Debates of Feb. 21st, 2005

2010 Winter Games

[Don Bell, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

Mr. Speaker, February 2005 marks the five year countdown to the official opening ceremonies of the 21st Olympic Winter Games and the 10th Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia.

Public events are being held in B.C. to officially launch the five year countdown of the 2010 winter games. This past weekend, the Government of Canada held an event to promote the countdown and to raise awareness of the games across the country.

These will truly be Canada's games. In 2010 the eyes of the world will be upon Canada as we host the Olympics and the Paralympic Winter Games. More than three billion people will be watching as we celebrate and showcase Canadian athletic, artistic and cultural excellence that will reflect the highest achievements of Canada's diversity.

Over the next five years the Government of Canada will seek unique opportunities for all Canadians to benefit from hosting the games. They will also help the Government of Canada and the many partners involved achieve sustainable environmental, social, cultural, sport and economic benefits across the country and for all Canadians.

Let us make this dream a reality for all Canadians in 2010. Let us take this opportunity to make Canada shine--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Windsor—Tecumseh.

Black History Month

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, February is Black History Month, a month when we officially recognize the important contributions black Canadians have made and continue to make to our national mosaic. I would encourage all of us to take this time to remember the rich and diverse history of Canadians of black heritage.

There are many who are aware of parts of our black heritage. For instance, in my community of Windsor and Essex County it is well known that we were the terminus of the underground railway for slaves fleeing the United States. However, there is little official recognition of the history of black Canadians in many other respects.

I would encourage my colleagues to take this month to familiarize themselves with black history. I would also encourage our provincial and municipal governments to make a commitment to include a greater recognition of black history in our education curriculum.

Finally, our generation and subsequent generations must become more knowledgeable of the significant contributions to culture and science made by the black community.

Family Day

[Werner Schmidt, Conservative, Kelowna, BC]

Mr. Speaker, today I wish to emphasize something which we all have in common.

It knows no definition. At its best, it is a source of strength, respect, cooperation, compassion and love. It has more value than money or status or success. It is that institution which weaves together people, who become communities, which become a nation. It is family.

Today in the province of Alberta people are celebrating family day, a day that we should celebrate as a nation. Let us recognize the most important institution in Canada's society. Let us give Canadians a respite from a long winter and declare the third Monday of February Family Day.

Jutra Awards

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the seventh annual Jutra Awards, which took place last night in Montreal, confirm the vitality of Quebec's cinema and the brilliance of those who work in this industry.

Two feature films, Mémoires affectives by the young and talented director Francis Leclerc, and Ma vie en cinémascope by the legendary Denise Filiatrault, swept the highest honours at this gala.

The Hommage award went to Michel Brault. He has been at the forefront of Quebec cinema and in a half-century career has been associated with nearly 200 productions, as a cameraman, director of photography, director or producer.

Considered the father of Quebec cinema, Michel Brault, in all his usual modesty, had this to say to the audience, “Thank you to my people, you who have entrusted me with your words and actions. Thank you, Quebec.”

The Bloc Québécois applauds the immense talent in Quebec's artistic community who never fail to surprise us, touch us and move us, to our great pleasure and that of movie fans the world over.

The Prime Minister

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Whether in Canada or abroad, here or thither,He can't escape, he's Prime Minister Dithers.He's rarely met two sides of an issue he can't take,It's just a decision he won't make.From one side to the other and in-between he slithers,Where's Earnscliffe now to help Prime Minister Dithers?Continuing Liberal foreign policy fumbles,This PM is also Prime Minister Bumbles.Syria's in Lebanon to keep peace, he said in French,The next day it was time for the Prime Minister to retrench.Ironically, moronically, it only matters he said it,Prime Minister Bumbles should have his answers vetted.Thirteen territories not three is the Canada he's seen,And our soldiers he proudly sent to Afghani-steen.Taking the fight to tourists is not the war on terror,Prime Minister Bumbles makes another great error.To hundreds of millions of people from St. John's to B.C.“Canada is greater than no other”, he once said with glee.Prime Minister Bumbles wishes it would all go away,Well, Prime Minister Bumbles, it's Normandy, not Norway!

