Bill Graham

[National Defence, October 18th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I return to what I said earlier. I wish hon. members would allow us to come forward with a plan. They can criticize it or not criticize it based on what it provides.

I do not know where the hon. member is getting his questions from. I can only speculate that he is being provided misinformation by people within the department or some other place. If he wants to speculate on what we are going to do, he would be happy to speculate, but there is no point in us speculating on the floor of the House. The government will come forward with a procurement plan which is in the best interests of our forces and of our country.

[National Defence, October 18th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, members of the House will recall that it was the hon. member who suggested in the House that we were going to sole sourcing, not I.

I said at that time to please give me a chance to sin before I get punished for my sins. Now the hon. member is saying that we have changed in the direction he wanted us to take and he still wishes to punish people before we have announced what we are going to do.

Once again, would hon. members in the House allow us to come forward with a plan? Then maybe they can criticize the plan.

[Veterans Affairs, October 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's question gives me an opportunity to thank Mr. Blaney on behalf of members of the House for having been willing to take on this task. He did it with distinction. He is a man with a great distinctive career. For health reasons he has had to withdraw. We wish him well.

I wish I could tell the hon. member that I have found a replacement for him. I have not yet, but I can promise him that I and the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Veterans Affairs, the Minister of Health and all of us involved in this file are working to make sure we have someone who can help coordinate this work and make sure that Canadians who feel affected by this have a chance to tell—

[Government Aircraft, October 7th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, we have been through this In the House all week. It is very clear. Hon. members can pick out this or pick out that. The fact of the matter is the facts on which many of the cases they referred to are erroneous. I have given examples where previous ministerial travel has not been properly accounted for when it was done.

I can assure members of the House that when these flights are approved travel, they are within the guidelines. They are for the necessity of the Government of Canada. The Minister of Finance is one of the hardest working ministers in our government and has produced tremendous benefits for the people of Canada. He deserves our credit for what he is doing, not—

[Food and Drugs Act, October 7th, 2005]

moved that Bill C-28, An Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act, be read the third time and passed.

[National Defence, October 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, we are going to Afghanistan not at the request of the United States of America, but at the request of President Karzai and Mr. Abdullah. We are going at the request of Muslim women who want to have a chance to vote, young children who want to grow up in peace, people who want to have stability in their society. Our troops will be bringing that stability, while our aid brings them a chance to grow.

We are extremely proud of that mission. I beg of the hon. member not to bring discredit to something where Canada is bringing great credit to the world.

[Government Aircraft, October 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, this is really drawing the House into seriously crazy business.

I can give the House an example. One of the examples that was cited by the hon. members and in the article was the fact that the former fisheries minister was accused of flying to Vancouver on a Challenger when there was an alternate flight available. However it turned out that the plane was going empty to pick up the Governor General and he flew there and saved the government money.

I think, before the hon. members attack the finance minister, who is doing his best for this country, covers himself and ensures the rules are observed, they should get their facts right before making these unreasonable attacks.

[National Defence, October 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, it is important for members of the House to understand that there are two missions going to Afghanistan. Presently we have the PRT which was established in the Kandahar province and which requires a certain amount of equipment and a certain approach to what its job is. We will be sending 1,000 troops and a command group there in February of next year. Those troops will have a different mission and require different equipment. Our JTF2, which is highly specialized, requires different equipment as well. I think the hon. member knows that.

All I can do is come back to what I said before. Our troops will have the equipment that is necessary to do the mission they are asked to do. They will not be sent to do anything that would take them into harm's way without the proper equipment to make sure they can do their job.

[National Defence, October 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, there is a part of the hon. member's question that is right and there is a part that is wrong. I totally do not accept the fact that our troops are going to Afghanistan improperly prepared. They are perfectly prepared, as the Chief of the Defence Staff has said.

Will we need new equipment as the situation evolves? Of course we will. Will this government take aggressive action to make sure the troops have the equipment they need and which they tell us they need before we put them in danger? Yes, we will. I ask members to stay with us. This is an evolving situation.

The one thing I can promise members of the House and the Canadian public is that our troops will have the equipment they need and the equipment they want as they go into dangerous missions abroad.

[National Defence, October 6th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, why is the opposition assuming we are going to do something which we have not announced we are going to do? For heaven's sake, like all sinners, of which there are many in the House, I do not mind confessing my sins, but I ask members to give me a chance to sin first before I am forced to confess. That is all I ask.