André Ouellet

[Haiti, September 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my answer is yes. As much as the Leader of the Opposition, I deplore this carnage that has followed the arrival of multinational troops in Haiti. These are certainly unacceptable actions which should have been expected from the military who are losing control of the country. I think that we must see what is happening there in that context and I would ask the Leader of the Opposition not to make a partisan issue of it but to accept that the Government of Canada is playing a very important and very useful role with President Aristide, who will return to his country very soon.

[Haiti, September 20th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition mentioned a date, October 15, which is a very definite deadline for the Haitian military. Whatever they do and whatever happens, they will have to submit to the firm determination of the Americans and all those who supported and approved UN Resolution 940. Consequently, I am quite confident that President Aristide will be able to return to his country.

The hon. member had a question about police officers. I have been in touch with President Aristide on a regular basis, and we will continue our dialogue. Any steps to be taken by the Government of Canada will respect the wishes of President Aristide.

[Haiti, September 20th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, there is an important point I would like to make. President Aristide mentioned that as far as he was concerned, the Governors Island Agreement was the agreement he had signed and the agreement he intended to abide by. I can say that the Canadian government entirely agrees with his interpretation of the facts.

Furthermore, we must realize that at this very moment, the country is no longer totally under the control of a Haitian military junta and is gradually coming under the control of a multinational force, which has a mandate, under UN Resolution 940, to take control and ensure that President Aristide returns to his country as soon as possible.

[Haiti, September 20th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it will be a pleasure to answer the hon. member's question, and I want to make it quite clear that the purpose of this UN initiative is to bring President Aristide back to his country so that he can take up his duties as president. I believe that what has taken place during the last few hours is an indication that the process to return President Aristide to his country is well under way and is irreversible.

[Haiti, September 19th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am very intrigued by the question of the hon. member because I thought I heard his leader on television a few days ago expressing a different point of view. I want to assure the House that Canada has an independent position which we have clearly expressed inside and outside the House with regard to Haiti.

We believe we can play a more independent, separate role than others because of the privileged position we have with the Haitian population. Certainly under the auspices of the UN, we could give leadership in playing a very constructive role.

I hope that in the near future the House will allow us to have a debate on the matter in order to permit members of both sides of the House to express their views in this regard.

[Haiti, September 19th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I want to remind the hon. member that Canada supports the UN resolutions with regard to Haiti. Indeed, we support the Governors Island agreement which calls for the sending of Canadian police forces to Haiti to train the Haitian police forces. This is a well known commitment by Canada. We are anxious and eager to fulfil this commitment. We will be following through as soon as the circumstances allow our police to go there.

Second, we have approved the UN resolutions, which will allow-in the second phase of the implementation of resolution 940 of the United Nations-the involvement of military personnel under the auspices of the United Nations. This has not yet been realized. When this second phase takes place, we will then respond.

[Haiti, September 19th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure of meeting President Aristide last week, at which time I reiterated that the Government of Canada was firmly committed to providing him with support whenever he requests it, to help rebuild his country at the democratic, social and economic level. We are confident that, as soon as he is back in Haiti, president Aristide will ask for support, large-scale participation, from Canada. I can assure you that we will be ready to respond to his request and will do so most positively.

[Haiti, September 19th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Canadian government, I would like to say how happy we are at the turn events took, at the lack of bloodshed that could have resulted in the death of many Haitians.

There is no doubt that we must pay tribute to the efforts of the American special envoys who have managed, at the very last second, to convince the military to abdicate. It seems obvious to me that this last-minute agreement that averted the military action called for under United Nations resolution 940 provides that the military will not only have to hand over power, but also allow members of the multinational force that should land in Haiti within hours to gain control of the situation and bring about the speedy return of president Aristide.

One major factor to take into account is that under Governors Island arrangements, one legislative measure must be passed to provide for the general pardon of the military and another one to provide for the division of powers between the military and the police. In our view, it would be important that the proposed legislation called for in the original Governors Island agreement be implemented as soon as possible by the Haitian Parliament.

[Military Intervention In Rwanda, June 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, Canada's position on this issue is well known. We believe that we must participate as part of the United Nations peacekeeping forces. Consequently, we are more inclined to answer the United Nations' call for peacekeepers than to participate in a military operation.

[Military Intervention In Rwanda, June 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to confirm that Cabinet this morning consented to a request from the Secretary General of the United Nations to send a communications unit of 350 Canadian soldiers to join a United Nations peacekeeping force in Rwanda as quickly as possible.

Obviously, we hope the Secretary General will be able to put together a fairly large force of 3,000, 4,000 or even 5,000 troops in order to restore peace in Rwanda. I can also assure the member that Canada, which has already provided over $4 million in humanitarian assistance, is poised, along with other countries, to increase its humanitarian assistance to Rwanda as quickly as possible after a ceasefire takes hold.