Lloyd Axworthy

[Foreign Affairs, May 28th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I suppose the definition of doing nothing is sending the hon. member over to India and Pakistan. I happen to place more value, however, on the initiatives of the hon. gentleman and on the other initiatives we have taken on.

I remind the hon. member of something very important. Just about one year ago, India and Pakistan both engaged in nuclear tests which broke the fundamental principles of nuclear non-proliferation.

As part of the G-8 membership, which includes all major countries and where Canada has taken a lead against non-proliferation, it was up to us to try to tell India and Pakistan that they should not be testing nuclear weapons and helping the spread of those horrible weapons.

[Foreign Affairs, May 28th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, there is a clear contradiction in what the hon. member just asked. He admitted that he had accompanied the secretary of state for Asian affairs who is directly engaging the India and Pakistan governments.

He says that we are not doing anything. The hon. member was part of an engagement program that the Canadian government initiated last week.

[Sierra Leone, May 14th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to table, in both official languages, a report which presents the results of a fact-finding mission taken by the Special Envoy to Sierra Leone, the hon. member for Nepean—Carleton.

I commend his initiative and commitment in putting this report together and hope that all members will avail themselves of its important findings.

[Kosovo, May 13th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, last week, along with the Russians and the other members of the group of seven, we put together a seven point peace proposal which included a commitment for the Yugoslav troops to withdraw. However, they had to have a verification of that withdrawal to make sure it was happening.

If there are unconfirmed reports we will certainly be glad to look at them. However, there is a whole package and part of that package has to make sure that the protection of the Kosovars, the refugees going back, is guaranteed. That is part of the package and it has to be looked at as a total package.

[Foreign Affairs, May 13th, 1999]

On April 22 I raised the matter with Secretary of State Albright and we came to an agreement that there would be a 120-day period of review.

Since that time, we have consulted with Canadian industry to register their concerns. In fact, we have a team of officials in Washington today who are raising those concerns directly with their state department counterparts.

We have also agreed that we would look at a review of our own export permit regulations to ensure there is no diversion of sensitive technologies or transfers of technologies. I think that will satisfy, in large part, the American concern in this matter.

[Sierra Leone, May 11th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I want to indicate to the House that I was very pleased today to receive a report from the special envoy to Sierra Leone, the hon. member for Nepean—Carleton. He outlined a number of recommendations which I will share with my colleagues. I know he will also be taking the report to the foreign affairs committee this afternoon.

I would like to personally thank the member for Nepean—Carleton for a really dedicated task and for bringing to the attention of Canadians an area of great concern and urgency for children in Sierra Leone.

[Kosovo, May 11th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, at noon hour I had the opportunity to have a very extensive discussion with Carl Bildt, who is now the UN Secretary General's special envoy for the Balkans. We exchanged a number of views about how we can, most importantly, begin looking at the development of specific detailed implementation plans which can be taken to the security council as quickly as possible. We believe strongly, as the Prime Minister has said, that there must be a security council resolution. We are working with the UN to make that happen and we will continue to work as well with our Chinese colleagues.

[Kosovo, May 11th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I talked with our representatives at the United Nations and there is no substance to many of the reports that the Chinese have said they will not negotiate. In fact, China is now engaged in a series of discussions. The Chancellor of Germany is there on behalf of the G-8. They just finished meeting with a Russian envoy and they are in active discussion with a number of members of the security council, including Canada. To say that they will not negotiate simply is not the case.

[Iraq, May 10th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think we can make a comparison. As the hon. member knows, we had put in place a series of panels in the security council to assess the humanitarian and the arms inspection regimes.

They came forward with proposals and we were basically supporting those proposals which would allow the re-enactment of an international arms control but at the same time make sure that there not be excessive humanitarian damage in Iraq because of the sanctions policy.

We were trying to provide a bridge between the two extremes, between those who simply say keep the sanctions the way they are and those who say there should be no inspection. In good Canadian style we are trying to build a bridge between those two positions.

[Kosovo, May 10th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, at the present moment there are sporadic demonstrations in and around the Canadian embassy. As a result, a substantially increased security presence has been developed. At this moment, reports from our ambassador indicate that no direct damage has been done. It is simply a matter of demonstrating their point of view. There are of course much wider demonstrations that seem to be organized or orchestrated. We regret the fact that this is the way of presentation.

However, as I said in my earlier answer, I think the most important objective right now is to work with the Chinese as well as the other members of the security council to find a peaceful resolution and bring this all to a—