Art Eggleton

[Minister of National Defence, January 31st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I have said continually that I am seeking more information. I have had further discussions with officials.

This question of detainees is a complicated one in terms of the law of armed conflict, the Geneva conventions and all of the aspects of it. I wanted to get clearer information about it. I went through those discussions over a number of days and was able to report to cabinet on Tuesday morning.

[Minister of National Defence, January 31st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, matters that are relevant to the Joint Task Force 2 are given orally. They are given to me by the CDS as part of the briefing that I receive every day.

I have made clear, when I got that information, my desire to seek further information when I returned to Canada from Mexico, and then I subsequently advised the Prime Minister and the cabinet.

[Minister of National Defence, January 31st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, the agreement comes from the United States clearly stating that it will abide by international law and operate consistent with the Geneva conventions, that it will in fact treat any detainees in a humane way. I have no doubt that is what it is doing.

We are talking about a friend, an ally, a democratic country. I believe it is in fact treating these people in a humane way. There is a determination that has to be made about their status. Again, we expect international law and the Geneva conventions to be followed.

[Minister of National Defence, January 31st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said continually, we operated within policy, and a policy that the Prime Minister understood in the conversation that I had. The members of this House had an understanding through my presentation at the committee on the same points.

When I first heard this news on the Monday, I determined that it was necessary to in fact get more information about the matter when I returned from my trip to Mexico, which I did, and at the earliest opportunity, which was Tuesday morning, I advised the Prime Minister and the cabinet. Of course I regret that he was asked the question on Monday and did not have the full information at that time. I have extended my apology to him.

[Minister of National Defence, January 31st, 2002]

First, Mr. Speaker, with respect to the debate on Monday night, that was dealing with the question of the 750 troops going to Afghanistan. There was extensive discussion about detainees, all in the policy context which has been repeated time and time again.

[National Defence, January 31st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the Sea King replacement is going well within financial parameters that are far better than what they would have been under the old outdated plan of the Conservatives. We are going to save over $1 billion in this replacement of the Sea Kings.

[National Defence, January 31st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, we are still aiming to get the replacement helicopter just as quickly as we can. If we could get them by the end of 2005 we certainly want to.

Yes, there has been some loss of time. We hope we can maybe make up some of that loss of time as we go through this process, but it may be possible that we will have to wait a little bit longer.

I will say one thing: the Sea Kings that are used in the Arabian Sea as part of our Operation Apollo are performing exceedingly well and they are performing exceedingly well because of the men and women who keep them flying, and flying safely, and are producing some solid results for the coalition.

[Minister of National Defence, January 31st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, significant incident reports are within the military and do come up to the minister of defence, but in this particular case it was part of a daily briefing. I get a briefing every day on what our troops are doing and what the situation is with respect to the campaign in Afghanistan.

Our troops have operated in a very professional fashion. They are people whom we can be very proud of.

[Minister of National Defence, January 31st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, that is absolute nonsense. I fully consult with the chief of defence staff on anything that is said with respect to JTF2.

I am trying to provide as much information as I can to Canadians to understand what their troops are doing, but this organization within the Canadian military operates in a covert fashion and is involved with special operations in Afghanistan.

With respect to its operations and the details of its operations, it is not in its interest or in the Canadian interest to talk about those details.

[Minister of National Defence, January 31st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I went through the chronology of events on the question of privilege in the House this morning. The matter is on the record.