Art Eggleton

[Supply, May 7th, 2002]

Mr. Chairman, again it has been said by me in the last few days that it will be made in a very short period of time. I would expect within the next week to 10 days that decision will be made. The battle group will have been there for a six month period in about the middle of July.

[Supply, May 7th, 2002]

Mr. Chairman, the member seems to have a problem understanding the answer I just gave so let me try again.

We have not made that decision yet. We have troops that are there for a six month period of time. We are looking at that situation carefully.

As has been said before we do have the challenge of operational tempo to be concerned with. There is still more work to be done in Afghanistan in trying to ensure that the Taliban and the al-Qaeda do not again get a foothold in that country. They have damaged that country greatly for the Afghan people. They have also exported terror, as we saw on September 11, to other parts of the world. We simply do not want them to get a foothold.

There will continue to be a coalition effort in and around Afghanistan. We do have other troops that are there. Let us bear that in mind. In addition to the battle group we do have the JTF2. We do have ships in the Arabian Sea. We have Hercules aircraft and Airbuses and Aurora patrol aircraft. We have had up to 2,500 people who have been involved.

There are a number of aspects to that mission. The only part of it that deals with the $210 million which seems to be of concern to the member would be the battle group. That is where a decision has not been made, but the JTF2 and others will continue to be involved in Operation Apollo.

[Supply, May 7th, 2002]

Mr. Chairman, we have not made any decision in that regard. The $210 million is for the current operation. We can only budget for what we know for sure. If we have not made a decision with respect to the follow on mission, then we cannot budget for it. We have just budgeted for what we know at this point in time.

[Supply, May 7th, 2002]

Mr. Chairman, the Australians decided to head into their own submarine program and build their own. They ended up spending more than five times what we spent. At the end of the day it took them 13 years to get them into service because they had so many different problems with them.

In fact I can remember when visiting Australia they considered that to be one of the biggest jokes, trying to get the Collins Class submarine into service. It took them a far longer time, more than double the time it will ever take us to get these submarines into service at a fifth of the cost.

[Supply, May 7th, 2002]

Mr. Chairman, I do not think the right hon. member would know what to look for in the logbook to start with. The Canadian navy does. The Canadian navy knows what it needs to examine. It has done all the necessary examinations. Whatever we can table here that is going to be helpful we will attempt to do that.

I might add it was the right hon. gentleman and his party who had the hare-brained scheme when they were in government that they were going to buy something like 15 nuclear submarines. They eventually abandoned that hare-brained scheme which would have cost much more money, billions of dollars more than the submarines we have that will well serve this country and the needs that it has.

[Supply, May 7th, 2002]

Mr. Chairman, everything was examined that needed to be examined. It was not a question of taking the word of the purchaser although the royal navy is a very respected navy. Remember the royal navy bought these submarines from the private sector. It certified them and went through considerable inspection and trials.

Our Canadian navy has done the same thing. We have examined everything that needed to be examined. The agreements cover everything that needs to be covered to ensure that this is a good buy. It is a good buy. There are some repairs needed but the right hon. member is exaggerating and distorting the truth on this matter, as usual. When the repairs are made we will get many years of very good service for the Canadian navy.

[Supply, May 7th, 2002]

Mr. Chairman, I think the right hon. member is most irresponsible in what he is suggesting about these submarines.

We are not going to put such submarines in service until they are safe. They have been certified previously by the royal navy which has expertise with respect to certification for their ability to operate and to dive. When we purchased these submarines all of the necessary examinations were made. The trials were done to ensure that they were worthy boats and would serve us well and that we got a good deal.

[Supply, May 7th, 2002]

Mr. Chairman, I did recommend the purchase of the four older submarines from the U.K. It is a terrific bargain. We are getting four of these submarines for about one-quarter of the price it would cost for new ones.

These submarines were in the service of the royal navy which has a great deal of expertise with respect to them and their capabilities. There are some items that need repair but these are not items that will make them unworthy of being part of the service of Canada. They are still a very good buy. The repairs will be made and they will be put into service and will serve us for many years to come. Much if not all of the repairs will be done under warranty with the company and with the U.K. which sold them to us.

[Supply, May 7th, 2002]

Mr. Chairman, that has not entered into the discussion at this point in time. There are long outstanding issues with respect to the north that will have to be dealt with.

What the northern command of the United States is indicating is that the continental United States plus the areas of Canada, the areas around the north are areas of interest to it. Ultimately in discussions those matters will have to be dealt with.

[Supply, May 7th, 2002]

No, Mr. Chairman, I did not say that. I think the right hon. member is far too worried about it affecting our sovereignty because it will not affect our sovereignty. It will not have the kind of dire consequences that he is pretending that it will.