Madam Chair, as was said earlier, the buildup of troops by Russia along the Ukrainian border is not acceptable, and it is important that Canada work with our allies to send a very strong message about the fact that it is not acceptable. However, I have been troubled to see the extent to which it seems that some of our allies are not always inviting Canada to the table in some of the important discussions around a coordinated response.
I think of the fact that, for many years now and under many governments, Canada has failed to renew its military equipment, so we have very aged equipment in our case. Also, in terms of gross national income, Canada's foreign aid budget is actually quite low. I think it is important that if Canada wants to play a real role in these conversations and have a seat at the table, that it recognizes it has to be renewing its equipment on an ongoing basis for the men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces. It also has to be making sure that it is an active participant on the world stage when it comes to providing aid and support to other countries. That is part of the infrastructure that a country needs in order to be taken seriously around these tables, and something that Canada had developed throughout the course of the Second World War, which was a reference that the hon. member had made in her own remarks.
I wonder if the member would like to comment on how it is that Canada finds itself struggling to get the recognition at international tables that it used to. What can we actually do to make sure that the Canadian name has the same force, value and presence that it had historically throughout the 20th century?