Lost his last election, in 2011, with 25% of the vote.
Asbestos June 1st, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I want to tell the hon. member that I disagree with the premise of his question.
In fact, I was in a meeting with the hon. member's minister of trade who said to our Minister for International Trade that he was very pleased with the assistance of the Canadian government in this matter and other trade matters.
Trade April 23rd, 1999
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, these issues are bilateral issues and issues on which we take very great care to consult with not only the industry, not only the provinces involved, but certainly with the workers and those affected by such industries.
The Government of Canada has taken full action on all these different attacks by the American government. I can assure the hon. member and the people of British Columbia, with whom we sympathize with the downturn in the economy there, that the Government of Canada will continue to fight on their behalf.
Aerospace Industry April 23rd, 1999
Mr. Speaker, certainly the Government of Canada welcomes the decision by the Government of the United States to sit down and talk about this issue.
It is the government's intention in doing this to consult the industry and all those involved in Canada that have an interest in it. We will certainly put forward a united position on this issue.
Kosovo April 12th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I want to praise the work of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of National Defence, the minister responsible for humanitarian relief and the Prime Minister for the work they have done in this area. Knowing the Prime Minister and how he takes his job seriously, it must be difficult for him to be sitting at the top and making decisions such as this. It is something he has taken seriously. I commend the Prime Minister and give him our blessings because I know this has to be a difficult time for him.
The hon. member's question is very difficult to answer. Nobody knows. We try as much as we can to come up with a solution. The United Nations is working on a solution. Many countries in the region have tried to come up with a solution.
As I said in answer to the previous question, most would agree that the Rambouillet agreement seemed to be a reasonable compromise. Why the United Nations Security Council, and why it could not work in this situation needs to be seriously looked at. I wish it could have worked and I am sure most Canadians wish it could have worked, but we could not stand by as a government and see the suffering going on in that region without taking action. I want to praise the Prime Minister for taking that action.
Kosovo April 12th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.
Most international observers and countries around the world when they look at that agreement, the situation and the history of the area, would agree it was a reasonable agreement. It was not a situation in which somehow the world was taking this area out of Yugoslavia. It was giving the people the same authority they had had before 1989 when the Milosevic government essentially took it away from them.
The purpose of the agreement was to give the people in that area the ability to have self-government, to govern themselves, to work in the area in such a way that they could fend for their families and have some sort of democracy, the ability to have a government to speak on their behalf. It was not a situation in which we were saying that we were going to rip this area out of Yugoslavia. The hon. member would agree that most observers feel it was a reasonable agreement.
Kosovo April 12th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart and mixed feelings that I rise today to speak on this very important issue, the issue of the Canadian Armed Forces going overseas to help protect freedom and democracy.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the many men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces who on a daily basis serve and represent their country in many theatres overseas, not only in the area of fighting on behalf of their country, but particularly in the area of peacekeeping in many troubled spots around the globe.
I also want to thank and praise the Canadian fighter pilots who are now overseas taking action on behalf of their country. I want to praise their families and loved ones who are sitting at home wondering exactly what is happening to their loved ones. I know that times are difficult for these families. I want them to know that Canadians all across this country thank them. I know Canadians would agree with me to pray for their loved ones.
How did we get into this crisis? Mr. Milosevic's intransigence, his conduct in this current crisis in Kosovo, his support of the Yugoslav army in going into the area and raping, pillaging, and removing these poor people out of their homes and their country was something Canada needed to respond to.
Prior to Milosevic's rise to power, Kosovo was made up mostly of ethnic Albanians and had constitutional authority within the country of Yugoslavia. This right was stripped away from these people by Mr. Milosevic in 1989. Since then his security forces and his police have mounted a campaign in which innocent men, women and children have suffered.
Canada has had a long history in this region. It has participated in the region since 1991. It was part of the European Community's monitoring mission from 1992 to 1995.
