Art Eggleton

[Supply, April 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, parliament should have every opportunity, has had every opportunity, and will continue to have every opportunity to express its views.

When I visited with our troops in Aviano, I told them that the government of this country, the parliament of this country and the people of Canada were behind them. They believe that and they believe they are doing what needs to be done in the name of all three of those entities. I believe that to be the case.

We are taking this decision in a responsible fashion. The government has to be able to do these kinds of things, to take quick action when these dangerous situations arise.

There are no ground troops being deployed to the region. We have said before that the only troops we are preparing for deployment to the area in terms of ground operations would be peacekeepers. That still stands. We have said that if that changes in any way, then we would come back to this House again for further debate and discussion.

[Supply, April 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, whatever percentage we received was a lot more than members on the other side received. We have a majority government in this House and that is the will of the Canadian people. Canadians elected a government to make decisions.

This parliament has every opportunity to express no confidence in the government if it does not think it is making the right decision. Members opposite have not moved a motion of no confidence. No, because they know Canadians believe in what we are doing. Canadians believe we should be doing all that we can to save those people who have been pushed out of Kosovo, those people who have been subject to ethnic cleansing. People believe that is the right and humanitarian thing to do, so we are doing it.

I do not hear people disagreeing with what we are doing. In all these debates, seven on Yugoslavia and three of them specifically on Kosovo, I have heard general agreement from all sides of the House. What is the problem? If hon. members do not think we are doing the right thing, if they do not think we are making the right decision, move a motion of non-confidence. But I do not think that they will. I do not believe they will because they know that we are reacting to what Canadians feel is the right and just thing to do.

[Supply, April 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Mount Royal.

I would like to begin my remarks today by advising the House of my meetings in Brussels and London over the last three days.

While in Brussels I met with NATO Secretary General Solana, the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General Clark, and the Chairman of the NATO Committee, General Naumann. I also had the opportunity to consult with my Belgian counterpart, Mr. Poncelot, and in London I met with my British counterpart, Mr. Robertson.

On each occasion we discussed the full range of issues pertaining to NATO operations, both the air campaign and efforts to address the dire humanitarian situation that continues to unfold.

I want to assure the House that NATO's resolve remains unshakeable. NATO's steadily intensifying military operations are destroying, step by step, Yugoslavia's military capabilities. The air campaign supports the overall political aims of NATO countries; objectives which are widely supported by the international community, by this parliament and by the citizens of Canada.

On the weekend I also had the opportunity to visit our men and women stationed in Aviano, Italy. I am pleased to report that their morale is high. They understand the importance of the mission they have been given and they are proud that Canada has acted. They are a long way from home and they appreciate the support they have from the government, from parliament and from their fellow Canadians.

The air campaign is now in its 27th day. Progress has been steady and as each day passes the cost Mr. Milosevic is paying for his policy of humanitarian degradation rises. His military forces are being hit around the clock and their losses are mounting.

As each day passes the infrastructure that supports his forces of oppression is diminished. There is less fuel, fewer bridges and more broken lines of communication.

NATO is again intensifying its air operations by adding more aircraft. As I announced on Saturday, Canada will make available six more CF-18s, bringing the total in Aviano to 18.

This new contribution shows our government's firm commitment to this operation. We will continue to exercise the necessary leadership to ensure its success.

Good government requires many things. Strong leadership is one of them. Another is the will to make choices based on the understanding of what Canadians need and want.

Before being elected, the government spelled out its commitment to increase consultation with parliament. We were determined to offer Canadians strong leadership, informed by the views of their elected representatives in parliament. We have done just that. Since being elected, time and time again we have consulted the House on major decisions concerning the Canadian forces and national defence.

The House has debated Canadian commitments to the Central African Republic, Haiti, the Middle East and the former Yugoslavia. Since this government came to power the House has held seven debates on Yugoslavia alone. Parliament has held three debates in recent times on the very important issue of Kosovo.

The motion before us today completely ignores the relevant debates and decisions of this House. The question of Canadian participation in a Kosovo peacekeeping operation has already been debated.

On February 17 the House debated Canadian participation in a force to verify and enforce compliance with an agreement we hoped would result from the diplomatic talks held in Rambouillet, France. All parties agreed that Canada should participate in that kind of peacekeeping force.

During the debate I announced that Canada would be prepared to contribute 500 to 800 personnel. Although we are currently engaged in an air campaign, our objective is to bring about conditions whereby the Yugoslav government will allow for the deployment of an international military force.

Since then the 500 to 800 strong force, including an armoured reconnaissance squadron and a helicopter unit, has completed its training and is now preparing for possible deployment. Debating this again would be a step backward. In a crisis like this, when grave human issues lie in the balance, moving forward is the kind of leadership which Canadians expect.

This government's record of consulting parliament speaks for itself. We are determined to exercise the kind of decisive leadership in crisis that Canadians expect. Canadians would not accept any measure that undermines the authority of the government they elected to take quick action to protect Canada's humanitarian and national interests.

This motion, aside from ignoring the actions that have been taken and the many debates, appears to suggest that without the very precise vote which it suggests the voice of parliament will not be heard. Kosovo illustrates the falsehood of that argument perfectly.

In the three debates on Kosovo, 131 members of this House have spoken. Many voices have been heard and the consensus has been striking. Clearly, parliamentarians have expressed their views and given legitimacy to Canada's actions. Parliamentary debate is an important tool, but it should be used to facilitate action, not to undermine it.

[Kosovo, April 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, we do inform Canadians. We do inform parliament.

I went through a list previously that indicates exactly what our people are doing in the area and connected with Kosovo.

[Kosovo, April 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, no they are not.

[Kosovo, April 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, no.

[Kosovo, April 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, no. We do not have ground troops in the area. We have only people there on the basis I enunciated a few moments ago.

[Kosovo, April 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, all I can confirm is a list that has been provided for all members of parliament. It indicates the various forces personnel that have been involved, such as the verification mission, those involved in the air campaign out of Aviano, those who were involved in the extraction force in Macedonia, the NATO airborne and our early warning force out of Germany. Of course we are preparing under a peace agreement to send peacekeeping troops in connection with the effort. There are quite a number of personnel but it is in those capacities.

[Kosovo, April 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I could not tell the hon. member at this point. We have not been asked for any additional aircraft over and above the six, which, with the additional aircraft from our allies, will now provide for around-the-clock air campaign action.

Whether any further aircraft will be required beyond that, it is much too early to say. I talked with General Clark about it and he does not know at this point in time. If such a need arises, then we will consider the request.

[Kosovo, April 19th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, we are in the throes of putting together some figures that we hope to have later this week so that all hon. members will have an indication of the numbers involved.