Douglas Young

[Government Expenditures, March 18th, 1997]

Getting people on these whoppers is just not acceptable.

[Government Expenditures, March 18th, 1997]

That was a real big whopper, that one.

[Employment Insurance, March 17th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that a question such as this which is rather technical and concerns a group of people who are very important to us at the Department of National Defence, should be asked without prior notice, because otherwise we could have checked all aspects of the legislation.

As members know, very few members or ministers in this House are in a position to know every detail of every act, however complex it may be.

I can assure the hon. member that the government is doing what it can to encourage people in the public service to participate, if they so wish, in the activities of the reserve or the militia. We want to do everything we can to encourage Canadians who are interested, because we are increasing the membership from 20,000 to 30,000.

I can assure the hon. member, as the Minister of Resources Development just did, that we are doing everything we can to be fair and equitable to everyone who needs employment insurance.

[Somalia Inquiry, March 17th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the incidents to which the hon. member refers have been the subject of various proceedings within the military justice system. I do not intend to comment on that.

With respect to the roster of witnesses, of the agenda and the workplan of the commission of inquiry on Somalia, I have not commented on that. We are now two years beyond the time when that commission began its work.

I will leave it to the hon. member and to keen observers of this entire exercise to determine for themselves and to respond in their own way whether they believe that people who were involved or who were aware of the incidents when they occurred in Somalia should have been heard at the end of two years or earlier. I do not intend to comment on that.

[Somalia Inquiry, March 17th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman refers to the work done by a retired chief justice of the supreme court, Mr. Dickson, and his team on the military justice system. I know that the hon. member has deep concerns about the Canadian forces and how the military justice system works, how the military police organization responds to the kinds of challenges that obviously occurred in Somalia.

I have now received the report from Mr. Justice Dickson. I will be reporting to the Prime Minister before the end of the month. I think I can say without equivocation that the hon. member will be as impressed as I have been by the work done by Mr. Justice Dickson.

That having been said, with specific reference to the question he put today, the hon. member will know that I have not in the past commented on testimony brought before the Somalia commission of inquiry and I will not do that now. I will have nothing to say about how it has dealt with that issue until such time as it has prepared its recommendations and has submitted them to the government.

I am sure the hon. member and Canadians look forward to receiving the report of the Somalia commission of inquiry no later than the end of June.

[Somalia Inquiry, March 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times, I do not wish to comment and I do not think it is appropriate for me to comment on how the commission that began its works two years set itself up to pursue the objectives within its mandate.

There have been other initiatives and other procedures taken to deal with the beating death of the Somali citizen the hon. gentleman refers to. I am sure anyone who is really interested in that incident is thoroughly familiar with the facts surrounding it and how it was dealt with through the military justice system.

[Somalia Inquiry, March 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, obviously I think it will be a very long time before the very deep wounds that were inflicted on the Canadian forces and its reputation go away.

However, I do think we have to begin the healing process and put in place the corrective measures that are required to ensure that this kind of situation does not occur again.

With respect to that, we have asked a retired chief justice of the Supreme Court, Brian Dickson, to bring to the government and to the people of Canada specific recommendations, and they are wide ranging, with respect to the reform of the military justice system and the military police and their role.

In addition, we will be submitting to the government and to the Canadian people a wide ranging set of recommendations with respect to how we can deal with problems and challenges facing the Canadian forces. We will do that before the end of March, as I undertook to do on December 31. Then the Canadian people will be able to see what people who are serious about the future of the Canadian forces have done and proposed.

[Somalia Inquiry, March 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I have indicated in the past to the hon. gentleman who brings a great deal of knowledge to the way the Canadian forces work that obviously I would not be able to comment on the way the commission of inquiry conducted its agenda or relate to the specific testimony of any witnesses.

However, I want to thank the hon. member and his party. I have been looking for input because he asked how we could deal with some of the problems and challenges facing the Canadian forces.

Finally, I have a document that I gather is from the Reform Party called "The Right Balance" by Andrew Davies who I understand is a candidate for the Reform Party. In his article he asks what is wrong with the Canadian forces. I encourage Canadians to read this article because it is input from the Reform Party on what it thinks is wrong with the Canadian forces and what it thinks some of the solutions would be. It is very illuminating and I would be happy to table this document.

[National Defence, March 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, obviously it is disappointing for everyone when courses are changed along the way.

I have explained to my hon. colleague that, under the circumstances, where it can be shown that the changes had an effect, the government should look closely at the situation. Each case must be decided on its own merits. I am prepared to review the cases the hon. member would care to put before me and the department.

But I would explain to him that a person who has agreed to take courses in a civilian institution must honour the debts he has incurred or the commitments he has made if he decides to leave the institution because he is dissatisfied or because the courses have changed.

[National Defence, March 13th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I think everyone who signs a contract must try to fulfil it and I think most people expect this sort of contract to be met.

However, in certain cases, a person may have been forced to change career or been unable, for some reason, to continue his or her studies.

In some instances, there may be a way to resolve the problem, but, in general, because the costs involved are very high- whether in Saint-Jean or at the Royal Military College in Kingston -Canadian taxpayers expect everyone to fulfil their commitments as in the case described by the hon. member.