David Collenette

[National Defence, November 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the question raised by the Leader of the Opposition is a matter for the court to decide, not for me as Minister of National Defence.

As I said yesterday, if Major Armstrong or any other person in the Canadian Armed Forces has any evidence that may be germane to any one of these cases, that evidence should be made available to the military police who are conducting investigations.

One was reopened dealing with the question of photographs some time ago and the other deals with the other events related to the allegations that have been made concerning the words "cover up" or the allegations of cover up on the part of the Canadian Armed Forces.

I would invite Major Armstrong or any other person to make that evidence known and then we will let the courts decide as appropriate.

[National Defence, November 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it is a basic premise of jurisprudence that a person in my position cannot comment on the facts when a trial is ongoing.

I would like to address the question of military justice. Military justice has a long, noble tradition in this country. It has been upheld as being constitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada. However, once the courts martial are completed then the crown and individuals if they are dissatisfied with the verdict have a right to appeal.

The court martial appeals court is headed by a member of the Federal Court of Canada. Next Tuesday the acting head of the court martial appeals court or the justice of the Federal Court, perhaps himself or one of his colleagues, or with one of his colleagues, and perhaps with members of the supreme courts of the various provinces, perhaps even the province of Quebec, will hear the first appeal.

I want to emphasize that what we have here is the military justice system which has been ongoing. However the appeals when they are deemed to be appropriate are being heard by civilian authorities.

[National Defence, November 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, contrary to what the hon. Leader of the Opposition has stated, I did not and I do not try to minimize the awful events that occurred in 1993 in Somalia with members of the Canadian forces serving under the UN banner.

However the hon. member must realize that a number of charges were laid as a result of investigations conducted concerning members of the armed forces. Those charges are being adjudicated at present. In fact an appeal which the crown has initiated-I believe the crown has initiated appeals on most of the verdicts so far-will commence next Tuesday. The last of the original charges will be heard next January or February.

Whatever I say or do and whatever the hon. member says and does should not impinge on the rights of the accused for a fair trial.

That having been said, the allegations that were raised yesterday by Major Armstrong were indeed quite troubling to me as the minister. As a result I have decided under the auspices of the National Defence Act to have an inquiry that will continue either after the original courts martial or after the court martial appeals are heard. I am seeking legal advice on that. This inquiry will be totally public. It will be totally civilian. The chair will be a civilian. The members of the original inquiry will be invited to participate.

[National Defence, November 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, on the last point first, the military justice system has been upheld as constitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada.

On the second point with respect to the allegations made in print this morning, there are two police investigations ongoing. If the individual in question has evidence which he has a duty to report as a member of the armed forces, he should make that evidence available to the police authorities undertaking the investigation.

[National Defence, November 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the hon. member and members of the House that an inquiry was established by the previous government. However it was suspended once charges were laid against certain individuals.

The judicial process is currently ongoing, the court martials. There is one to go I believe in January or February. After the judicial process is complete I have said publicly that there will be a resumption of the inquiry. The terms of reference for that inquiry will be broad enough to answer any concern raised by members of the opposition about the individual in question who was a military officer and was involved.

With respect to the actual events surrounding the circumstances in Somalia, as I have said they are subject to judicial proceedings at the moment and, as I have said in the House before, it would be inappropriate for me to comment.

[Indian Affairs, November 14th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, there are many troubling aspects about the leaving of armed forces bases in northern Canada, one of which the hon. member has outlined.

I certainly am troubled by the response that I am getting in terms of it being cheaper to bury this kind of waste in this one instance rather than transport it. I have asked my officials to reconsider the option.

More important, we will be entering into discussions with the United States, with my American counterpart, about DEW Line cleanups, the compensation arising from DEW Line cleanup and any compensation that should be paid. We will keep the House informed as these negotiations unfold.

[Esprit De Corps, November 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I can give the hon. member an assurance. If there are people doing this it will not be tolerated no matter what government department. Please come forward and give us the evidence before he makes the charges on the floor of the House of Commons.

[Esprit De Corps, November 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, there have been allegations of this nature made not only toward employees of the Department of Industry but also of the Department of National Defence.

I have no evidence whatsoever that anyone in national defence or in the Department of Industry has made these kinds of threats. If the hon. member has names of individuals he could please give them to me or to the Minister of Industry because we cannot every day in the House of Commons have these innuendoes floating around and hurting institutions and government departments that carry on their job on a daily basis beyond reproach.

[Royal Military College Of Kingston, November 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, this is an allegation and I have no evidence that the assertion made by the hon. member, the allegation, is actually true.

If he has facts that will substantiate his assertion perhaps he could let me know and I will look into them and try to resolve the matter.

[Royal Military College Of Kingston, November 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, first of all I would like to take issue with the hon. member.

The Royal Military College in Kingston is a bilingual institution. It offers courses in both languages and there are professors and students there of both linguistic groups.

With the consolidation of the three colleges we want to ensure that this bilingualization is total and complete and satisfies people like the hon. member who were obviously upset with the Collège Militaire Royal in Saint-Jean.

I announced the committee last week which I will chair. The former commandant there, General Emond who is now the commandant at RMC, will be on the committee as will the former principal, Mr. Carrier, and other prominent members of the francophone community.

I think that this committee, once it gets going, will oversee the consolidation and bilingualization of all of these colleges into one to the satisfaction of the hon. member.