House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 67% of the vote.
National Defence September 26th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour this morning, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), to table in both official languages a report entitled Towards a Rapid Reaction Capability for the United Nations .
This is a document entitled "Towards a Rapid Reaction Capability for the United Nations".
Land Mines September 25th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, we as a government are committed to taking action with respect to land mines, but we have to realize that until such time as all countries in the world deal with this very difficult problem, in national defence we have to have contingencies as part of the defence doctrine.
Our objective at this conference in Vienna is to put in place an effective framework for implementation and to work toward the day when all of these land mines will be eliminated.
Sea King Helicopters September 22nd, 1995
Mr. Speaker, we know very well these helicopters are old and we know very well the parliamentary committee of which the hon. member was a participant recommended they be replaced. This is a matter the government said was to be pursued in the white paper. On the other hand, it does not want us to spend money.
It is a matter for consideration. Since the armoured personnel carrier contract is now en route we will look at the helicopters. In the meantime these helicopters are certified to fly until the year 2000. They are perfectly safe. I have been on them many times. If the hon. member would like to go for a ride I would welcome giving him one.
Sea King Helicopters September 22nd, 1995
Mr. Speaker, it is certainly not a secret. It is very unfortunate. The pilots felt as a result of a warning light coming on that indicated transmission trouble that they should make an emergency landing. That is quite publicly known. I cannot understand why the hon. member has had difficulty getting information on this.
Camp Ipperwash September 18th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, rather than listen to the inflammatory remarks of the hon. member, what we
have seen in the recent events is that only with dialogue and negotiation with Canada's First Nations can we resolve these disputes.
There was division within the aboriginal community on the question of entitlement to that piece of land the federal government wants to give back.
After the negotiations conducted by my colleague, the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, this now appears to be on the way to a satisfactory resolution.
Camp Ipperwash September 18th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, members of the band occupied part of Ipperwash in the fall of 1993.
In the budget of 1994 the government took the decision that Camp Ipperwash would close. It was surplus to our needs. We then entered into dialogue with the chief of the Kettle Point Band, Mr. Bressette, to talk about transferring ownership as part of the original agreement. Those discussions were rather long and involved questions of compensation about environmental clean up, all of which the government was committed to do.
When the rest of the renegade group, which does not accept the main band and the chief, occupied the camp some time ago-I guess it was in the month of July-the commander on the spot took the correct action. Rather than have confrontation where there would be loss of life, and given the fact that the camp was not being used by the military, the military agreed to withdraw temporarily, pending negotiations.
Those negotiations have borne fruit with the discussions that were held last week by the minister of Indian affairs. Everyone should congratulate him on the job he did in bringing a resolution to this subject.
Bosnia June 20th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, we have made our position quite clear on this and the Prime Minister has stated the government's policy.
The hon. member from the Reform Party talks about the consistency of their policy. Two weeks ago at the height of the hostage crisis when Canadians were held in very precarious situations we had talk from that side about Canada retreating from the theatre. Then it said its policy was not one of retreat but one of withdrawal. When pressed further, withdrawal meant taking everybody out, only to go back in with even heavier equipment, including F-18 fighter planes.
Talk about consistency; it is not there on that side of the House.
Bosnia June 20th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the Reform Party and its leader seem to think solutions can be instant in the very difficult situation in the former Yugoslavia.
During the 20 days we had members of our armed forces detained all we heard from that party were not constructive suggestions but "why have you not done anything, why don't you have any results?" The way that situation turned out, the calm diplomacy using the appropriate channels to gain the release of our people at Ilijas and Captain Rechner and Captain LaPalm was the right way to go about it.
If hon. members of the Reform Party were directing Canada's defence policy, who knows what danger our troops would be in.
Bosnia June 20th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I can confirm that for the past number of days access to our camp at Visoko has been restricted. This is something we deem to be totally unacceptable. We have conveyed our feelings to the Bosnian government and there are discussions now under way between the base commander and local military commanders.
I think all Canadians feel some anger at the fact that the base in Visoko has operated for three years with the acquiescence of the Muslim majority; the soldiers there have performed incredibly good tasks in bringing medical and other humanitarian aid to people largely of Muslim origin; and now, three years after the fact, the Bosnian government denies access to our camp. It is something that is unacceptable and is something that we as Canadians will not tolerate.
Bosnia June 19th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, it is very nice for the hon. member from the Reform Party to express a sign of relief at the freedom of our hostages.
However I would like to remind the House that at the height of this crisis, when all Canadians and all parliamentarians should have been rallying around, this was the party that was telling us to withdraw. This was the party with a wanton disregard for the safety of our troops.