Mr. Speaker, last year Canada responded to the threat posed in the gulf by Saddam Hussein. We dispatched the HMCS Toronto , aircraft and personnel from 435 squadron in order to do our part as a member of the international community.
Our maritime personnel provided escort duties for a U.S. navy carrier battle group and contributed to maritime interdiction operations. Our aviators and support personnel provided technical air to air refuelling in support of the allied air effort in the region. Our maritime and air personnel did an excellent job.
The dangers faced by the approximately 360 Canadians in the gulf were very real. They included the possibility that biological weapons could be used against our personnel.
In all good conscience, we could not send our people into a potentially dangerous situation without ensuring they were properly protected. Part of this protection was inoculating them against anthrax. As we all know, anthrax is a very deadly disease in which individuals are not aware they are sick until it is too late to treat them. We had to protect Canadian personnel against the use of such biological weapons. To do otherwise would be both irresponsible and unconscionable.
The government has worked in good faith and in the best interests of the men and women of the Canadian forces to provide them with the best protection possible in what we must remember was a potentially dangerous operation.
We recognize that Sergeant Kipling and his family have no doubt experienced considerable stress over this situation. However, cohesion and discipline are fundamental elements in an effective armed force. For that reason, disobeying an order, any order, is a serious offence that should be treated appropriately by the military justice system.
Sergeant Kipling has been charged with wilfully disobeying an order under section 126 of the National Defence Act. The decision to charge Sergeant Kipling and to proceed to a court martial was made after very careful examination of the case and is in accordance with current military law.