Jean-Marc Jacob

[Canadian Armed Forces, March 16th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, three years after the auditor general drew the attention of the government to what it costs taxpayers in Canada and Quebec to train a member of the armed forces reserve-90 per cent of what it costs to train a regular soldier-no steps have been taken to stop this wasteful spending.

In fact, the Canadian Reserve whose training is ineffective and inadequate, is the most expensive in the world after the one in Switzerland, which has no army. It will cost us a billion dollars again this year.

Ironically, the government decided to quietly get rid of the Advisory Council on the Status of Women and save a paltry one million dollars, while the National Defence budget, which totals more than $11 billion, was cut by less than 5 per cent this year.

[National Defence, March 14th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I find the minister's answer extraordinary.

Does the Minister of National Defence recognize that the sharp drop in francophone officer candidate enrolment will inevitably aggravate the already serious problem of francophone under-representation in the senior ranks of the Canadian Armed Forces, thereby compounding the unfair treatment of Quebec?

[National Defence, March 14th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Defence.

We have learned that the number of francophones applying to become Canadian Forces officers dropped drastically after the closure of the military college in Saint-Jean was announced. Applications are down to 102 this year from 243 last year, a drop of more than 50 per cent.

Does the Minister of National Defence recognize that, as we had predicted, closing the military college in Saint-Jean will have the effect of discouraging francophones from becoming Canadian Forces officers because they can no longer train in their own environment and in French, as they could in Saint-Jean?

[Peacekeepers, March 13th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to Bosnia, can the Minister of Foreign Affairs let us know the government's position on Bosnia, where the ceasefire is increasingly being ignored by the belligerents, some of whom have deliberately fired at the UN special envoy's plane?

[Peacekeepers, March 13th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Following the Copenhagen summit for social development, the Croatian President agreed to the European and U.S. proposal to allow peacekeepers to stay beyond March 31, although their number will be reduced from some 15,000 to 5,000. Meanwhile, the situation in the former Yugoslavia continues to deteriorate seriously.

Given the Croatian President's agreement, does Canada intend to keep Canadian peacekeepers in the reduced contingent in Croatia after March 31?

[National Defence, February 27th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I think that the minister has just confirmed that francophones are overrepresented in the junior ranks and underrepresented in the senior ranks.

How can the minister of defence justify such underrepresentation of francophones in the Canadian Forces, where there are almost no French-speaking officers in personnel selection, security and intelligence?

[National Defence, February 27th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Defence.

According to a study done for the Department of National Defence, francophones are grossly underrepresented among senior officers in the armed forces. The study shows that French-speaking officers are concentrated in nursing and chaplain services.

How can the minister explain that, in the top military ranks, francophones account for only one out of nine lieutenant-generals and three out of 31 major-generals, when his government has closed the only French-language military college in Canada?

[National Defence, February 21st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, given the current state of public finances, how can the minister of defence justify retaining such financial privileges for high ranking officers, in spite of the reasons he has just stated, while the government is preparing to increase rents by 25 per cent for persons in public housing?

[National Defence, February 21st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister of defence.

Senior officers in the army live in sumptuous government owned houses for which they pay a ridiculously low rent. Rear-Admiral Larry Murray, for example, pays $519 a month for a home appraised at more than $389,000, and Lieutenant-General Scott Clements spends $581 a month for a home appraised at more than $657,000.

How can the minister of defence accept that enlisted personnel pay $569 for very modest accommodations, while senior officers pay the same amount for houses four times the size and much more luxurious?

[National Defence, February 20th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time the minister has replied. I think that is indeed pertinent to what I am asking him. I would like him to answer.

Does the minister acknowledge that this totally inappropriate intervention by three generals on behalf of Lieutenant-Colonel Mathieu discredits and seriously calls into question the military police inquiry following which Lieutenant-Colonel Mathieu was acquitted by a court martial?