Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to participate in the debate on Bill C-295, an act to provide for the control of Canadian peacekeeping activities by Parliament and to amend the National Defence Act in consequence thereof.
I will take a few minutes this afternoon to talk about the context of the bill, namely the nature of Canada's current involvement in peacekeeping activities and the way in which we currently manage our participation in the operations. I should also like to look at a number of specific details in the bill and explain why I cannot support the changes the bill proposes.
Since World War II successive Canadian governments have argued that a safer, more secure international environment is key to Canada's own security and prosperity. As a responsible international participant and as a major trading nation, Canada is concerned with the dangers of a spillover of a localized strife and the threat it poses to the larger international community. At the same Canadians desire a reduction or end to the widespread human suffering in situations where there are strong indications that outside assistance can make a difference.
To this end Canada has worked with other countries to create a stable international environment. One of the instruments we have used in this effort has been peacekeeping, a technique of multilateral conflict management and resolution that has proven exceedingly useful over the years, and at which Canada has excelled.
Canada's contribution to peacekeeping is rooted in the belief that a stable international order sustained by substantial multinational consensus is the best foundation for Canada's long term peace and security. Hence, we willingly make available well trained and suitably equipped military personnel for peacekeeping and related operations.
However, our commitment to peacekeeping cannot be taken for granted. Canada carefully examines all requests for peacekeeping assistance and turns down those it regards as inappropriate. Our record of support is unparalleled, but that does mean our decision to take part in such missions is automatic. Canada has declined opportunities to participate in the third UN Angola verification mission, the UN Aouzou Strip observer group and the UN observer missions in Georgia and in Liberia. In recent years Canada has also significantly reduced or withdrawn contingents from Cyprus, Western Sahara, Somalia and El Salvador.
Traditionally the international community has turned to Canada for peacekeeping resources, not only because our foreign policy has been inclined to support involvement but also because our armed forces are flexible, multipurpose and combat capable. Our personnel are well trained, suitably equipped and have a very impressive track record. The world has come to depend on Canada for peacekeeping.
Canadian participation must always be placed in a larger international context. Our decision to join in a mission is a unilateral one and any changes to the way we operate would also be unilateral. However, the actual mission is always multilateral and complex. With many partners affecting our understanding we become team players when we join. This is an important consideration because UN Security Council resolutions are not always absolutely precise in specifying all the aims, duties or roles of a mission. Decisions evolve as circumstances change.
I should like to turn now to a discussion of some specific provisions of Bill C-295 which in my mind are not workable.
Clause 8 of Bill C-295 requires that once the aims of a particular mission have been achieved the Canadian contribution is to be terminated. The bill is not clear as to how the UN objectives or those expressed in the resolution might be reconciled. Yet the withdrawal of a Canadian contingent based upon an arbitrary expiry date would have two undesirable effects. First, the entire Canadian contribution might prove pointless if withdrawn too early. The second and more serious impact is that withdrawal could be counterproductive to the mission as a whole and thereby in itself threaten peace and security.
I also question those provisions of the bill related to active service. This bill would deem members of the Canadian forces assigned to peacekeeping missions to be on active service for all purposes. The bill proposes that the National Defence Act be amended so that an officer or non-commissioned member assigned to a mission that is subject to the proposed peacekeeping act shall be deemed to be on active service for all purposes.
Quite simply, this proposal is unnecessary. Pursuant to an order in council dated April 6, 1989, all regular force members anywhere in or beyond Canada and all reserve force members beyond Canada are currently on active service. Moreover, all members of the regular force have in fact been on active service continually since 1950.
There is therefore no legal requirement for individual orders in council placing members on active service as a consequence of a particular peacekeeping operation. These orders in council are simply a parliamentary convention. But convention though they may be, the practice certainly reflects the government's desire to consult more frequently with Parliament concerning the general thrust of Canada's peacekeeping policy and practice.
As members well know, there have been two substantial debates on international peacekeeping commitments since this government came into power, the first on September 21, 1994 and the second just recently on March 29.
Bill C-295 does not adequately address the scope of UN peacekeeping operations or chapter 7 action taken by the UN Security Council. This is the third element of the bill with which I have serious concerns.
The definitions and structure imposed by the bill do not accord with international treaties and the UN charter obligations. In trying to encompass the broad range of operations that may be authorized or directed by a UN Security Council resolution, the definition of a peacekeeping service in clause 2 of the bill is very imprecise.
The Secretary General of the United Nations, Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, in his June 1992 report to the Security Council defined four terms: preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding, all of which contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security. Each of these UN concepts can, and most often do, entail the use of military force. However, civilian personnel such as elections officials and civilian police are also becoming common in UN peacekeeping operations. The problem with Bill C-295 is that it does not provide a clear delineation of which operations are covered, nor does it offer any specific rationale for applying such regulations only to Canadian forces.
I would also like to question the section dealing with the rules of engagement. Bill C-295 creates overly simplistic legal obligations for rules of engagement and the use of force. Rules of engagement are always issued to armed Canadian forces personnel participating in international operations. They often operate under UN rules of engagement, although these are always drafted in conjunction with the Canadian forces staff at National Defence Headquarters as well as the Canadian contingent commander.
In this way, UN rules of engagement reflect a distinctly Canadian approach in structure, terminology, and interpretation of the mandate within which the rules operate. Occasionally, when the UN is slow to produce an acceptable set of rules of engagement, Canadian forces will operate under Canadian rules while permitting the UN to maintain overall control of an international operation.
Clause 5(3) of the bill restricts the use of force to self-defence. However, this restriction cannot, unless specifically authorized by a UN Security Council resolution, extend to the protection of civilians, even if they are subject to the actual or immediate threat of deadly force or if they are threatened with a serious abuse of human rights. All rules of engagement must be carefully analysed, taking into account the specifics of the mandate. That mandate could require troop-contributing states to use force for reasons other than those specified in the bill.
The issue of neutrality in Bill C-259 is also insupportable. The blanket requirement in subclause 5(1) that Canadian forces be neutral and not engage in combat is itself contradicted later in paragraphs 5(3)(a), (b), and (c) of the bill. The authorization this later subclause gives would violate the neutrality provisions because force could be used to protect one civilian group against the actions of another. There may be cases in which combat is the only means of restoring peace. Once again, this bill, if implemented, would restrict the flexibility of our Canadian forces in what are often very fluid and unpredictable circumstances.
In conclusion, I think that the same argument could be applied to the bill as a whole. The provisions of Bill C-259 foreclose options and restrict the flexibility of the Government of Canada to direct and manage the peacekeeping operations it undertakes.
I urge all members of the House to give careful consideration to how this bill would affect the ability of our Canadian forces to perform the tasks they have been assigned. This bill, however well meaning in its intent, would, in my view, have a detrimental effect on Canada's ability to undertake peace operations.
Out of respect for the admirable work that our Canadian forces are doing on a day to day basis and with their interests in mind, I cannot support this bill.