Art Eggleton

[National Defence, April 24th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, we have an excellent group of ships. We have the frigates and the coastal defence vessels. These submarines had seen only one or two years' service and were really quite new when they were mothballed by the U.K. We purchased them for a quarter of the price it would have cost to buy new submarines. When all of the work is done to get them ready, they will serve this country well.

[National Defence, April 24th, 2002]

That is absolute nonsense, Mr. Speaker. What the hon. member and his party do not point out is the fact that the government has invested some 20% increase in the budget of the defence department. It has bought new armoured personnel carriers and new Coyotes. We have in fact invested a great deal to support the Canadian forces over these years, and that is what we are doing.

[National Defence, April 24th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I have already said an all due inspection was made and due diligence was carried out to ensure that these were ready. The submarines were brought over to Canada. Further work was being done on them and in the course of the work this dent was discovered.

[National Defence, April 24th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, there were numerous inspections, tests and test trials before the subs were handed over. The matter of this minor dent is being fully examined at the moment and all precautions are being taken.

I must say though, for the price the hon. member noted, we got a great bargain. It was 25% of the cost of what it would have been to build new submarines. It takes a while getting them into service and ensuring all these matters are resolved. That is being done.

[National Defence, April 23rd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the northern command is an internal United States command reorganization. It has nine other commands that cover every part of the globe in terms of its area of interest. Now it has a northern command that flows out of the concerns of September 11 and the need for more homeland security.

At the same time we are concerned about the terrorist attacks. We want to work in a co-operative effort with the United States. That is what we are talking about, looking to see if there are practical ways we can be of more co-operation for the safety and security of our own people. It does not mean subjugating our forces to its, or subjugating our sovereignty at all.

[National Defence, April 23rd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I have said a number of times in response to the hon. member that there are terms of reference that have been clearly laid down so that the inquiries can get to the bottom of the matter, determine what happened and see what can be done to reduce the risk of it happening again, both in terms of Canada, in terms of the United States and in terms of the sharing of information in full co-operation. I again assure the member that will be done.

[National Defence, April 23rd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, there will be totally shared information between the American inquiry, of which a Canadian will be the co-chair, and the Canadian inquiry. Everything will be known by both boards.

Why does the hon. member not let the members of the boards get on with their work. Instead of trying to micromanage and speculate on what they might do, we should let them get on with their work. They are very competent people.

[National Defence, April 23rd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is jumping to conclusions as to who will hear what.

Both boards are charged under legislation and rules and regulations of the forces of both countries. Therefore, it will be carried out in accordance with those mandates. They will find out all of the facts. They will find out what is needed to know, what happened in this case and what we can do to reduce the risks to our troops.

[National Defence, April 23rd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, there is ongoing co-ordination on a day to day basis. The commander of the brigade in Kandahar is an American. I have been there. I have seen the relationship that exists between him and the Canadian commander. They are in fact in communication on a very frequent basis every day.

Again, in terms of the board of inquiry, there are 10 very specific measures that are outlined for them to look into. If his point is not covered by the first 10, it says at the bottom “any other issues of relevance to this investigation”. Everything will be covered to ensure that we get the information we need to find out what happened.

[National Defence, April 23rd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, all that is covered in the terms of reference to the Canadian board.