Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking the residents of Mississauga West for seeing fit to honour me by electing me to come to the House. Mississauga West is the second largest riding in the country and I am beginning to feel as though winning over 140,000 residents was probably a lot easier than winning over my colleagues in the House. I feel like a dove among a lot of hawks.
I am speaking today on a matter which I believe to be of great importance not only to the people of Canada but to Canada's enviable reputation in the world of international relations. I am speaking from my heart today rather than from a position of profound technical detail.
As we know, for many years the American government has had ready access to Canadian airspace to test cruise missiles. Testing has been ongoing and evidently without conclusion. Every year we and our American neighbours continue to co-operate in this project despite the fact that hundreds of thousands of Canadians are fundamentally and vehemently opposed to our participation in the arms race.
I congratulate the Prime Minister on his openness and willingness to discuss this important issue in the House of Commons. Canadians everywhere are watching this process and judging us on our commitment to parliamentary reform.
The cruise missile testing question, despite some of the concerns, is an excellent example of this new process because I am, in fact, speaking against the majority of my party, from what I can gather.
I urge all members of the House to carefully consider the facts, the implications and the future possibilities associated with cruise missile testing. In the 10 years since the testing agreement was signed, the world is a profoundly changed place. It is hard to imagine even as recently as five years ago the fall of the Soviet empire, the return to democracy of much of eastern Europe or the new freedoms finally beginning in South Africa.
Nearly everywhere there is a sense of excitement and hope and a belief in a future which is finally free from the prospect of global war. Against this backdrop the American and former Soviet governments have pulled back from mutual mistrust and the daily brink of confrontation. The Americans have a elected a new president, a president committed to world peace, the reduction of the military and the pursuit of domestic improvements in health, infrastructure and education. The resulting peace dividend will likely finance these new, more human programs in the United States.
At no time in the recent past have both the governments of the United States and Canada been so similar in their stated goals of improvements in health, infrastructure and education. Our government must support these objectives which are the dividends of peace and real global security.
The cruise missile and other related nuclear weapons belong to a bygone time in world politics. It is doubtful that they ever really belonged in our nation. Since the beginning of such testing Canadians have been wary if not opposed outright to all forms of nuclear weapons and warmongering. Previous Liberal and Conservative governments have refused to accept nuclear warheads on Canadian soil.
Since the end of World War II Canada has been an independent, sensible and trusted middle power nation with an unassailable record for fairness and participation in world peacekeeping. At a time when Americans were busily hunting down suspected communists, destroying reputations and lives in the process, Canadians were serving in the middle east working toward a peaceful settlement in the Suez. In the 1960s Canada led the world in opening trade with China and the Soviet Union at a time when Americans were embroiled in the Vietnam war.
Throughout our history Canadians have cherished our reputation and our independence. Right now we need once again to assert that independence and sovereignty over our domestic affairs and over our territory. It is time to cancel the cruise missile testing agreement with America. It is time to send a positive message of support and solidarity to people of such fragile democracies as Russia and Ukraine, nations which need positive reinforcement in their struggles to establish a democracy.
We ask the members of the former Soviet Union to dismantle their nuclear weapons. We ask them to work toward peace and democracy. Yet we continue to send very mixed messages when we continue to allow missiles to be tested over our territory.
Cruise missiles are designed to be used against the nations of the former Soviet bloc. That is why they are being tested over our land which is supposedly similar in terrain and weather to the former Soviet Union.
The hypocrisy of preaching peace and demanding universal disarmament while continuing to test fundamentally offensive nuclear weapons is unacceptable to many Canadians. At a time when we should be leading by example we are instead blindly following the policies and practices of another time and another political reality.
It is time to set a better example, to answer a higher call and to extend a hand of peace and friendship to our global neighbours. There are no winable nuclear wars. There are no good wars. There is no such thing as them and us. We are all part of an ever-shrinking world where weapons of the past and the policies of hate, mistrust and propaganda must now be put to rest forever. Canada has always been a world leader in peace. We must not
lose this opportunity to make a fresh commitment to a safer future.
We have all seen the terrible pictures from Bosnia and Ethiopia. We have heard the stories of torture and hate. Canadian peacekeepers are routinely caught in difficult situations where their lives and safety are in jeopardy. Who knows from day to day when the goodwill of foreign powers will run out? Who can predict when Canadian peacekeepers will suddenly not be welcome on that foreign soil? We need to do everything possible to ensure the overall safety of our soldiers no matter where they serve.
The banning of cruise missile testing sends a strong message of disarmament and peace. In the eyes of the world we will be asserting our sovereignty and our commitment to global peace.
In addition, our native people who have been overlooked during the past testing will finally enjoy the peace of mind that comes with not worrying about a missile buzzing overhead. Past governments have ignored native leaders. Their complaints have been trivialized and their legitimate environmental and safety concerns have been overlooked. We talked loftily about native self-government. We pat each other on the back whenever a dispute is settled with indigenous peoples. Yet we destroy whatever goodwill has been established by routinely violating their airspace with foreign aircraft and missiles. Over the Mackenzie Valley and delta and Beaufort Sea and over the lands of the Dene, Inuit and Métis cruise missiles fly at low levels in outrageous military war games.
I wonder how long Americans could test missiles over the cities of southern Ontario. Can one imagine the outrage? Of course it is an unfair example but it does illustrate my point. Native people despite being vastly dispersed have a right to enjoy their lives and their environment without the potential of a disaster. We should be applying the same principles across all of Canada for all of our people.
I ask that all members of this House carefully weigh the arguments put forward in this debate, consider the current global situation and weigh the concerns of environmentalists, native Canadians and others who have a vital interest in peace. The world is watching and we should be providing a strong leadership now and not some time in the future when everything is tested and perfect and we are fully armed.
