Debates of April 12th, 1999

Kosovo

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the position of the Canadian government is that we want all criminals who have caused the genocide in Serbia and in the neighbouring nations to face the trial that is called by the international community. There was a resolution to that effect. This is one of the problems we are having with Milosevic and his government. They do not want to return the criminals to face justice and we insist that they do that.

In the meantime the government in Belgrade is run by Milosevic. That is the government which exists at this moment in that country. If it wants to sign a peace agreement, even if it is Milosevic, we should take it. If he is a war criminal he should face the consequences of his actions in the international court.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, today in Brussels some officials conceded that most of the original Rambouillet peace framework had been overtaken by events and would not rule out partitioning Kosovo as part of any settlement.

Is the government considering supporting the partitioning of Kosovo as part of any negotiated settlement to resolve the crisis in the Balkans?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we want all Kosovars anywhere and everywhere to be able to go back home to Kosovo. They have been there a long time. There is no discussion at this time about partitioning Kosovo as part of the deal.

We want all Kosovars to be able to go back to their homes where they have been for a long time and to have their lives and freedom protected.

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the majority of Canadians appear to possibly support the use of ground forces in Kosovo, but they want to be kept informed about just what the government is doing.

Last week the defence minister said that Canada was considering sending ground forces to Kosovo in advance of the peace agreement, but the Prime Minister denied that there were any such plans.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Is the government considering sending Canadian ground forces into Kosovo?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there is absolutely no discussion at this time at the ministerial level of any possibility of sending troops in a combat position into Kosovo. This is not something that is on the table and it is not being considered by the government.

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is certainly being considered by other governments in the NATO allies and it is certainly the topic of conversation in military circles. It is the number one concern of the military. It is the number one concern of the official opposition.

Again my question is for the Prime Minister. Is the government considering sending Canadian ground forces to Kosovo in advance of a peace agreement?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I have replied to that question. We are not considering such a move at all at this moment.

Our goal is to make sure that the Kosovars can go back home under secure circumstances, and under all the conditions that we are waiting to have an agreement on, to make sure they can go there under secure conditions. Of course it was provided for in Rambouillet that an international force be there so they can enjoy the freedom they deserve.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister says he is not planning to send ground troops to Kosovo.

However, in the present state of affairs, with the air strikes dragging on longer than expected, is it not completely reasonable to consider what will happen if ground troops become necessary?

Will the Prime Minister tell us whether his cabinet and chief of defence staff are considering sending ground troops, if warranted, or if this scenario is excluded a priori?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we are acting in concert with other countries.

As I said earlier, there is no question at this time of sending ground troops to Kosovo. None at all. We do not need to make a decision about this as long as the problem does not arise.

Our plan is to continue with the bombing. We were not under any illusions. We knew that it would take some time to achieve the anticipated results. We must stick with this course of action.

I am in agreement with the stepped up bombing that began a few days ago.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I note that the Prime Minister's response is to say that “there is no question at this time of sending ground troops”, and I agree.

However, it is not on the eve of sending them that we will be called upon to evaluate whether or not troops are necessary. In my view, the Prime Minister is suggesting that such an evaluation is now under way.

I ask him, in this order: Will he agree not to send any ground troops to Kosovo until this parliament has debated the issue and given its approval for such a course of action?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, this is our third debate on the topic since October.

I can assure the hon. member that if, one day, we are obliged—I hope it never comes to that—to send ground troops, I will be happy to hold another debate in the House of Commons at that time.

[René Laurin, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence said recently that it would be a few weeks, if not several months, before the Canadian army was ready to intervene in Kosovo.

Since many people are seriously raising the issue of land operations, could the minister tell us about the army's readiness at this point to intervene in Kosovo?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister has said, we have one plan. We have an air campaign. We believe that the air campaign will work. We believe that the conditions set down again today in Brussels by NATO need to be met and we will continue with that campaign.

Of course military planners always look at different possibilities, but there is one plan and one plan only that is being followed by NATO and being followed by Canada.

[René Laurin, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I invite the minister to listen carefully to my question. I have twice asked him questions, and he does not always give me a direct answer.

I would ask him to tell us this. Between his statement of last week that a number of weeks, if not months, of preparation were required, and his statement of today, what has taken place so that the Canadian army is now ready, or not, to intervene and to act on a NATO decision?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, on February 17 the House discussed the matter of ground troops under a peace accord. On that basis I indicated at that time that between 600 and 800 Canadian forces troops would be made available for that purpose.

Those troops are in training now and will be available to participate in a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo once the conditions laid down by NATO are adhered to by the Yugoslav government.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has been counting on military actions alone to stop the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. Because of the military focus, political solutions have been virtually ignored with 19 days of bombing but no real diplomatic leadership.

Will the government now agree to show the leadership Canadians expect and push for a United Nations led negotiated solution?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, nothing would be more pleasant for the government than to have an agreement with the United Nations on this problem. Our ambassador in New York has been active. I think it is very important to involve the Russians in a solution as much as possible. I have written to Mr. Yeltsin to that effect. The reality is that both Russia and China have a veto at the security council and we cannot move.

I was very pleased with the statement of Secretary General Koffi Annan yesterday when he confirmed that his personal position was the same as that of NATO as stated this morning on the condition to have a peaceful settlement in Kosovo.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is bombing Serbia with the objective of protecting the civilian population of Kosovo, but the ethnic cleansing continues.

Is Canada prepared to advance the proposition that if Milosevic will stop the atrocities, stop the killing and agree to come to the table, NATO will suspend the bombing?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, one of the conditions mentioned in the five conditions agreed upon is to make sure he stops this cleansing and withdraws his soldiers so the Kosovars can go back home under secure conditions.

He does not want to do that. He started the policy of cleansing against the Kosovars months before we had the Rambouillet negotiations. Despite the agreement of the Russians on the Rambouillet conditions, he refused to sign and kept with his policy of pushing the Kosovars out and killing probably hundreds of thousands of them. That is why we have to maintain pressure on him with intensification of the air strikes.

[André Bachand, Progressive Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in 1991 when the international community under the UN flag was about to strike against Iraq, the then opposition leader and now Prime Minister who was personally briefed by the prime minister accused him of rolling the dice with Canadian lives during a real debate on a votable motion.

Is the Prime Minister prepared, in a real debate with a real vote, to put the question of Canada's and NATO's intervention in Kosovo?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, last week the government House leader negotiated the form of today's debate, and all parties, including the Progressive Conservative Party, agreed to a debate like the one we will be having.

This is the practice we have followed since we first formed the government. Every time there have been Canadian military interventions somewhere, we have always come to the House of Commons before going further and we are continuing to do so. We have always had this sort of debate.

Today's debate was approved last week by the Progressive Conservative Party, as by the other parties. I think a serious debate is not the time for petty politics.

[André Bachand, Progressive Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister should check his facts. There will be no petty politics, but he should put real politics at the service of Canadians and the Kosovar people and have a real debate in parliament.

The Prime Minister is not up to date, but we turned down a debate like the other two debates. What parliament needs is to speak officially. What is going on in Kosovo is serious.

Might the Prime Minister be afraid to do this with parliament? Might he be afraid to tell parliamentarians and Canadians what is going on in Kosovo?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, far from being afraid, we organized briefings for all of the parties.

[André Bachand, Progressive Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

That is not true.

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Saint-Maurice, QC]

I understand the confusion among the Conservatives. Their critic said he opposed interventions, and their leader outside the House, Mr. Clark, said he favoured them. They should resolve their problems and then come back to the House.