Debates of April 12th, 1999

Kosovo

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I think Canadians are concerned with the Prime Minister's answers. The Prime Minister keeps saying he will do this or he may do that. Most Canadians believe that the House of Commons should make decisions about sending our soldiers into harm's way.

The question that I think many people want answered, and I hope the Prime Minister will take this seriously, is: Will he commit to a vote here in the House of Commons before we send our soldiers into a potential ground war in Kosovo? Will he commit to that?

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

Mr. Speaker, the hon. members are all asking hypothetical questions.

I said that I hope we will never be confronted with that situation. I want to make sure that the House is very united. On this issue we have been very united. Any weakness or any division in the position of Canada will be used by Mr. Milosevic.

We have made a commitment to our allies that this policy of ours is sustained by the Parliament of Canada. If the opposition wants to vote against it, it can have a motion tomorrow showing that it has no confidence in the government. At the same time, it will not be supporting—

[The Speaker]

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Preston Manning, Reform, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, is the Prime Minister saying that democracy and the exercise of democracy are weaknesses of Canada? I thought the primary reason we were in the Balkans was to try to restore democracy there. Demonstrating democracy is a strength, not a weakness.

Why does the Prime Minister not just back up and commit that if we are going to involve Canadian forces in ground operations in the future in the Balkans, that he will submit that to a vote in the House prior to making that commitment?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the government has taken its position and we have agreed with the opposition to have a debate. We are having the debate today.

[An hon. member]

No vote.

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

If the opposition wants to have a vote of non-confidence in the government, it is very easy. The opposition can have it.

The Government of Canada has made commitments of a certain position to the allies. We have come to the House and all the parties have supported our position. If they think they do not want to support the position of the government, then it is very easy. Tomorrow is an opposition day and they can have a vote tomorrow saying that they do not agree with the position of the government.

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, tragically the only message coming out of NATO in Brussels today was more air strikes and more bombing.

I want to ask the Prime Minister, will Canada finally show real leadership on this issue? Will Canada call for an immediate suspension of NATO bombing and Milosevic's ethnic cleansing, a return to negotiations under UN auspices with a key role for Russia and very importantly, an emergency session of the United Nations General Assembly to seek a diplomatic solution to the devastating tragedy in Kosovo?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, NATO has been very clear right from the beginning about what it expects to bring about a cessation of the hostilities and a cessation of the bombing: ensure a verifiable stop to all military action; an immediate ending of violence and repression; ensure the withdrawal of Yugoslav military police and paramilitary forces; agree with the stationing of an international military presence; agree to the unconditional safe return of the refugees and displaced persons; and provide for a political framework for the future government. That is the kind of action plan that he has to agree to before the air campaign can stop.

[Svend Robinson, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, my supplementary question is for the same minister.

The Minister of National Defence just referred to an international military presence to ensure the safety of refugees returning to Kosovo. Last Friday this same minister said that presence had to be a NATO peacekeeping force.

Does the minister not recognize that aspect of Rambouillet calling for a NATO on the ground force was unacceptable then and it is unacceptable now? Will Canada clearly call for a UN or OSCE peacekeeping force and not a NATO force to ensure this agreement can be kept?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, what is important here is that the people of Kosovo are able to return to their homes and are able to live in peace and security. That is what is important. We need a military force there to ensure it. I believe we need a NATO led military force. That is the position of NATO.

Can the United Nations help to resolve this problem? Can other countries help to resolve this problem? Yes, and I hope they would.

[David Price, Progressive Conservative, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the former U.S. secretary of defence, Caspar Weinberger, said, in a personal capacity, that we had neither defined the victory nor established the real objectives in Kosovo.

My question is for the Minister of National Defence. What are the immediate and long term goals for the NATO air strikes?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we are there because we want the people of Kosovo to be able to live in peace and security in their home province. We want the ethnic cleansing to stop and the atrocities to stop. That is why we are there with the air campaign. The air campaign will continue until those conditions I mentioned a few moments ago are in fact met.

