Mr. Speaker, on February 19, 1999, I expressed concern in the House that the Minister of National Defence indicated during the previously held take note debate on Kosovo that he did not know the details concerning the involvement of Canadian troops in a peacekeeping mission. The minister in fact said that these details would be worked out after the signing of a peace agreement. Then a formal request would be made by NATO, and Canada would have two weeks to respond.
I asked the minister at that time if he would commit to bringing the detailed request before parliament for a debate and a vote so that he might respond to the request with the full and open backing of Canadians through parliament.
The minister made it very clear in his answer, and the government has made it very clear since then, that there will be no vote on that issue. The minister indicated that the government had had a debate and would make a final decision expeditiously as matters unfolded. The minister said they would do so and keep everybody fully informed.
That was the keynote of the day. There would be no vote but everybody would be kept fully informed. We can see as matters have evolved that there has been no vote and that about 800 troops have since been committed. They are on standby for whatever NATO may deem to request of them.
The point is that with no vote Canada has joined the largest allied military assault in Europe since World War II. The phrase “sentence first and verdict afterwards” is from the twisted world of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and it seems the same twisted approach is being used by the government.
The government has seen fit to hold votes on many other pieces of business, on legislation that it has introduced in parliament updating terminology related to the Royal Canadian Mint, Teleglobe Canada legislation, establishing parks, amending the wheat board act, and even legislating workers back to work. Yet the government does not think that Canadians deserve to have their elected representatives vote on Canada's participation in the bloody slaughter of innocents in Yugoslavia and Canada's participation in the devastation of an economy and infrastructure including water, sewage, roads and communications which will take untold generations to rebuild.
The government places expediency before democracy. The Liberal government has acted as if the Liberal Party is at war and not the country of Canada, which is a very scary conclusion. The government suggests that it is at war. We note that the term war is quite often avoided and we talk about a conflict. In reality we have to call it what it is. The government is at war for democratic reasons, the government says, but it has overridden democracy in favour of one party rule to pursue its goals.
Upon what moral authority does the government see fit to send our country to war without a vote? The vote is the key issue. It is very important. When the Prime Minister was in opposition he demanded a vote on Canada's participation in the gulf war of 1991. Yet now he has chosen to hide from democracy in this crisis.
When I was campaigning many people indicated their very serious concerns about government. They were quite pessimistic about the political process, to the point that many had given up their right to vote. I encouraged people that the vote is the keystone of our democracy. It is a key point in our democracy. We must not at any cost give up the right to vote. I urge all members to consider seriously that in this issue the vote is the important issue.