Douglas Young

[Haiti, March 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the two soldiers expressed concerns about their safety.

If the two persons in question were uncomfortable with the mission they had been asked to carry out, it was important not only that they say this to the general public, but also that they discuss it with their colleagues who are also there to fulfil the objective of this very important mission.

They have not been disciplined. They were nervous where they were, close to the President of Haiti, and so they have been put in a position where, I hope, they will feel more at ease.

[Haiti, March 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, we are not in the process of investigating who is throwing stones in Haiti. But I can tell you, as I stated yesterday to those concerned about these statements by two members of the Canadian Forces, which were picked up by the press, that when our people are sent into a situation like the one in Haiti at the moment, it is obvious that they are not being sent to the local Club Med.

They have gone to a dangerous spot, one where there is danger not only for our troops, but also for the President of Haiti. We are not there in a babysitting role. This is a military situation in which military personnel will certainly be exposed to a certain degree of danger.

Make no mistake: when Canadians go to a country like Haiti that has been torn apart by internal strife for years, it is not a comfortable situation. There is, of course, some level of danger, but I believe that the military personnel who are there, as well as the police officers, and the Canadian public in general, consider that the objective of the mission is a valuable one, in light of the realities they face daily.

[Somalia Inquiry, March 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is referring to a situation in which there may be certain

things that prevented the commission from doing its job or that meant the commission needed more time to do its job than would have been the case had the circumstances been different.

However, some allegations regarding purported cover-ups and all the rest have been checked by other institutions. I may remind the hon. member that for instance, in the case of allegations concerning the former chief of staff, a government institution conducted an investigation and found that General Boyle was not responsible for doing things which, according to the commissioner, were unacceptable.

The important thing for us is that by the end of March, when we will have reported to the Prime Minister and Canadian people, people will be able to evaluate the work we have been doing for three months. At the end of June, Canadians must be able to analyze-

[Somalia Inquiry, March 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I fully understand the hon. member's concerns. The incidents that occurred in Somalia are absolutely intolerable. The way the institution reacted to these incidents is entirely unacceptable. That is why we promised to try to find ways to prevent such incidents from recurring, but in a less than perfect world, we know it is always a possibility. We had to find a way to set up mechanisms for dealing appropriately with all eventualities.

I never commented on the way the commission decided to do its job of hearing witnesses, on its work schedule or on the testimony as such.

But I can say to the hon. member that I believe Canadians realize that for the past two or three days, we have heard witnesses who were directly involved in the incidents that occurred in Somalia. They are being heard two years later. I am just stating a fact. This is not a comment.

If two years later, we now hearing testimony from two people who were involved in the incident in Somalia, I think it says quite a bit about the time it would have taken to receive conclusions and recommendations that would be useful, in the current context, to try to deal with the problems and the challenges facing the Canadian Forces.

[Somalia Inquiry, March 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, today it will be nearly two years since the commission of inquiry started investigating the events that took place in Somalia.

The government gave the commission three extensions, including the last one. However, we have asked the commissioners to submit their report no later than the end of June. We could have continued this inquiry for another year or two or three, and by the end of this whole exercise, the conclusions and recommendations would probably have had some historic value.

As the hon. member is aware-I was going to say "Leader of the Opposition", but this may be a bit premature-I am to report to the Prime Minister of Canada and the government on the future of the armed forces and how we should proceed. The former chief justice of the Supreme Court, Brian Dickson, has agreed to investigate and report on the whole military justice system as well as on the way investigations should be conducted.

I am sure it would probably have been impossible to obtain full clarification of all the events that occurred before, during and after the situation in Somalia.

I think that for the sake of the Canadian Forces and for the sake of the future of this institution which is very important for Canada, we had to wind things up. As soon as a report has been submitted to the government and the Commission of Inquiry has made its recommendations at the end of June, I hope Canadians will realize why it is important to turn the page.

[Somalia Inquiry, March 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the attempt to

determine what went on in Somalia in the incident the hon. gentleman has referred to began on March 15, 1995. The commissioners have had nearly two years to call a roster of witnesses and to make sure they determined who they wanted to hear from.

The testimony to which the hon. member refers was heard, as he indicated himself, this week. There was nothing that precluded that evidence being heard a year and a half ago. The commissioners knew exactly what had taken place with respect to the people who were looking into the incidents.

We will not disagree with the hon. leader of the third party who in September 1996 said:

Mr. Speaker, to ensure there is no ultimate cover-up in the Somalia inquiry, will the Prime Minister guarantee to this House that the results of the inquiry will be made fully public before the next federal election?

I am doing the best I can.

[Somalia Inquiry, March 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is well aware that since the inquiry began, and particularly since I have been the Minister of National Defence, I have not commented on the testimony of witnesses before the inquiry because it is the job of the commissioners to prepare their recommendations.

I am sure the hon. member is as anxious as I am to see those recommendations. As a result of the government having given the commission of inquiry a third extension but asking it to report by the end of June, no doubt it will be an area the commission will address when it makes its report.

[Somalia Inquiry, March 10th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member was a valued member of the Canadian forces for many years and I understand his anguish.

I have never commented, nor will I, on the roster of witnesses or how the commission of inquiry conducted its work. It was entirely within its prerogative to set out its work schedule the way it wanted to. It has done that for over two years.

The hon. member has asked a very pertinent question. He has asked how we intend to move on and how to clear the air. I have undertaken to submit to the Prime Minister, to the government, to the people of Canada and to the Canadian forces by the end of this month a very comprehensive and substantial set of recommendations on the future of the Canadian forces. We have sought and received the input of literally hundreds of Canadians who feel very strongly about the future of the Canadian forces.

I still look forward to hearing that kind of input from the Reform Party, but regardless of that we will make public our position and our recommendations by the end of this month.

[Somalia Inquiry, March 10th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, obviously these events and much of what took place around the situation the hon. member refers to occurred under the watch of the previous administration.

To the hon. member, because of his background and his respect for the Canadian forces, in direct response to his question, he has finally recognized on behalf of his party that I indicated immediately upon coming to my position as Minister of National Defence that it was my fervent hope and the government's that the commission of inquiry would end its work as scheduled in March.

When he asks why I felt it should be ended in March, although we have subsequently extended it to the end of June, it is because everywhere I have gone in Canada and abroad, speaking but mainly listening to members of the Canadian forces, I can tell the hon. member that if he spoke with many of his former colleagues he would know that in great part it was time to turn the corner and there is no question that the decision in part was because it is in the best interests of the Canadian forces.

[Somalia Inquiry, March 10th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the need to determine what happened and why it happened in Somalia and what occurred subsequent to the very unfortunate events in Somalia is obviously very important.

What I think is of equal importance and what Canadians have come to accept as being absolutely essential is what we are going to do to ensure that the kinds of situations that occurred in Somalia do not reoccur and that what happened after those incidents occurred be an appropriate response to those kinds of incidents.

Obviously the hon. member and members of his party have not yet decided how they want to address matters relating to the Canadian forces because, as the hon. member would know, by the end of this month we will be reporting to the Prime Minister, to the government and to the people of Canada on what we think should be done with the Canadian forces. We have yet to hear from the Reform Party.