Diplomatic solutions are preferable. In March 1998 the United Nations passed a resolution which called on parties to this conflict to reach a peace settlement. This was followed by another resolution which demanded both sides to end their hostilities and come to a peaceful agreement.
In October 1998 when faced by the threat of NATO air power, the Milosevic government agreed to a ceasefire. It agreed to an observer mission to oversee the ceasefire and also agreed to sit down and have talks on the issue. Over the next five months, Yugoslav forces violated this ceasefire. They took actions against the Kosovo Liberation Army and carried out a violent campaign and also carried out a violent campaign against the citizens. Canada and the international community could not stand by and see these people suffer.
An interim agreement was agreed to in Rambouillet, France. That agreement was signed by only one party. Unfortunately the Serbian delegation refused to sign. Again the Americans, through Richard Holbrooke, tried to get an agreement and tried to get the Milosevic government to see reason in its actions. Those talks failed and we are now in this situation.
The United Nations would have been the preferable way to resolve this issue. However, the United Nations Security Council could not come up with an agreement because two countries refused to agree for various reasons.
I was encouraged when United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan called on Milosevic and the Yugoslav Serb authorities to end immediately the campaign of intimidation and expulsion. He called on them to cease all activities of military and paramilitary forces in Kosovo, to accept unconditionally the return of refugees, to accept the deployment of an international military force, and to permit the international community to verify this. The NATO objectives in Kosovo are essentially the same requests by Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Canada's preference and I am sure the preference of all Canadians would have been a negotiated settlement. I speak now on behalf of my constituents in Haldimand—Norfolk—Brant whom I have talked to not only during the last two weeks over the Easter break but before that. Most of them have said to me that they would have preferred a negotiated settlement. They would have preferred the United Nations system to work.
I can speak for the overwhelming majority of them when I say that these constituents of mine support the position of the Government of Canada on this. They support the fact that the Government of Canada is involved not only on the military side but particularly on the humanitarian side, on the side of trying to help the hundreds of thousands of displaced persons in the region. We have seen on TV the signs of women and children coming out of the area.
It is important also to thank Canadians for their humanitarian efforts in this area. Many Canadians through their church groups and their community organizations have offered support for people in this area. About 800,000 or a million displaced people need our help. I thank Canadians in all parts of the country for coming forward with that help.
I thank the members of the Canadian armed forces who are now in the region, away from their families and loved ones, representing our country. I thank them for their efforts and assure them of the Government of Canada's continued support to help them in their efforts.
I call on the Milosevic government to listen to reason, to look at the negotiated settlement of Rambouillet and to stop the hostilities in that area.
The Government of Canada is on the right track. I believe that Canadians support us in this. It is something I am sure no government would ever want to do, but it is something that I can say on behalf of my constituents that we support.
Petitions March 15th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I rise under Standing Order 36 to present a group of petitions from constituents in my riding calling on the government to prohibit assisted suicide and that parliament make no changes in the law which would sanction or allow that.
Investment March 15th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, first of all, I do not agree with the premise of the hon. member's question.
The fact is communities across this country are supporting studies like this to show how well Canada is doing around the world in terms of not only its productivity gains but in doing business in Canada.
That is why all the major communities across this country are supporting studies like this, to show how well we are doing in Canada.
Investment March 15th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that every Canadian province and municipality is using this study to promote itself, to promote Canada and to show how good it is to do business in Canada.
In the member's own province the Edmonton Journal said Edmonton was a good city for doing business. The Lethbridge Herald says it is cheaper to do business in Canada.
Why can the hon. member not see how good it is to do business in Canada and to promote Canada rather than trying to bring it down?
Trade March 12th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada places utmost importance on public consultations. It just makes common sense. On February 8 the Minister for International Trade launched the consultations. The Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food has had consultations with agriculture groups. In a few weeks the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade will be travelling to certain parts of Canada to get people's views on these important consultations.
The Minister for International Trade met with his provincial counterparts earlier this year. They are determined to get the views of Canadians prior to going to Geneva to negotiate.