Robert Bertrand

[Foreign Policy, February 29th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, for Canada, the concepts of peace and security have a special meaning. They also translate into very specific action plans.

The government's focus is on protecting citizens and the rights of children in armed conflicts; stemming the flow of conventional and light weapons; implementing the Ottawa convention, the official title of which is the convention on the prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and their destruction; and fighting organized crime, drug trafficking and terrorism.

Canada is not alone in trying to better protect the public. A number of countries are working together toward the same goals, in order to improve the quality of life of citizens everywhere.

[Kosovo, February 25th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for her question.

In Mitrovica, inter-ethnic violence between Albanian Kosovars and Serbs is an explosive situation. This is why 200 Canadian troops were redeployed from Pristina to Mitrovica.

On Monday tens of thousands of Albanians faced a crowd of Serbs across the bridge which spans the Ibar River in the divided city of Mitrovica. The Canadian presence helped prevent the clash between the Albanian and Serb residents from completely deteriorating. The Canadians bore the brunt of this violent demonstration—

[Canadian Economy, February 7th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the employment figures released by Statistics Canada on Friday indicate that economic growth is continuing.

This situation inevitably reflects on the rate of unemployment, which was at only 6.8% in Canada and 8.2% in Quebec in January.

These encouraging results show that our government has made the right economic and financial decisions. The return of healthy government finances is now benefiting all of Canada.

The sectors of the economy where job creation was most encouraging include the manufacturing sector, which recorded a net gain of 13,000 jobs last month.

I therefore encourage our government to continue its efforts in this direction so that the improvement of the quality of Canadians' life remains a priority.

[Dr. Wilbert Keon, December 17th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, it was with great sadness we learned yesterday that Dr. Wilbert Keon resigned as the director of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.

Dr. Keon was born and raised in my riding in the beautiful town of Sheenboro. He followed his brother's footsteps in the medical profession and is today a world renowned heart specialist.

We have all met people who have been helped either by Dr. Keon himself or by the skilful team he helped train at the heart institute which he founded. In my own family, Dr. Keon operated on two of my brothers, one as recently as last June.

To Dr. Keon, his wife Anne and his family, we offer our support in this difficult time.

[Parliamentarians' Code Of Conduct, December 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that all Canadians should take great pride in the work performed by the men and women of Canada's air force at home and abroad. Every day Canadian forces aircraft operate throughout the country and around the world performing a variety of demanding missions.

During their mission in East Timor, our Hercules aircraft completed some 130 operational missions carrying more than two million pounds of equipment and some 2,200 personnel. They have also airlifted humanitarian aid to various regions of the world. Canadians also appreciated the valuable contributions of the Hercules during the Manitoba flood and the great ice storm.

Our Labrador helicopters continue to conduct dangerous search and rescue operations and save thousands of lives every year. They will soon be replaced with state of the art Cormorant helicopters.

During the recent NATO air campaign in Yugoslavia, the CF-18s flew more than 670 sorties striking at a variety of military targets.

In the last few years the government has also taken significant steps to ensure the air force has the tools it needs to do its job. In addition to the Cormorant, the minister has announced the beginning of modernization of programs for both the Aurora maritime patrol aircraft and the CF-18 aircraft.

I am also very pleased to report that the Auroras, which until mid-November were restricted to unpressurized flights, are now almost all authorized to fly at a new altitude of over 10,000 feet. This comes after detailed inspections confirming that these planes can carry out pressurized flights in complete safety.

As for the Sea Kings, the minister has made it very clear, on more than one occasion, that they need to be replaced. In fact, the minister confirmed several times in the House that new maritime helicopters were the number one equipment priority. We are therefore in the process of developing an acquisition strategy.

These initiatives will help ensure that Canada's airforce can continue to serve all Canadians from one end of the country to the other and will make it possible to continue to interoperate effectively with our allies.

[Minimum Sentences, December 14th, 1999]

Madam Speaker, I am sure that everyone in the House would join me in expressing our gratitude and admiration to all Canadian forces personnel deployed in Kosovo.

Canada's contribution to the air campaign was significant and our NATO allies recognize the role played by our CF-18s. This conflict proved that the Canadian forces have the training and the equipment necessary to participate in an intensive and complex military campaign alongside our allies.

Multipurpose combat capable forces are the cornerstone of Canada's defence policy. Canada's operations in Kosovo demonstrate the real payoffs resulting from the investments the Canadian forces have made in equipment, such as precision guided munitions for the CF-18s, as well as our Coyote reconnaissance vehicles, Griffon helicopters and Bison armoured personnel carriers.

Today more than 1,400 Canadian forces personnel are deployed in Kosovo as part of the Kosovo force, KFOR. They are working hard to create a stable and secure environment through policing, implementing UN mandated arms control agreements, delivering humanitarian aid, restoring public services and helping to re-establish civilian institutions.

There have been concerns raised over the use of depleted uranium ammunition in Kosovo. It should be noted that Canada's CF-18s have never used depleted uranium munitions. Moreover, there are no plans to purchase or use such ammunition in the future.

None of the scientific work published to this day supports a link between exposure to depleted uranium munitions and illness in the gulf war veterans, including cancer and birth defects.

Ensuring the safety and well-being of the men and women in the Canadian forces is one of our highest priorities. An environmental assessment was conducted at all camps used by Canadian forces personnel in Kosovo to ensure that their living quarters are safe.

[Minimum Sentences, December 14th, 1999]

Madam Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity to follow up on the question raised on October 10 by the member for Toronto Centre—Rosedale.

I would like to quote from a speech the Prime Minister gave a couple of months ago on the current government's commitment to preserve Canadian culture. He said, and I quote “We must work together to protect this diversity. We must recognize that cultural goods and services are much more than mere goods. They deal with a fundamental and indefinable thing, our identity”.

Nobody can doubt the commitment of the current government to preserve and promote cultural diversity both in Canada and abroad. Since the government stresses the importance of this issue, as witnessed in the last throne speech, we will work to develop, at the international level, a new approach to support the diversity of cultural expression throughout the world.

As indicated in the government's answer to two standing committees, the heritage committee and the foreign affairs and international trade committee, the federal government is considering a new international instrument to promote cultural diversity. The purpose of such an instrument would be to set clear rules that would allow Canada and other countries to retain policies promoting culture, while respecting the rule governing the international trade system, and give cultural products access to export markets.

During the initial stage of the discussions, both here and abroad, on this new international instrument, Canada will keep on insisting, in every relevant international agreement, on maximum flexibility in order to reach its objectives with regard to cultural policy.

For several years now this government has been defending the importance of cultural diversity as an international policy issue, and we have tried to strike the right balance between participating in the “global culture” and leaving enough room for Canadian culture.

[National Defence, December 3rd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that very important question. Last year when we brought out the report there were 89 recommendations. We have acted on 24 of them so far. There have been improvements in pay, housing and welfare for veterans.

The report was extremely well received. It was almost unanimously voted on. Four parties voted for it but one party voted against it, the Reform Party, and it has the gall to stand up here—

[National Defence, December 3rd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, we have so far saved $68 million and we expect to increase those savings in coming years.

[National Defence, December 3rd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the department is really committed to this program, which helps us do our job much more effectively by freeing up resources that can best serve and support our operational capacity.

To improve the program, we followed up on all the recommendations made by the auditor general.