Bob Mills

[Somalia Inquiry, February 14th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, what the minister does not say is that he is shutting down the inquiry, thus covering up what happened at the top. That is what Canadians are saying the problem is.

We know the documents were hidden, shredded or altered. Military police were misled and senior officers and bureaucrats tried to intimidate cabinet ministers and keep the Canadian public in the dark.

If that was not an attempt to cover up a murder I do not know what was. There was a murder. There was a cover-up and this government is trying to cover up that cover-up by shutting down the inquiry.

Why is the government so afraid of the truth? Why will it not let the Somalia inquiry get to the bottom of the murder cover-up?

[Somalia Inquiry, February 14th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the defence minister is trying to rewrite history in the Somalia scandal. Yesterday he said:

There is no one in Canada who believes that there was or there is today a cover-up of a murder.

The minister's arrogance knows no bounds. Does he think that documents shredded themselves? Why does he think the Somalia inquiry wanted to hear from Bob Fowler, Kim Campbell and John Anderson?

How can the minister possibly claim that no one tried to cover up the beating, torture and murder of Shidane Arone?

[Somalia Inquiry, February 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, obviously we would like that document tabled so we can all take a look at it. I am going on what the commissioners have said to the public in their news conference yesterday.

The real issue here is that the government has obviously been happy as long as the guys at the bottom are being charged. The minute we started to move up that ladder we brought an end to this inquiry. For the first time in Canadian history we did that. This government and this Prime Minister are responsible for that.

Why is the Prime Minister shutting down this inquiry before it can investigate at the highest of levels? It is happening right under his nose. What is the government trying to cover up by cancelling this inquiry?

[Somalia Inquiry, February 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, in the House this minister said that the inquiry would go on maybe into the 21st century, maybe eight years or so. The commissioners said that it would be over, that they would have the finished report on the minister's desk by the end of December 1997. In the House this minister implied that it could last forever.

The minister can bluster and scatter red herrings in every direction but that will not help. For the first time in history the Liberal government shut down an independent inquiry at a crucial time when they were just starting to expose some of the government's friends.

What is the government trying to hide by this high level cover-up?

[Somalia Inquiry, February 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Somalia commissioners accused the government of political interference in an investigation of a murder cover-up.

Commissioners Létourneau and Desbarats made it quite clear that the government knew full well that by shutting down the inquiry Canadians would never know the truth about a cover-up at the highest levels.

I would like to ask the Prime Minister the one question the government refused to answer yesterday. Why do the Liberals not want the Somalia inquiry to get to the bottom of this high level murder cover-up?

[Somalia Inquiry, February 12th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, that sounds like more question avoidance. The Prime Minister and the former defence minister said we would get to the bottom of this. The minister said he would not get involved. He certainly got involved by shutting it down.

The inquiry chairmen say that the government used them to solve its political problems. They say that the government precluded the inquiry from investigating a high level cover-up. This is unprecedented and shameful political interference.

My question, as it was yesterday, is what is the Prime Minister trying to hide.

[Somalia Inquiry, February 12th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, it has finally been revealed that the government knew, prior to shutting down the inquiry, that Fowler, Anderson and Campbell could not be called to testify.

According to the head of the inquiry, the government's suggestions that Fowler and gang could testify have been erroneous, unfair, not realistic, impossible and misleading.

Would the Prime Minister agree with Commissioner Desbarats that his government, through its political interference, is trying to make the inquiry part of the Somalia cover-up?

[Somalia Inquiry, February 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I think the Canadian people are getting sick and tired of this sort of cover-up.

We have a former prime minister of Canada accusing a former deputy minister of defence of covering up a murder. If this is not a shocking enough revelation to get the Prime Minister involved, what will it take, Mr. Prime Minister?

[Somalia Inquiry, February 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, not only do we have allegations that the Prime Minister's friend Bob Fowler shredded documents about the murder investigation in Somalia but now we hear that when Kim Campbell tried to investigate the murder, Fowler threatened her by saying that her actions could be

regarded at disloyalty to her department and could hurt her leadership prospects.

All this Prime Minister continues to do is reward Mr. Fowler with one of the top diplomatic postings available. Why will the Prime Minister not hold Mr. Fowler accountable?

[Somalia Inquiry, February 5th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are tired of this kind of rhetoric from the minister.

One year ago, following the serious allegations from Kim Campbell, we again asked that Mr. Fowler be recalled to Ottawa. This time the Minister of Foreign Affairs refused with the following excuse on April 16, 1996 in Hansard . He states:

Mr. Fowler will appear under oath before the inquiry to give all the information he knows-

That is another broken Liberal promise, given here in the House. Is the Prime Minister willing to admit that he and his ministers systematically abused the trust of the House and of the Canadian people?