Conservative Party of Canada

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we can now confirm that the Leader of the Opposition and his Conservative Party are firmly established in their own political fantasyland.

First, the party and its leader vet their MPs' speeches, limiting their freedom of speech, and now the Conservative Party has a secret non-accountable committee vetting policies for its convention. It is one thing to shut out the voice of its MPs, but to manipulate and to control the voice of the grassroots is horrible.

Just like in The Wizard of Oz , when the smoke clears and the curtain gets pulled back, we see the truth: that behind the pretence of a political process, the Conservative leader stands alone, pulling the policy strings in his grassroots party of one.

I am sure the Conservatives wish they had ruby slippers so they could take themselves back to a day when they could have their own opinions. Alas, Kansas is still at least one leadership race away.

Martin Gagné

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate Martin Gagné on helping Canada win gold at the 9th NFL Global Junior Championship when Canada won against the United States 38 to 35.

He also won a spot on the all-tournament team as one of the best defensive linemen.

Fabreville's Martin Gagné played for Curé Antoine-Labelle high school. He was the number one draft pick in Quebec. It is just one more honour in a career that should continue with the Carabins at Université de Montréal or the Rouge et Or at Université Laval.

His strength of character and determination cannot help but be an inspiration to all young football players. I also want to congratulate all the Laval football associations for their excellent work with all their young players. Bravo, Martin Gagné.

National Defence

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the new chief of the defence staff has publicly complained about the lack of resources for our military. Now Colonel Pat Stogran, Canada's first commander in Afghanistan, has said that the government is watering down its infantry for lack of cash.

Canada's active military has been cut to the bone and we are not fulfilling our international obligations. The Prime Minister himself acknowledged that we do not have the troops.

The government's promise to increase the military by 5,000 is a drop in the bucket. The money that will be needed for training and equipment is not there.

The Prime Minister's dithering is hurting our forces. Will there be a plan and the necessary funds to significantly increase our military capability in the budget?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, as we have spoken in the House before on this issue, it is not possible to predict what will be in the budget. However, if we look at the conduct of the government up until now, it is clear that the Prime Minister is committed to rebuilding our armed forces. We have a new chief of the defence staff who will be transforming and revolutionizing the way in which we approach Canada's role in the world and delivering on that.

I am confident that the finance minister will be giving us the resources this week in the budget. We will have a defence review which clearly lays out an active, proactive Canadian role in defence matters that will help the rest of the world.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government has systematically dismantled the Canadian Forces over the last 12 years.

In fact, Colonel Stogran has also said that we cannot continue to dismantle our army to the lowest common denominator because of fiscal problems. Both Stogran and Hillier feel that the foundation of the army is cracking and we need new equipment, training and spare parts. Symbolically, last week we heard that the army is going barefoot in the barracks because of Liberal cuts.

The promises to repair the military are hollow. They are repeated year after year. I ask again, will the budget continue the Liberal trend of dismantling, dithering and delaying, or will we actually see a firm commitment--

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of National Defence.

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Absolutely, Mr. Speaker. As for being barefoot in the barracks, I think that party has nothing to say about that, given its policies which are totally bare of any content whatsoever in the House. We are all completely bare in the House when it comes to policies from the opposition.

The government is committed to rebuilding our forces. We will rebuild the Canadian Forces. We will rebuild the forces in an intelligent, focused and determined way, not by just jumping to reaction the way the opposition does on every small item that comes to its attention.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, in last year's budget there was a promise of $300 million to purchase new search and rescue aircraft within 12 to 18 months. It did not happen. Now we know the project is stalled because of an overly complicated and convoluted procurement process.

In the meantime our search and rescue planes are only available about half of the time. Like the Sea Kings, the Buffalo and the Hercules are over 40 years old. It took 12 years of dithering by the government to finally make a decision to replace the Sea Kings. Too many lives depend on these aircraft.

