, but clause 11. We have to send a strong message as to the position of the Canadian government.
Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Fraser also spoke out on this issue. He said:
It is a pity the current Canadian government, in relation to cluster munitions, does not provide any real lead to the world. Its approach is timid, inadequate and regressive.
That is how other countries see us: a timid, inadequate and regressive country. It is up to us to make the laws in Canada. Clause 11 could have been struck. We will have to go to committee to see what the government is willing to do. If amendments are proposed, the government will have to accept them if it wants us to support this bill.