Mr. Speaker, the situation in Kosovo is grave. We recently witnessed an atrocious massacre and the spring campaign season is upon us within weeks. NATO has given both sides until February 20 to reach a peace agreement or face NATO air power. The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and our other NATO allies are preparing to send ground troops into the bloody province and the NATO secretary general is asking for Canadian participation.
The Prime Minister, in his usual open mouth insert foot manner said that we might send ground troops to Kosovo in addition to our CF-18s based in Italy, without our being asked formally or informally for troops by anyone. I cannot imagine another responsible statesman in the world doing such a thing, but there we have it.
The foreign affairs minister and Nobel Peace Prize wannabe has said that Canada would send ground forces only if the operation was approved by the UN Security Council. It seems he has changed his mind. The defence minister who obviously has not clout around the cabinet table after yesterday's insulting budget has said it will not be an aggressive force but simple peacekeeping like Bosnia. Bosnia has already cost 16 Canadian lives. That is something I cannot dismiss quite so cavalierly.
The Serbs have rejected any NATO peacekeeping force on their soil. The defence minister has also said that sending ground troops would stretch the Canadian forces to the limit, which begs the question as to where are the troops for Kosovo going to come from, especially after yesterday's budget which made significant troop cuts a reality. This lack of Liberal clarity has left Canadians wondering what is the government's policy on Kosovo. It has left Canadians with several questions about the deployment of Canadian military forces to this troubled region.
Lieutenant General Lewis MacKenzie, one of Canada's most famous peacekeepers and someone who is very familiar with the region, has questioned Canadian involvement and has demanded that there be a public debate. This is a public debate in a sense.