Art Eggleton

[Search And Rescue, December 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, we are moving as quickly as we can on the purchase of necessary search and rescue helicopters.

[Search And Rescue, December 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian forces aircraft went in as soon as it possibly could. The weather conditions were terrible. Yes, a helicopter did get in about an hour and a half before our Hercules got on the ground, but only by getting underneath the ceiling and doing it at considerable risk.

I did not say that anybody broke rules. That is a point for the Transportation Safety Board to determine in its investigation of the matter. Certainly it was done at considerable risk.

Our people got in there as quickly as they could and they did in fact perform the rescue.

[Search And Rescue, December 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, that is absolute nonsense. The government is committed to getting a helicopter that will meet our operational needs and that will provide good value for the Canadian taxpayers and to doing it as soon as we possibly can.

It is a serious matter of getting the right helicopter for the purposes of search and rescue of Canadians. We want to make sure the right decision is made and will make it as soon as we can.

[Search And Rescue, December 11th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, that is totally incorrect. We should first recognize the tragedy that occurred in Little Grand Rapids, Manitoba. We should indicate our sympathy with the families of the people who lost their lives. We should indicate our thanks to the people in the community who put out a great effort to try to help the victims. Finally, we should thank the search and rescue personnel who brought out 13 survivors from the crash.

This has nothing to do with the matter of purchasing new helicopters. Yes, we need new helicopters, but our search and rescue did its job.

[Military Sites, December 10th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the matter of Stephenville and U.S. involvement goes back a long time. There have been many uses of that site since then.

The matter is still being examined to determine what kind of clean-up operation is needed. We are committed to carrying out clean-up on all our former military properties.

[Military Sites, December 10th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, every effort is being made to carry out clean-up of these sites as quickly as possible. Given the American usage of many of these sites we have an agreement with them, an agreement which involves some hundred million dollars in U.S. funds.

We have had a bit of a hold-up in Congress on this matter, but the commitment from the United States administration is there. I believe we will get it to deliver on this. We will get these sites cleaned up.

[Search And Rescue, December 10th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, if the Conservative Party had not botched up the last arrangement, we might have been able to make a decision sooner.

Let me make it clear that there is no relationship between the question of purchasing helicopters and the tragic event that occurred in Manitoba. Helicopters were not used, private or any other kind of helicopters, with respect to that rescue mission because of the weather conditions that existed. What were used were fixed wing aircraft. Our Hercules aircraft in fact has carried out a magnificent rescue.

[Search And Rescue, December 10th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, my understanding about the private helicopter is that it was able to get underneath the ceiling. However, it did so at considerable risk. A risk assessment is something our people have to take at the time. It did not do it in that much of a different time from what it took our own Hercules to be able to land and to carry out the rescue mission for the vast majority of those people.

[Search And Rescue, December 10th, 1997]

A crew of nine search and rescue technicians spent over 15 hours in aircraft. They had to wait to be in a position to land because of the terrible weather conditions that existed, weather conditions that contributed to that crash. They have finally been able to land.

First they put out medical supplies and now they have been able to land. They are on their way to the hospital in Winnipeg with the survivors.

[Search And Rescue, December 10th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition should stop playing politics with a very tragic event.