Lost his last election, in 2008, with 36% of the vote.
National Defence April 26th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, we have a very clear commitment to modernize the equipment of the Canadian Forces. It is contained within the strategic capability investment plan which provides for a total expenditure of approximately $27.5 billion over the next 15 years.
In the first four months of this government, we took action to move forward on $7 billion worth of procurement items for the Canadian Forces. I think the record speaks for itself.
Shipbuilding April 20th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in response to an earlier question, the government is absolutely committed to building these state of the art supply ships and doing so in Canada on the basis of the existing policy, which is that a competitive environment should exist.
Having said that, our analysis of the situation is that there is significant shipbuilding capability in Canada, and it is likely that a number of companies will come forward and express interest in this.
Generally speaking, this is a great announcement for the navy, a great announcement for the Canadian Forces, a great announcement for the security of Canadians and a great announcement for the Canadian shipbuilding industry.
National Defence April 20th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the announcement that was made last week and the details which I provided in Esquimalt last Friday are I think important to people on both coasts in terms of the shipbuilding capabilities that we have.
These state of the art ships will be built in accordance with the current shipbuilding policy which states that if the competitive environment exists in this country, they will be built in this country.
It is important to keep in mind as well that, in fact, these will be the largest ships ever designed and constructed--
Question No. 10 April 19th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, items (a), (b) and (c) were responded to on March 22, 2004.
In response to (d), no charges were laid in any of these cases.
National Defence April 19th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to join the Prime Minister in Gagetown last week for some very important announcements.
The Prime Minister gave what was probably the most comprehensive statement on defence ever made by a Prime Minister, certainly in recent memory. Equally important was the announcement with respect to the tax exemptions for members of the Canadian Forces serving in places like Haiti and Bosnia. Also important was the announcement on our continuing commitment to Afghanistan.
There were a number of other announcement with respect to joint support, for instance the largest--
Budget Implementation Act, 2004 April 19th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I was listening to the hon. member's comments over the course of the last 15 or 20 minutes and I was struck by how many inaccuracies there were in his comments with respect to the Canadian Forces.
The hon. member is giving the impression that Canadian Forces in places like Afghanistan do not have the right equipment. I can say without hesitation, having been to Afghanistan, that our troops probably have the best equipment in that theatre of operations.
The same applies to Haiti. We do not take second place to anyone in that theatre of operations either. I have not been to Bosnia recently so I do not know what is happening there, but we do have some 600 troops still in Bosnia. I would fully expect that they are equipped to the same level as our troops in Haiti and Afghanistan.
Regarding the neglect of the forces that the hon. member speaks about, I really do not know where he is coming from because frankly, if he had been paying attention over the last few months, he would have known that we moved on the maritime helicopter project, a project that cost $3.1 billion. In fact, we moved on the MGS system for $700 million, we moved on the fixed wing search and rescue aircraft for another $1.3 billion, and just last week the government announced the joint supply ship at $2.1 billion, for a total of over $7 billion in capital equipment moving forward for the military.
The hon. member mentioned that we do not have a plan. When I was in the position of chair of the defence committee, we put together a report which indicated that the government should do a defence and foreign policy review. The government has decided to do precisely that. That report had the support of the hon. member's colleague, the hon. member for Lakeland. He signed off on that report. We are in the process of putting together a strategic plan which should be available over the course of the next number of months.
I would ask the hon. member, why does he feel it is appropriate to provide all of this false information to the Canadian public with respect to what is happening with the Canadian Forces.
National Defence April 1st, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's assertions are absolutely preposterous. Let me talk about anti-terrorism. We have in Canada one of the best anti-terrorist units in the world in terms of the JTF2. We have an immediate response capability in terms of the DART. We have immediate reaction units, four of them, across the country. In addition to that, we have a nuclear biological response company that is, again, one of the best in the world and one of the most well equipped.
National Defence April 1st, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I was hoping the hon. member would ask this question. Over the course of the last year, if the hon. member would refer to the main estimates, we have seen the defence budget rise from 2003-04 to 2004-05 by over $1 billion. As well, in the most recent budget there was an additional $300 million for our overseas commitments plus $1.3 billion in connection with acquiring a new fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft.
The government has done a considerable amount in terms of re-equipping the Canadian forces.
Liberal Party of Canada April 1st, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the government has initiated a major international policy review, which is really rather unprecedented in Canadian history in terms of its scope, with respect to trade, aid, defence and diplomacy. It really bodes well for the future of Canadian foreign policy.
I would ask the hon. member, her party and the rest of the opposition to participate in this international policy review, which will provide us with a road map for Canadian engagement in the world.
National Defence March 29th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is obviously very committed to the men and women of the Canadian Forces and this is certainly a measure that has been very well received by the forces.
As I indicated last week, we are looking very carefully at expanding this benefit to those serving in places like Bosnia and Haiti, and we should have information on that in the not too distant future.
It is the intention of the government to have it apply in this taxation year, and I want to assure the hon. member as well that it will apply to all members of the army, navy and the air force.