David Collenette

[Somalia Inquiry, May 12th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is quite correct in saying that in the House late last year, I publicly asked all members of the armed forces and of our department who had any information concerning the matters likely to be investigated by a potential commission to bring those matters forward to the commission once it was established.

If the utterances the hon. member quoted from are indeed accurate, and I have no direct knowledge today that they are although I am not saying they are not, then that individual will be reapprised of what I said before in the House. The individual will certainly be warned that any kind of comments made by anyone along those lines, especially someone in authority within our department, could be prejudicial. Those persons should go forward to the commission.

[National Defence, May 12th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has made a number of assertions which are totally, absolutely and utterly false. I resent those kinds of insinuations being made on the floor of the House of Commons. There is hardly a grain of truth in any one of those assertions.

This is a public inquiry. Its results will be made public. I assume it will operate under the glare of the country's television lights and cameras. This matter is totally open. It is civilian led and is something this government has called. This government wants to make sure that all of the troubling accusations surrounding the Canadian forces deployment to Somalia are brought to light. This government has nothing to hide. This government wants the truth.

[National Defence, May 12th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, this is an independent commission with judicial powers under part II of the Inquiries Act. It is for the commission to decide whom to speak to and from whom it wants to hear. If the commission wishes to hear from Major Armstrong or any other member of the forces, all it has to do is make that known and those people will be there.

We cannot have the normal operations of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence affected simply by the fact that this commission is under way. We have to carry out our duties on a day to day basis. I want to give my friend the assurances that any of the personnel will be available as required.

[National Defence, May 12th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the assignment of Canadian forces personnel is done within normal procedures.

In this case, Major Armstrong is a medical officer with certain skills that are required in ex-Yugoslavia. Any member of the Canadian Armed Forces who is required to give testimony to the commission on Somalia will be available to that commission. The fact that they are in Bosnia, Croatia, Rwanda, Washington, or London does not really matter. If the commission wants to interview any Canadian forces personnel, they will be available.

[Canadian Armed Forces, May 4th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, not to argue about specific terms, but when one talks about fall in this country it usually ends December 21, the first day of winter.

The report was unscientific, some findings by a colonel who had some concerns about problems of morale in the forces. It was made available to the commander of land forces. We have looked at it. Some of the concerns are being addressed, as are the concerns addressed by Brigadier-General Jeffries in his memo.

[Canadian Armed Forces, May 4th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the hon. member should go back a little further in the record. This report was made public some time last fall.

I know the member for Saanich-Gulf Islands, the Reform critic, referred to this in the House. I did address those concerns either in question period or in debate. That does not mean to say we minimize some of the concerns in Colonel Oehring's report, which was not scientific but which did outline some of the difficult problems faced by members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

[Canadian Forces, May 3rd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I think I have answered that many times. I answered it in the committee last week.

There is no question the publicity over the last couple of years flowing from the events in Somalia, and some other problems we have had, have tended to raise some questions within the forces. Certainly there has been some question about the number of high officers with respect to the ordinary rank and file in the armed forces. That is being corrected.

We have announced a reduction of about 25 per cent at the general officer level and 20 per cent at the colonel level. The argument that we are perhaps too top heavy is being addressed.

All these things are under review and are being improved upon.

[Canadian Forces, May 3rd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the hon. member has been. That report surfaced just before Christmas. It was raised in the House by the critic for the Reform Party. It raises some serious concerns that are being acted upon, concerning the feelings of members of the armed forces.

Some of them we are addressing in terms of pay scales. Some we will be addressing in terms of new equipment. I believe there has been a lot of improvement since that memo was written. Many of the suggestions of the special joint committee on defence, of which the hon. member was a distinguished member, have been acted upon. All those things will contribute to better morale in the army.

[Low Level Flights, May 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the Department of National Defence is the lead ministry on this file.

In the deliberation on the environmental assessment panel's report a number of ministers were involved, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment, my colleague from Newfoundland, and of course, the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. At all times we were very sensitive to the concerns of the aboriginal peoples and in particular, the Innu who have some difficulty with the recommendations and will have some difficulty with the implementation of this report.

We are inviting all aboriginal Canadians concerned, especially the Innu, to take part in the institute to absolutely assure all of us that the monitoring is done in a proper and safe manner so that these flights can continue.

[Low Level Flights, May 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the decision I announced yesterday which accepted most of the recommendations of the environmental assessment panel report is a government decision. It is a collective decision. It is a decision that was taken in the best interests of all Canadians with respect to the obligations we have to our allies as part of the NATO alliance.

It is one where the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador will continue to benefit in excess of $100 million a year. Over 1,000 people will continue to be gainfully employed, 30 per cent of them from the aboriginal communities.

To assure those who believe that the continuation and even the expansion of the number of flights is perhaps environmentally unsafe, we have accepted the recommendation to set up an institute for monitoring the environmental concerns. A third party will be appointed to make recommendations in the setting up of that institute. We fully expect the aboriginal communities to be equal partners in the establishment of the institute.