Mr. Speaker, as the member of Parliament for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, home to CFB Petawawa, I am pleased to take an active interest in the well-being of the women and men who serve their country as members of the Canadian armed forces.
It is with their concern in mind that I question the defence minister regarding the decision of the Prime Minister to compromise the independence of the office of the ombudsman for National Defence.
By appointing someone over the objection of the democratically constituted majority of the members of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs, the Prime Minister has demonstrated contempt of the democratic process and for the members who were elected by their constituents to serve the interests of all Canadians.
The record shows that as a member of the defence committee I have advocated for the position of the ombudsman to be independent. The ombudsman should be an officer of this House and report to Parliament, not to the Minister of National Defence. The ombudsman should be free to do his work and not be required to submit his reports to the very people he is investigating, in this case the Minister of National Defence, prior to those reports being publicly released.
In defending this practice, the new ombudsman stated to members of the defence committee that ministerial directives require him to follow this practice. It was precisely that type of response that resulted in the MPs rejecting his candidacy, and is causing concern for those Canadians who believe that military members deserve our support and respect.
That response certainly confirms the judgment expressed in the editorial of a major newspaper when it stated:
—it's reasonable to expect the generals, the previous ombudsman used to torment, would seek a more friendly, conciliatory and pliable replacement....As it stands, [the Defence Minister's] continued championing of Mr. Côté in the face of parliamentary opposition smacks of an attempt to co-opt and neuter the ombudsman's office.
It should be noted that my concern for the independence of the office of the military ombudsman was repeated by the first ombudsman, Mr. André Marin. In his parting message Mr. Marin stated:
The biggest deficit in achieving the principles of success, however, is the continuing lack of institutional independence for the Office.
As I have noted time and time again, institutionally, the office is vulnerable.
As the Ombudsman exercises delegated authority from a government Minister, the Office remains beholden to the Minister and therefore subject to pressure, should it be exerted.
Moreover, the Office is created by Ministerial directives that can be deleted with the stroke of a pen.
The absence of a legislative foundation has... undermined the authority of the Office.
It should be pointed out that the creation of the office of the military ombudsman was the only good thing to come out of the Liberal Party whitewash of the Somalia inquiry.
By June 1998, morale in the Canadian armed forces was at an all time low after suffering from massive budget cuts, overt political interference and the Somalia cover-up, which led to the disbanding of one of the proudest traditions in the military, the Canadian Airborne Regiment.
It is by design that the Prime Minister would choose the individual who was a legal government coordinator when the political decision was made to shut down the Somalia inquiry.
If anything demonstrates that it is business as usual between the decisions made by the old Chrétien gang of sponsorship scandal fame, in which the current Prime Minister was a senior member and participated in every decision, and decisions of today, it has to be the fact that the present Prime Minister continues to make appointments in the absence of the moral authority to do so.
For Canadians, this is another example that nothing has changed.
The Prime Minister was quick to provide lip service to the democratic deficit when he was looking for votes.
Canadians who were prepared to give the Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt before the latest scandal involving the Prime Minister's good friend, David Dingwall, are now saying that they do not believe him any more.
What a sad disappointment the Prime Minister has been to all Canadians and to our international reputation.