Elsie Wayne

[National Defence, November 7th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, nine years ago this week the government cancelled the contract to replace the outdated Sea King helicopters. The Sea Kings now require 30 hours of maintenance for every hour of flight time, and a number of pilots have lost their lives.

Will the Minister of National Defence today commit to the House that the military will have Sea King replacements before February 2004, before the Prime Minister retires?

[Veterans Week, November 6th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege to rise today in the House in support of Canada's greatest national heroes. As we begin Veterans Week, our thoughts turn to the brave souls who sacrificed their youthful innocence to fight for King and country.

As a young girl, I watched two of my brothers join the war effort. It was a very different time. There was a sense of duty that extended to all Canadians, a belief that we would not stand idle as the freedom of the world was in peril.

My family was among the luckiest, as both my brothers returned back from the war safe and sound.

Too many families lost their brothers, their fathers and their sons.

November 11 is as much about remembering those fallen Canadians as it is about honouring those who remain with us this day. It is about ensuring that we do everything in our power to preserve peace in the world, while remaining vigilant in the event that our efforts fail.

All in the House have borne witness to the recent horrors of war.

The campaign in Afghanistan, a part of the larger war on terrorism, was costly for Canadians and some of their families. The loss of those brave Canadian soldiers was a terrible reminder of the cost of the war.

Yesterday in the House, Mr. Speaker, you honoured and brought to our attention the presence of Mr. Paul Métivier, the 102 year old World War I veteran, who enlisted in the army in 1917. Also in the gallery was Lieutenant-Colonel Al Trotter who flew 44 missions over Europe during World War II and who was a prisoner of war.

It robs us of our best and our brightest. It asks us as a nation to make the ultimate sacrifice and many of them have.

There is something truly exceptional about a citizen whose love of country is so strong and so unwavering that they are willing to risk their lives for its defence. We must never forget those who were in the Korean war, the Gulf war and our peacekeepers who have done so much around the world.

The men and women of our armed forces, today as always, have offered themselves as the first line of defence for our borders and as the ambassadors of our nation's most cherished values. They are the embodiment of duty and courage. They are the best of their generation and the personification of what it truly means to be Canadian.

It is sometimes difficult for us to look at veterans today as the vibrant young men and women they once were. Many veterans are too modest of their accomplishments. Few will allow themselves to be called heroes. Their view is that they did what needed to be done and that there was no question about it. They do not say “We made sacrifices”. They just say “We did what we could for Canada”. Even those who lost friends or family will say that if they had to make the choice again, they would don their Canadian Forces uniform without hesitation. That is why we honour them.

For many of them it has been 50, 60 or even 80 years since they last put down a weapon, but their ageless courage and love of country still burns inside them.

Each Remembrance Day I have the honour and privilege to participate in our ceremonies in my riding of Saint John, New Brunswick. This Friday, once again I will visit the high schools, and I say this for the Minister of Veterans Affairs, to speak to the students once again about the sacrifices that were made for them and for all of us.

Every year, I regret to say, that there are fewer veterans who are able to join with us, but that said, there is always a proud contingent on hand. Even those veterans who are now waging a private battle against time and age stand in the often harsh Canadian climate to remember their fallen comrades. They stand ramrod straight and their salutes are just as crisp as a new recruit. There is a pride both for what they did and who they became.

Canada was a young nation when we were first called to war and it was our contribution, far greater than a country of our size would have expected to give, that earned the respect of the world.

Still today the nations of Europe remember the brave young Canadians who liberated them from the clutches of the Nazi regime. Still today school children from Newfoundland to British Columbia pin poppies to their jackets and are part of our cadets that attend the services.

Still today we gather in silence at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. We will never stop thanking them for we owe them a debt of thanks that can never be repaid. We will remember them.

[Nuclear Industry, November 5th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, after September 11, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission directed all nuclear facilities to establish an on site armed response force.

The two RCMP officers protecting the Point Lepreau facility in New Brunswick work 24 hours a day seven days a week and are physically and mentally burnt out. As of March 31 there will be no RCMP present because of RCMP financial constraints.

