House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 1993, with 76% of the vote.
Bosnia February 21st, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I must agree that this is good news and that the government was right to join its partners in order to produce the results we see today.
However, the war goes on in other parts of Bosnia. I would like to ask the minister whether he could tell us what strategies are being considered by Canada and its partners to end the fighting in Bosnia and thus prevent the Serbs from taking the heavy artillery withdrawn from Sarajevo and using it to fight elsewhere in Bosnia?
Bosnia February 21st, 1994
My question is directed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Yesterday, NATO and UN leaders decided against authorizing air strikes at Sarajevo. It seems that UN peacekeepers are taking control of Serb positions and that at last peace will come to Sarajevo.
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I want to ask the minister whether he could report to the House on the situation today in Sarajevo and give us assurances that the withdrawal of Serb heavy artillery was sufficient to justify cancelling the air strikes.
Organized Crime February 17th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, there is quite a difference between tarnishing a reputation and sticking to the facts. The Bloc never asked any questions that were not close to the facts, and the Bloc relayed allegations which were made and published in very respected newspapers in Quebec: Le Soleil, La Presse, Le Droit, et cetera.
The answer of the Prime Minister is equivalent to abdicating the authority of the law. If the Prime Minister would like to discharge his duties he would meet the chief of those villages and localities to make sure they provide their full co-operation to the government.
Since there are links with international activities on this question, would the Prime Minister get in touch with the American government to get the full co-operation of that government so as to implement an international police action plan which would be efficient and professional?
Organized Crime February 17th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, it is common knowledge that any police, effective and prestigious though it may be, and we acknowledge that is the case with the RCMP, needs the support of the government. In this case, the RCMP does not have that support. That is pretty obvious.
I want to ask the Prime Minister whether he will admit that my question, which he failed to answer, is very relevant, in other words, we should ensure that the RCMP can count on the co-operation of the chiefs on these reserves and consequently, the Prime Minister should see them himself and not let people see ministers when they come out of these meetings and the parties are contradicting each other.
Organized Crime February 17th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Prime Minister.
RCMP accounts and sources reported daily in the media are gradually revealing the extent of criminal activities connected with the smuggling operations of the warriors. The problem has become a very serious one, as we read this morning in the Montreal daily La Presse , which reported that smugglers operating on the reserves were also involved in money laundering, along with, and I quote: ``-Italian organized crime, motorcycle gangs and even a number of Colombian families''. According to the officer responsible for RCMP operations in Quebec, the RCMP cannot stop criminal activities on the reserves without the co-operation of the Mohawk authorities.
Considering that the situation has gone beyond the limits of what is admissible under the rule of law, will the Prime Minister acknowledge he has a duty to meet the Mohawk chiefs in order to obtain their co-operation in stopping the activities of the warriors, as requested by the RCMP?
Royal Canadian Mounted Police February 16th, 1994
Mr. Speaker I would like to ask the Prime Minister to tell us whether or not he confirms the allegation expressed yesterday by Chief Jerry Peltier according to which the government is on the brink of launching a massive major operation in Kanesatake.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police February 16th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, the government keeps changing its story. For a long time the government said, as it just said today through the Prime Minister, that the law is enforced everywhere, that the RCMP goes everywhere in Canada and that those are the government's instructions.
Yesterday, however, the Prime Minister used the word "hesitations", when he said he had never heard there were no go zones until it was said the police had some hesitations.
I want to ask the Prime Minister to explain what kind of hesitations he was referring to. Are these hesitations caused by the government's lack of political will?
Royal Canadian Mounted Police February 16th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Prime Minister. Yesterday, the Solicitor General had to admit there were links between organized crime and cigarette smuggling networks, in connection with weapons and drug trafficking operations on Mohawk reserves.
He also contradicted himself by first admitting that certain people had cancelled RCMP anti-drug operations and then claiming there were no no go zones for the police in Canadian territory.
How can the Prime Minister insist that the law is enforced evenhandedly across Canada when yesterday Mr. Claude Lessard, the RCMP spokesman in Quebec, stated that the RCMP was not on the reserves, despite the fact that the reserves are said to play a major role in illegal trafficking in alcohol, drugs and cigarettes?
Organized Crime February 15th, 1994
The Leader of the Opposition is merely transmitting questions that are being asked all over Canada, questions that are reflected on television and in reports in the newspapers. It is a very legitimate question. We have a right to know. Canadian and Quebec voters have a right to know whether the law is being observed and whether there are in this country certain "no go" zones for law enforcement. And the Solicitor General has a duty to answer these questions.
Which reminds me, I have another question which is even more specific: Could he confirm the allegations published in today's newspapers that the chief of the squad in charge of anti-drug operations at the RCMP prevented his officers from going on reserve territory to pursue surveillance operations and make arrests?
Organized Crime February 15th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, with all due respect for the work of the RCMP, one nevertheless wonders how the RCMP could be expected to know what is happening down there if it does not go there.
I also wonder how we can reconcile the minister's answer with what was said by the person who appeared on television last night and claimed to have been an eye witness to the facts I just reported.
The Prime Minister says: Name names. Who, who? Well I can name Minister Claude Ryan of the Quebec government who, for many years, was responsible for the Sûreté du Québec and who said yesterday he had known for years that organized crime and the warriors were working together. Perhaps the RCMP should talk to the Sûreté du Québec or the Solicitor General could talk to his Quebec counterparts.
Once again, my question to the Solicitor General is this: Could he tell the House who in the federal government, at the political level or otherwise, ordered the cancellation of a major police operation planned last December by the RCMP and the Drug Enforcement Agency on reserve territory? Who cancelled the operation? There was a government here last December.