Art Eggleton

[National Defence, April 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, we certainly want to reduce any possibility of any risk of this ever happening again. As to whether we use that specific site again or not, I could not say at this point in time.

Certainly there is a need for ongoing training in that area relevant to any activity of combat that may exist. Our troops have to be prepared for combat activity with the enemy. We would want to make sure that they are able to survive in any circumstances and we want to reduce the risk of any harm coming to them.

[National Defence, April 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated previously, we are working on the terms of reference and the details are in progress at this point in time. I have the assurances of the secretary of defense, and the Prime Minister also got the assurances of the president of the United States of full co-operation in this matter.

[National Defence, April 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated in response to the question of the hon. Leader of the Opposition, we want to be as transparent and open about this as possible. While past boards of inquiry usually only reported when they were finished, in recent times on other boards of inquiry we have used a system where there are periodic reports so that updates can be given as the process goes along.

I hope this will not be a very lengthy process, a matter of weeks as opposed to months, but until we get into it and see what the challenges are, we cannot be sure of that. We want to give updates and progress reports to keep people informed.

[National Defence, April 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question.

There are eight soldiers who have been injured. Two of them suffered minor injuries and have stayed with the battle group in Kandahar. Six of them have been transported to the medical facility in Ramstein, Germany. As has been mentioned, Her Excellency the Governor General is there and has greeted them.

The two who were in the most critical condition have improved. There have been operations involved in both cases and they are in stable condition. All six are in stable condition and are expected to recover. A number of them, perhaps as many as four, will be coming back to Canada very shortly.

[National Defence, April 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, yes, I will be meeting with General Baril today to discuss the terms of reference and the procedure to follow in this matter.

One of the things we will discuss is to be as open and as transparent as we possibly can be with regular updates so that the families and all Canadians, including members of the House, will know how this matter is progressing.

There are Privacy Act considerations and operational security considerations that have to be taken into account. I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, it is our aim to maximize the transparency and openness of this entire process.

[National Defence, April 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the evening before last, I received a call from secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld. He assured me of their full co-operation in this matter. They have also indicated that they would put a position for a Canadian on their inquiry team. I expect that there will be this kind of sharing of information and co-operation to the highest degree possible so that both countries can find the answers to the questions that bewilder us at this time about what happened and how we can reduce these kinds of incidents in future.

[National Defence, April 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the national investigation service of the Canadian forces is presently on site in Afghanistan gathering evidence and information as part of its investigation. A similar unit of the United States military is also there doing the same thing at the same time.

Meanwhile yesterday I announced that a board of inquiry will be established. It will be chaired by the former chief of the defence staff, retired General Maurice Baril. We want to get all of the information. We want to get a thorough investigation of this matter so we can get the answers as to what happened and what we can do to prevent these kind of things from happening again.

[National Defence, April 18th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, it is not left solely to the Americans. We have a partnership between the two countries in terms of defence of the continent and we will continue to have that.

The hon. member seems to have got quite confused about this northern command. He told the press yesterday that he thought Russia was a member of the northern command. That is not the case at all. There is no other country that is a part of the northern command other than the United States.

We are talking with them to see how we can enhance the security and defence of our continent and our respective sovereign countries.

[National Defence, April 18th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, talk about forgetting. The hon. member seems to have forgotton that we have increased spending by some 20% over the last four years, that we have committed another $5 billion over the next five years, that we have bought new armoured personnel carriers, new search and rescue helicopters, new submarines and that we have state-of-the-art equipment for the navy and our frigates. There are so many areas in which we have increased the quality of life for our troops and the training of our troops, and we will continue to provide what our military needs to do the job effectively.

[National Defence, April 18th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I never forgot anything. Let me make it quite clear that Canadian troops will continue to be, as always, now and in future, commanded by Canadians in the interests of the sovereignty of our country and in the interests of the policies of this government.