House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 71% of the vote.
Foreign Affairs January 30th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I receive briefings on a daily basis. Much of the information comes from the command centre in Tampa, Florida through Commodore Thiffault and his staff. It goes to the chief of defence staff and then it comes to me that same day.
The chain of command has acted properly. They have acted quickly and efficiently in providing all information.
Foreign Affairs January 30th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I was first informed about the detention of prisoners and the mission within 24 hours of when it actually occurred. At that point in time, I was travelling in Mexico City on government business. I waited until my return so I could further explore the full extent of the mission that was involved.
Upon receiving all the necessary information, and particularly last Friday seeing for the first time the photograph which turned out to be related to that mission, I then informed the Prime Minister and cabinet on Tuesday morning.
Foreign Affairs January 30th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the United States has said from the beginning that it will abide by international law. It has clearly said that detainees will be treated in accordance to and consistent with the Geneva conventions. There has been British inspection and Red Cross inspection to ensure that these people are being treated humanely.
What needs to be resolved is the question of the status determination tribunals. The Americans contend that all the people they are holding are unlawful combatants.
Foreign Affairs January 30th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the rules of engagement were approved yesterday. They are now being dispersed to the troops. Furthermore, they have been training on draft rules of engagement since October. Since they were stood up in November to be prepared within 48 hours, they have been working on the possibility of a mission in Afghanistan, initially on the possibility of one in Kabul, but in the last weeks they have clearly been working on rules of engagement that are relevant to this current mission.
Those rules of engagement, after the reconnaissance mission of two weeks ago, have now been finalized and distributed to the troops.
Foreign Affairs January 30th, 2002
I can give that assurance, Mr. Speaker, because our people are well prepared and well trained. They have rules of engagement. They understand the laws of Canada. They know in fact that they cannot be involved in any landmines. That is against Canadian law.
However it does not mean they cannot work with the United States regardless of it having another position. That would not lead to any prosecution of Canadian troops because they would be following Canadian law at all times.
Foreign Affairs January 30th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, those prisoners are in the possession of the United States military. The United States has said through presidential order that in fact it will operate military commissions. This is in accordance with the international law. It is in accordance with what has been done previously, for example in the Nuremberg trials at the end of the second world war.
Those are the kinds of provisions that are being worked on now and we intend to monitor them closely. We want to make sure there are fair trials for anyone who is brought before a military commission.
Foreign Affairs January 30th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, it has been said time and time again but the right hon. member in his preamble does not seem to get it right.
We operate under the Geneva conventions. We operate under the law of armed conflict. We ensure that people are treated as prisoner of war status while they are in our possession. We transfer them to an allied country in accordance with the law of armed conflict in the Geneva conventions.
If any of our people, hopefully never, but if any of our people were taken we would expect and demand that they be treated under the same Geneva conventions.
Foreign Affairs January 30th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the only involvement that Canadian soldiers could have with anti-personnel landmines is removing them. They are certainly not involved in putting them in place. That would be against Canadian law. Our troops abide by Canadian law.
There is nothing in Canadian law though that prevents the Canadians from working with the Americans even though they may have a different law and a different policy but, quite clearly, our troops follow Canadian law.
Foreign Affairs January 30th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, there is only the one occasion where arrests have occurred. I must point out that the JTF2 does operate in a covert fashion and for purposes of its operational security and the security of this personnel, we cannot give details as indeed do the other countries that are involved in special operations.
National Defence January 29th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the rules of engagement are quite similar for all Canadian forces, but they are also tailor made to the specific mission that each contingent has. Obviously the JTF2 as commandos have a different function than do the Princess Patricias, as a different set of circumstances exists for the navy out in the Arabian Sea. While they are very similar, while they are substantially the same from one mission to another, they nevertheless are tailor made. The one for the PPCLI is in the finalization stages and should be issued in the next 24 to 48 hours.