How much more dithering can we expect from the government before we actually get new search and rescue helicopters?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, the question makes my point entirely. We have replaced the Sea Kings. We are in the process of replacing the Sea Kings. We have committed to getting the helicopters to replace the Sea Kings. It was the first thing I did when I became defence minister.

I think it is better for us to proceed in an intelligent, measured way to get what the armed forces need rather than just trying to play political football with the occasional problem that the opposition members on that side of the House are trying to find.

We are committed to rebuilding our Canadian Forces. We will do that in measured, determined and effective ways.

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Carleton—Lanark, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government has been negotiating ballistic missile defence with the U.S. for five years.

Some months ago the minister said that a missile defence memorandum of understanding was forthcoming, yet here we are today and there is still no public document. The Liberals have truly brought dithering to a high art form. After five years the government must be aware of all the details.

Will the minister advise the House where his government stands on missile defence?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, we stand on missile defence exactly where the Prime Minister has made it clear to the House on many occasions. We will enter into an agreement with the United States if it is in the interest of Canada, if we ensure that we are not going in any way toward the weaponization of space, and that Canadian security interests and Canada's political interests are guaranteed.

We will not enter into any agreement which is not in our interest. The Prime Minister is committed to that and we will continue along that road.

[Gordon O'Connor, Conservative, Carleton—Lanark, ON]

Again, Mr. Speaker, we have bafflegab.

Last month the Prime Minister mused that Canada would not pay anything for ballistic missile defence, although Canada wanted a say in decision making. This is simply incomprehensible. The Prime Minister expects Canadians to believe that the U.S. will allow Canada a seat at the table without investing in the program.

Would the minister tell us if Canada has been asked to pay a financial contribution and accept missiles or sensor systems on our soil?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I can tell the House that Canada has not been asked to make a financial contribution. We will not be accepting missile sites on our soil, something we have made very clear on many occasions before, in case it missed the attention of the opposition.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was very clear on February 7 in this House. He said that Canada refused to send troops to Iraq in 2003 and the government's position has not changed. He stated: “Canadian troops will not be going to Iraq”, yet the government's policy is not as cut and dried as the Prime Minister says it is. Since August, in fact, Canadian officers have regularly spent time in Baghdad.

Since Canadian military personnel have been sent to Iraq under this government, will the Prime Minister acknowledge that he has misled both this House and the general public?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, exactly the same question was asked last week. I answered it the same way. We have always had armed forces personnel within other institutions, either military or international. We participate through those institutions. We have a colonel in Iraq under the auspices of the UN.

Do people not want the UN in Iraq or us to help by contributing our expertise to what is being done by the UN or other international bodies such as NATO?

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, when the minister said that we have always had exchanges with such countries as the United States, that is not true. During the Vietnam War, since Canada was not at war with Vietnam, there were no such exchanges.

I have asked the question on several occasions and he has always sidestepped it. I am asking him to admit that, when Canada is not involved in a war with another country, there is no question of exchanges with that other country, the U.S. or the U.K., for instance. I am referring to exchanges with American troops. This did not happen in Vietnam and must not happen in Iraq.

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the leader of the Bloc Québécois that we are not, to the best of my knowledge, in Vietnam at this time.

I am not sure that historical parallels of this kind are valid. As everyone in this House is well aware, Canada respects its international commitments with its allies and with such international institutions as the United Nations and NATO. We will continue to respect these commitments, but it does not mean that we are going to send troops to train Iraqi forces in Iraq. That is what the Prime Minister has said.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian government has said repeatedly, including through the Prime Minister, that sending Canadian troops to Iraq was totally and utterly out of the question. That was clear. Everyone thought it was the truth.

Does the Minister of National Defence not think that the only way to respect the position that was always stated, the position of Canada, the position that was presented to our fellow citizens, is to immediately withdraw all Canadian troops currently in Iraq?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I totally reject this proposal. Canada has always fulfilled with its international obligations. Canada is respected because it meets its international obligations. We are not in Iraq to train Iraqi troops. As the Prime Minister said, we are not going to send troops. However, we will always respect our commitments to the UN, NATO and our allies, as we have done in the past, and as we will continue to do in the future.