Will the Prime Minister immediately provide the necessary funding for the RCMP to protect not only Point Lepreau but all nuclear stations in Canada, as well as all--

[Public Safety Act, 2002, November 5th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, we want to treat people in a fair and just matter in Canada. However, I just received a call from Saint John, New Brunswick which has a nuclear power plant. After September 11 the RCMP was told to provide 24 hour service at all nuclear power plants because of what the al-Qaeda group was doing. It had looked at all the nuclear power plants, not just in Canada but around the world. There was to be 24 hour security service, seven days a week.

The government cut the budget. Security is down to two men looking after it. They are burned out and mentally stressed. What has happened now is that as of March 31 there will be no security at the nuclear power plants because of the cuts in the budget. This is wrong. We must ensure that we give those men and women who are in the RCMP, like our military, the tools to do their job. The RCMP needs more men and women and not cutbacks. What does the hon. member think of that?

[Supply, November 4th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I want to say to my hon. colleague that I think our friend and hon. colleague from the Bloc was referring to whether or not we should have our motion passed as it is today, or whether we should have a motion that calls for another white paper study.

What I am saying is, as the hon. member stated, yes, we have to look at another study. There is no question about that, but it would take about two years before it was completed. The committee would travel all across the nation before it brought in its report. In the meantime, as we all know and I am sure my hon. colleague from Nova Scotia knows, there has to be money put into the military right away. When the other study is finished it will call for more money once again.

Does my hon. colleague not agree with that? I am praying that the Bloc members will support us.

[Supply, November 4th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I want to say that the hon. member on the government side has been mentioned referring to my motion and that I had to agree to changes. I had already agreed to changes. I have been negotiating with the chairman of the defence committee, or he was negotiating with me. He said that the word “condemn” was the one. I could understand that in his position and the position of my colleagues on the government side, so I agreed to remove that. I agreed to remove the word “condemn” and put in “strongly encourage” the government. I agreed to all of that, but when I got a copy from the government side as to what it wanted, it had totally wiped out my motion altogether and it rewrote everything. What I did was just refer to what the hon. Minister of National Defence has stated publicly, as was stated by our House leader here today.

I would hope and trust that every member in the House of Commons on both sides of the House would agree to the amendment that I have agreed to put forward and that they would all vote in favour. All we are basically saying is, let us look after our military, let us put the money there for our military and let us do it now. If we were all to agree to that tomorrow, then everybody across this nation would look at both sides of the House in a positive way.

[Supply, November 4th, 2002]

Yes, they should have been built in Saint John, but if those submarines were okay, then how come, I ask my hon. colleague, the military in London, England did not keep them for its navy? How come they turned around and said that is it? How come we have just paid $8.5 million--

[Supply, November 4th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I want to say to my hon. colleague who happens to be the chair of the defence committee, and I think all of my colleagues here should know, that when the hon. member from the Alliance Party mentioned the word “condemn”, I had agreed that I would remove that. I would support removing the word “condemn” and putting in “strongly recommend”. I have no problem with that. The only problem I had is that those on the government side wanted the whole motion changed. As the member knows, I will not play politics when it comes to the military. I absolutely refuse to do it.

I say to my colleagues on the government side that if the word “condemn” is changed to “strongly recommend”, I am fine and dandy with it. I am sure my other colleagues are too because we want to do what is right for the military. So I ask my colleagues to just take another look because all I did was quote their minister.

Another thing I want to say is this. On those submarines that we bought--

[Petitions, November 4th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to present a petition with regard to child pornography. It contains over 800 names. The petitioners call upon Parliament to protect our children by taking all necessary steps to ensure that all materials which promote or glorify pedophilia or sado-masochistic activities involving children are outlawed.

[National Defence, November 4th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, last October when speaking about defence spending the Deputy Prime Minister said “You can't just sit at the G-8 table and then, when the bill comes, go to the washroom”. He has now been finance minister for almost five months but has yet to reinvest or even commit to reinvesting in our military.

Why has the Minister of Finance not given badly needed resources to our armed forces? What is he waiting for? Is he still in the washroom? Has he not come out of the washroom yet?