Art Eggleton

[Kosovo, April 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, what is important here is that the people of Kosovo are able to return to their homes and are able to live in peace and security. That is what is important. We need a military force there to ensure it. I believe we need a NATO led military force. That is the position of NATO.

Can the United Nations help to resolve this problem? Can other countries help to resolve this problem? Yes, and I hope they would.

[Kosovo, April 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, NATO has been very clear right from the beginning about what it expects to bring about a cessation of the hostilities and a cessation of the bombing: ensure a verifiable stop to all military action; an immediate ending of violence and repression; ensure the withdrawal of Yugoslav military police and paramilitary forces; agree with the stationing of an international military presence; agree to the unconditional safe return of the refugees and displaced persons; and provide for a political framework for the future government. That is the kind of action plan that he has to agree to before the air campaign can stop.

[Kosovo, April 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, on February 17 the House discussed the matter of ground troops under a peace accord. On that basis I indicated at that time that between 600 and 800 Canadian forces troops would be made available for that purpose.

Those troops are in training now and will be available to participate in a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo once the conditions laid down by NATO are adhered to by the Yugoslav government.

[Kosovo, April 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister has said, we have one plan. We have an air campaign. We believe that the air campaign will work. We believe that the conditions set down again today in Brussels by NATO need to be met and we will continue with that campaign.

Of course military planners always look at different possibilities, but there is one plan and one plan only that is being followed by NATO and being followed by Canada.

[Kosovo, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I prefer to think of this as a humanitarian mission, an effort to stop what is being done to the Kosovars, as opposed to a war.

The troops that we have in Bosnia have taken extra precautionary measures to strengthen their security. We have done everything to reduce the risks so that our troops will be as safe and secure as possible in that kind of environment.

[National Defence, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has it wrong. We originally were going to rotate at the end of March, but that was set months ago, before we knew what action we would be involved in at this point in time. It is hardly the time to do that.

But eventually we will need to replace the people who are there with others. That is an operational question that will be dealt with at the appropriate time and it will be determined by the chief of defence staff.

[Canadian Forces, March 25th, 1999]

They are, Mr. Speaker. We in fact are putting $40 million more this year into the repair of the married quarters for our personnel.

We recognize that there is a lot of substandard housing. We are going to move immediately to fix that up, but we are also developing long range plans. We are looking to reorganize our Canadian forces housing authority to give it more of the tools it needs to do an effective job and to make sure our people are properly housed.

We have long term plans, but we have plans for $40 million additional dollars to immediately go toward repairs.

[Foreign Affairs, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, there is no contemplation of sending ground forces into Kosovo under the current conditions where there is no peace agreement. There would have to be a peace agreement before we could send in a peacekeeping mission.

If there was any substantive expansion or change in our role with respect to this NATO led effort, then we would of course want to consult with members of parliament.

[National Defence, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian forces are an important national organization. They contribute a great deal to the life and security of this country and deserve to have fair compensation for a reasonable standard of living.

I was very pleased to table today the government's response to the 89 recommendations of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs. It did a fine job. We agree with most of all its recommendations.

We will be putting into effect for example pay increases come the first of April this year. As an example, for privates the committee recommended some 10% and we are making it 14.4%.

[Kosovo, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, there is every effort to contain the matter.

For example, the forces in Bosnia are on special alert. Precautionary measures have been taken. They are also on the border of the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia and Kosovo where the UN mission unfortunately has come to an end. There are NATO troops there and every precautionary measure is being taken to prevent this conflict from spreading. We will try to bring it to an end as quickly as possible.