Michel Gauthier

[National Defence, January 27th, 1994]

The truth hurts on the other side.

Could the minister tell us whether the mysterious signal received by the Canadian Forces could have come from a plane used for cigarette or arms smuggling? Can the minister give us any information on that?

[National Defence, January 27th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the minister does not seem to understand that his first obligation is to answer questions in this House where he sits as an elected representative, rather than satisfy some people, people who might be involved in that affair.

[National Defence, January 27th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question deals with the incidents which occurred last Friday in Kanesatake, and about which the Minister of National Defence is constantly changing his version of the facts. He first talked about the Sûreté du Québec, which proved incorrect. Then he said that he had been informed that the Sûreté du Québec was investigating, which also proved incorrect. Finally, yesterday, he said he did not have time to ask the Sûreté du Québec to investigate.

Could the minister tell us whether anyone is investigating the events in Kanesatake? If so, will the minister give us the assurance that he will table the report once the investigation is completed?

[National Defence, January 26th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, would the Prime Minister agree to table in this House the journey log book as well as the trip reports of the aircraft involved in the operation over Kanesatake?

[National Defence, January 26th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, since the beginning of the week, the Official Opposition has been questioning the government about the very serious events that took place in Kanesatake last Friday.

The minister of defence answered that the matter was under investigation by the Sûreté du Québec but, as we later found out, this was incorrect. The Prime Minister trivialized the incident, saying there were no bullet holes found in the helicopter. He mentioned the use of a slingshot, as you probably remember. At the same time, we are receiving very serious information from reliable sources and we are concerned because it looks like the government wants to keep the whole thing quiet.

My question is for the Prime Minister. Now that five days have gone by since the events took place, can he tell us whether or not bullet holes were found on the CC-130 Hercules No. 130310 which took part in the operation over Kanesatake?

[National Defence, January 25th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my supplementary question is to the Prime Minister. I would like him to tell us why his government, himself included, is trying to conceal the seriousness of what happened in Kanesatake.

[National Defence, January 25th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the hon. Minister of Defense quickly rose to answer a question I had asked the Prime Minister.

He said and I quote: "I should say that la Sûreté du Québec is wondering why a national defence beacon went off in that area when it obviously appears there is no plane missing. That is a question that is under investigation by la Sûreté du Québec."

My question is for the minister of defence: why did he state in this House that the matter was under investigation by the Sûreté du Québec when on CBC news at noon an official spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec formally denied that such was the case?

[National Defence, January 24th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question concerns the responsibility of the government to stop the horrible smuggling of firearms between the United States and Canada.

I will put my question to the Prime Minister once again, as he is supposed to be responsible for his government. When does he intend to act to put an end to the smuggling which has led to a number of incidents and, instead of calling an emergency debate to discuss cruise missiles, would he agree to a debate on the Kanesatake problem?

[National Defence, January 24th, 1994]

Unlike the previous one, my question, Mr. Speaker, is not about constitutional change, but rather about the application of the present Constitution by the government.

Last Friday, a Canadian forces helicopter on a rescue mission was shot at while flying over the Kanesatake reserve. Since this incident could have had extremely serious consequences, is the Prime Minister prepared to change his attitude and to take steps to ensure that the law is respected and the firearms smuggling now going on between the United States and Canada is stopped?

[Cigarette Smuggling, January 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's interpretation is very revealing and as a third question I will ask him this: Does the Prime Minister have such a short memory that he does not remember that this week the Premier of Quebec was urging him to act by lowering taxes and that yesterday the treasurer of Ontario followed suit and asked the Prime Minister to act to solve a problem which is creating a serious social crisis in Quebec?