Debates of Sept. 20th, 2001

Terrorism

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

Mr. Speaker, what the minister has just said is that Canada was not consulted. That is a clear answer. Operation Infinite Justice is a military operation that has been launched, as the minister has just said, unilaterally by the United States.

Yesterday, however, the Prime Minister said the following “it would be very worthwhile to get the UN involved in this debate”, NATO as well I would imagine, because NATO was referred to a little earlier this week.

When the Prime Minister meets with President Bush, will he be promoting patience, wisdom and consultation I would add, calling for the need for a broad international coalition in support of any response to the terrorists?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, it is not normal for a country when it wants to pre-position its military assets to consult other countries. This has not been done with any other country in this case or in past cases. This is not a decision by the United States to actually use them in a forceful way; this in fact is a forward positioning of its assets and personnel.

In terms of the kind of tone in the meeting that will go on between the Prime Minister and the president, I think the Prime Minister has made it quite clear that all of those become aspects of the conversation that he will have.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Americans' impatience to act is increasingly apparent with the launch of Operation Infinite Justice.

Since American action could have some very serious consequences for Canadian and Quebec military personnel, can the Minister of National Defence tell us now whether he has received a formal request for military involvement from the United States?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, there has been no specific request from the United States to Canada or to any of the other allies. The United States is still in a planning stage to determine how this campaign against terrorism should in fact be handled. As it comes through that planning stage, it will be consulting with us. It will be consulting with other allies. It is trying to build a coalition.

It is not just a question of the use of the military. There are diplomatic means, economic means and many other ways in which this campaign against terrorism will be carried out, hopefully with a minimal amount of use of military assets of the United States or of any other kind.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, given the speed of American action at the moment, what guarantee does the government have that its approach based on wisdom and patience will prevail and will have any merit, since, according to the Minister of National Defence, consultation is not necessary at this point?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I can tell the House that, as concerns our consultations with the United States and with other allies, I have just spoken to the ministers of foreign affairs of a number of European and other countries, who all noted the fact that the United States has carefully built an alliance with governments around the world and properly consulted them. In fact, all allies wanted this consultation. Up to now, we are quite satisfied.

Foreign Affairs

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Certainly the deployment of American forces in the last day or so, or the pre-positioning of American military assets, as the Minister of National Defence has called it, certainly raises the question or the anxiety that the die may well be cast before the Prime Minister gets to meet with President Bush.

I want to ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is there any contingency plan for making sure that the Prime Minister has an opportunity to fully communicate Canada's views before any American action proceeds?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows there have been a number of telephone conversations already between the Prime Minister and the president. I have spoken with the secretary of state.

My colleagues in many cases have spoken with their counterparts. As I was saying a moment ago in French, all of our other allies, European and others, have likewise been in Washington or speaking to Washington by telephone.

It has been an extensive consultation. It is one that I think speaks well of the United States' desire to act in a multilateral way in this matter, which is something the NDP has been calling for.

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, also for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the minister will know that Canadians in Pakistan have been told that it would be in their best interests to leave that country.

What is the Canadian government doing to assist Canadians in that difficult situation to make sure that they can exit Pakistan and return home?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we have indicated to Canadians in Pakistan that it would be advisable for them to leave while commercial opportunities to do so are available. They still exist.

In addition, we are co-operating with the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States to co-ordinate facilities if necessary to evacuate other Canadian citizens if that becomes something that we need to do.

House of Commons

[Chuck Strahl, Canadian Alliance, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, there are negotiations among House leaders to extend the sitting of the House tonight specifically to debate the Prime Minister's visit to Washington.

While Canadians look forward to this debate, it will be meaningful only if the Prime Minister participates fully and outlines Canada's position to parliament and details what he is prepared to offer President Bush in next week's meeting.

Will the Prime Minister give the commitment today that he will come to the House during this evening's debate and detail fully what Canada is prepared to offer to the president of the United States?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, first of all I want to congratulate those members who requested that such a debate take place, more particularly the opposition House leader who asked that we have such a debate this evening.

I am able to confirm that--

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Will the Prime Minister be here?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I thought this was an important issue. Members on this side of the House are willing to have such a debate this evening and the government and government members will participate if we obtain an agreement as to the form of the debate and of course all House leaders of recognized political parties have a copy of it.

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, we presume the Prime Minister is on the telephone, meeting with his cabinet.

Canadians want to support a common action against terrorism, but parliament has a right to know what terrorist cells operate--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, Oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. The Chair cannot possibly hear what the right hon. member has to say and there is always the risk that he could say something out of order which the Chair has to be able to hear. I would invite hon. members to perhaps show a little restraint while we listen to the question from the right hon. gentleman.

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Parliament has a right to know what terrorist cells operate in our country. The Prime Minister has given confusing answers. My question is for the acting prime minister, knowing of course that some of that information must be kept confidential for security reasons. Would the acting prime minister agree to authorize an immediate briefing tonight or tomorrow to the parliamentary committee which studies national security to give clear and reliable information about what terrorist cells operate in Canada and what threat they constitute?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, my colleague the solicitor general has enunciated a fundamental parliamentary principle. I am surprised that the hon. member for Calgary Centre, a former prime minister of this country, does not understand that in times of crisis intelligence gathering is something that must be kept very, very secure for obvious reasons. It is in the national interest.

Terrorism

[James Moore, Canadian Alliance, Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Sun Media is reporting that last Tuesday, the same day that four planes in the United States were hijacked with knives and box cutters, an aircraft originating from Toronto's Pearson airport heading to Newark, New Jersey, the region where the terrorist attacks took place, was diverted back to Pearson airport because knives and box cutters were found on the plane by the flight crew.

Can the government confirm this, and if so, how can the government still deny that there was a Canadian connection with last week's terrible events?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, last week we were faced with an enormous crisis where these buildings were destroyed in a matter of seconds, where air space was closed. I would ask the hon. member to ascertain the facts before he comes to the House and alarms people, because every security precaution was taken as soon as this became known.

[James Moore, Canadian Alliance, Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC]

Mr. Speaker, in April of this year on a flight from Yellowknife to Vancouver, Leslie Chester, during a drinking binge, managed to get through airport security and onto a plane with two submachine guns and several boxes of ammunition that he tossed into a duffel bag. That is airport security. When one in five airport security checks fail and submachine guns can be smuggled onto planes it is clear that airline security has fallen short of what Canadians expect.

With this reality how can the transport minister reject implementing new security changes permanently, including the use of air marshals, which Canadians desperately want?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, I have said consistently over the last week that every single aspect of aviation security, whether it is on the planes, whether it is at the airports, whether it is on the air side, is under review and we will take every measure to protect the travelling public. In fact this afternoon I am meeting with the industry to discuss these and other matters.

National Defence

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

Mr. Speaker, earlier, in my first question, I asked the government whether Canada had been consulted before the launching of Operation Infinite Justice.

The Minister of National Defence is saying “No, we were not consulted”, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs assures us that the Canadian government was indeed consulted.

Could the two ministers consult each other and tell us whether Canada was consulted or not before the launching of that operation?

[Art Eggleton, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I think the Minister of Foreign Affairs has quite clearly and properly outlined that there is a considerable amount of consultation.

What I was asked, though, by the hon. member was not in that general context. I was asked about the specifics of the pre-positioning of the military assets and personnel, to which I answered that it is the normal function they carry out and they have carried it out on many other occasions. They do not consult with everyone before they do that.