Art Eggleton

[National Defence, March 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, there are no funds relevant to the replacement of the Sea King fleet in this budget, but the government has had a long commitment, going back to the 1994 white paper, to proceed with a change in aircraft from the Sea King to a new helicopter.

A procurement strategy is now in the stages of being finalized and will be brought forward at the earliest opportunity. Meanwhile we will make sure that our Sea King helicopters are safe to fly.

[National Defence, March 16th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the defence department pays for its bills. Its procedures have improved over the years to make sure that they are paid on time.

What additional money we do have in the budget this year will go to pay for improvements to the quality of life of our troops. Our troops have given fine dedicated service to the country and they deserve our support in that regard.

[National Defence, March 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, we are going through all the requirements for the helicopters because whatever we get to replace the Sea King I want to make sure that it meets our operational needs and is cost efficient and affordable for Canadians.

I am anxious to bring this forward as quickly as we possibly can, but meanwhile we will have the Sea Kings with us for a few more years. We will make sure that in fact they are well maintained; they are overhauled as they need to be and as they have been in the past; and they are safe for our crews to fly.

[Agriculture, March 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the big city boy will attempt to offer some information about farms.

The authors of the particular report the hon. member refers to have overstated U.S. prices and have understated Canadian Wheat Board prices. The results of that study are inconclusive. The authors used selective vision of each country's grain handling and transportation systems. Their pricing methodology does not allow for an accurate price comparison between the two countries. That is what he is basing his question on.

[Forest Industry, March 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the minister is not sitting in silence. The minister and the Minister for International Trade are watching these developments quite closely. They want to make sure that our products continue to have that kind of access into the United States.

This certification process is one that is new to the industry. It is one that will benefit the industry overall. We will continue to have access into that market.

[Forest Industry, March 12th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, Home Depot has made it clear that the company wishes to support the well managed, scientifically based certification process. In fact this is a new process that the industry is going through. This being the case, Canadian companies are well placed to continue to compete effectively in the U.S. market.

[Year 2000, March 11th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, there has been substantial discussion of this at NATO. The NATO allies are quite understanding and quite supportive of doing everything possible to ensure that all military weapons systems are Y2K compliant.

We have also been addressing this matter, both as NATO and as Canada, to the Russians and to other non-aligned states to ensure their missile and weapon systems of all kinds are bearing in mind what will happen January 1, 2000.

I am confident everything is being done that can be done by Canada and by NATO to accomplish that.

[National Defence, March 11th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, this is a very tragic occurrence, the loss of this pilot and the other crew members in that crash. We are doing everything that is possible and will do everything that is possible.

I want to make sure we support Mrs. Musselman and the family and the families of the other crew members. There was an issue here with respect to the retention bonus and the balance of the retention bonus. I have now authorized its payment to Mrs. Musselman.

[National Defence, March 11th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, we want to ensure that all of our pilots and all of our air crews are in fact safe when they fly any of our equipment.

The Sea Kings are kept at a very high standard of maintenance. We ensure that they are safe to fly.

Yes, they are getting on in years. They do cost more to repair. There is more down time. That is why the government feels we need to replace them and that is why I will be bringing in a strategy for their replacement very shortly.

[National Defence, March 11th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, none of the above. There are also provisions in the defence estimates relevant to the disaster financial assistance arrangement, which is not directly related to military but does form part of the expenditures.

However, we are grateful that for the first time in a dozen years the Department of National Defence and the Canadian forces have received an increase in their estimates. That gives us the opportunity to pay more to our troops and to be able to deal with issues of housing, care for the injured and support for the families.