House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 71% of the vote.
National Defence March 16th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, as I said a few moments ago, I think those comments were absolutely appalling and unacceptable.
At the same time, I must say that they did not represent the values of the vast majority of the men and women in the Canadian forces. People will be expected to follow those values. They will be expected to exhibit behaviour that is acceptable, not what those kinds of comments represent.
National Defence March 16th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is absolutely right. Some of the comments quoted in the report were absolutely appalling. They did not correspond to the values of Canadian society nor of the Canadian forces. They did not represent what the vast number of men and women of the Canadian forces believe.
People will be expected to follow the values of the Canadian forces in terms of their behaviour and will be held accountable for doing that. There will be better and more effective education and more accountable leadership within the forces to help ensure that we do in fact make women, visible minorities and aboriginals more welcome in the Canadian forces.
National Defence March 16th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, 11.5% is actually one of the highest in NATO, but I think we can do a lot better. We put in place an employment equity program about a year ago that will help lead us toward doing that. It will help make women more welcome, not just in the administrative part of the Canadian forces but also in the combat area, if they are qualified. We are not reducing our qualifications one iota. It is not about that. It is about removing barriers, and we are determined to do that. We are determined to increase the number of women in the Canadian forces.
National Defence March 15th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, there are Canadian values and there is an opportunity to promote values and views about how a military operation occurs in a democracy. This is a good opportunity for General Baril to be able to impart those values and those views.
China is a very important player in terms of the security of the Pacific. That is why we have engaged in this constructive dialogue.
National Defence March 15th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the Chinese army is not training with the Canadian army. We are engaging, however, in dialogue because China is an important part of security and defence issues in the Pacific.
As we do in many other areas as well, including trade, we engage in constructive dialogue with the Chinese. We want them to know about our values and our areas of concern. This gives us an opportunity to show them how a military works and works well in a civilian controlled context.
National Defence March 15th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, that is simply not true. She seems to want to be selective in what part of the judgment she reads. I have read the judgment. The judgment clearly says a case has not been made and the court dismissed the case.
We are proceeding to do this in the right and proper fashion to get the best helicopters to meet the needs of our Canadian forces.
National Defence March 15th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I do not know what court the hon. member was in, but the court decision in fact dismissed the application.
We are proceeding with a fair, open competition for those 28 helicopters. We want to ensure we get the best helicopter that meets the needs of our military.
They wrote the statement of requirements. The statement of requirements is what we are proceeding with, as they wrote it. We want to get them at the best possible price, and that is the way we are proceeding on this procurement.
National Defence March 12th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the understanding is that the commitment stands. Last August I was there. We put a 25 year agreement into effect with respect to the property. We indicated that we would have expanded military use of the property, and we will.
We are going into negotiations, substantially adding to the economic value of what we invested in the Saint-Jean area.
National Defence March 1st, 2001
Mr. Speaker, in the supplementary estimates this morning the government indicated its commitment to the Canadian forces with an additional $624 million. When we add that to the $2.5 billion that has been put into the last two budgets, over $3 billion has been put in as an investment into the Canadian forces.
While those people over there babble on, the government is investing in the forces and in the security and safety of Canadians from earthquakes or from any other natural disaster.
National Defence March 1st, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the earthquake occurred at 11 a.m. yesterday morning. All those people over there, many of whom are from British Columbia, said absolutely nothing in question period yesterday.
I must say that the government is quicker to act than the opposition. We have a national earthquake support plan. We have troops that are in British Columbia. We have regular troops in British Columbia. We have reserve troops throughout the province. We can move in whatever support services are needed from any other part of the country, as we and our troops have demonstrated many times before.