[David Price, Progressive Conservative, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on April 1, General Wesley Clark, the NATO supreme commander directing the air campaign, stated “We can't stop paramilitary actions from the air. We never thought air power alone can stop this kind of paramilitary tragedy”. The U.S. joint chief staffs reportedly agree with General Clark's assessment that a bombing campaign will not work.

What are the immediate long term goals of the NATO air campaign? Has the minister already made a commitment of ground troops to NATO?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I believe the air campaign will work, and so does General Clark.

Additional resources are being put there. The Apache helicopter for example can go in at a lower level and deal with the ground forces of the Yugoslav government that are carrying out the ethnic cleansing. Our air campaign's purpose is to weaken and destroy the capability of the Yugoslav military to carry out ethnic cleansing.

Health

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Oak Ridges, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the last budget invested in the health of Canadians and in the health care system.

We know that drugs are an increasingly important element of health care and that drug policies should ensure the right drug for the right patient at the right cost.

How is the federal government helping to ensure that Canadians get access to drug therapies prescribed by their doctors?

[Elinor Caplan, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, the minister is committed to doing everything he can to ensure that the people of Canada have access to the drugs they need. That is why a conference was held on pharmacare.

As a result of that conference, it is very clear that any access to needed drug therapies must be done through the development of an integrated health model to ensure that we do not make the mistakes that have been made in the past which have often resulted in people not getting optimal drug therapy from the drugs they take.

I acknowledge the member's interest. I also say to him that the minister is determined to work co-operatively with the provinces to determine how they can provide better access for the people of Canada.

Kosovo

[Art Hanger, Reform, Calgary Northeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, in the event that the crisis in Kosovo escalates and ground troops are necessary, I would have to suggest that it is they who will lay their lives on the line. It would be good for our troops to know exactly where this parliament sits in support of any action that may be on the ground.

Again, I ask the Prime Minister, why will he not commit to having a vote on the issue of sending ground troops into Kosovo should that need arise?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is not the problem which is confronting the government at this time.

We want to make sure that the policies that have been accepted by NATO, and which are strongly supported by the Canadian government and obviously by the Canadian people, stop the ethnic cleansing that is going on and that Milosevic takes his troops out of Kosovo so the Kosovars can go back home in security.

We do not want to start to debate the question on how we will handle the problem of sending ground troops. We do not want to send ground troops. We want Milosevic to accept and respect the people of Kosovo who want to be at home in Kosovo.

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said in Brussels that we should set up a peacekeeping force in Kosovo, to ensure the implementation of an eventual solution to the current crisis.

Can the Prime Minister tell us whether this peacekeeping force will be under the command of the UN, the OSCE, or NATO?

[Jean Chrétien, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, we have not yet reached that point. When the Rambouillet accords were accepted by moderate Kosovars, it was anticipated that troops would be sent and we were prepared to take part in that operation.

What will happen after we have obtained what we are seeking, that is peace and the safe return of Kosovars to their homes? Troops will be sent and Canada will want to participate. We hope it will be under the aegis of the United Nations. It would be ideal if everyone wanted to participate, including the Russians, the Chinese, etc. However, we do know that if they do not want to participate, we can still go with the support of NATO countries.

[Gordon Earle, NDP, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Speaker, there has been some indication that weapons involving depleted uranium are being deployed by NATO forces in Kosovo presenting a danger to the people and to the environment of the entire Balkans.

Will the minister advise this House as to whether depleted uranium is being used, in what capacity and by whom?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of depleted uranium being used. It certainly is not being used by Canadian forces.

Disasters

[Claude Drouin, Liberal, Beauce, QC]

Mr. Speaker, could the President of the Treasury Board clarify the financial assistance received by Quebec from the Government of Canada, under the disaster financial assistance arrangements?

[Marcel Massé, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure]

Mr. Speaker, last week, we sent Quebec a cheque of $175 million, for the damage incurred and for the compensation paid out to the population by the Government of Quebec.

As regards the ice storm, we have so far made advance payments of $250 million to the Government of Quebec and these payments could reach $400 million in the months to come.