André Ouellet

[Peacekeepers In Former Yugoslavia, October 5th, 1995]

Madam Speaker, allow me first of all to apologize to the representatives from the Bloc Quebecois and the Reform Party for notifying them of this morning's ministerial statement on such short notice. This decision was made only late yesterday. The United Nations will announce a substantial reduction in its forces in the former Yugoslavia, and I thought that a statement should be made here in this House before the UN makes its announcement today.

I should point out that I was under no obligation to make a statement in this House, but I thought that, even on such short notice, the opposition parties, who have always been involved and who have always had the opportunity to express their views on the peacekeeping forces deployed in the former Yugoslavia, would appreciate this opportunity to participate in a parliamentary debate and express for the record their reactions and, I hope, their support for the government's decision.

Allow me to say that the situation in Bosnia has changed considerably in the past few weeks. The UN having concluded that it no longer needs all authorized UNPROFOR contingents, it has asked some contributing countries to reduce their forces and others to withdraw theirs.

These cuts and reassignments will affect some 9,000 soldiers. UNPROFOR strength will drop from 21,000 to 15,000, while the rapid reaction force added to the UN contingent will lose some 3,000 members.

Canadian Forces elements are among those that the UN feels are no longer needed in Bosnia. The details of this decision will be announced today by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The Canadian battalion now in Bosnia will therefore not be replaced when its current six month mandate expires in November. A parliamentary debate was held when this battalion was deployed; some members expressed their support for this action while others stated that we should withdraw from the former Yugoslavia. The return of this battalion that will not be replaced should, I presume, satisfy Reform members who told us at the time that we should substantially reduce the number of Canadian troops in Bosnia.

I should, however, point out that Canada will maintain a presence in the region, as Canadian military observers and Canadian personnel at the UN force headquarters will remain in Zagreb and Sarajevo. Canadian troops now assigned to NATO operations in the Adriatic Sea, whose job is to monitor the no-fly zone in Bosnia, will not be affected by this reduction either.

If current efforts to reach a peace agreement are successful the region will enter a new phase. Canada will contribute to reconstruction efforts in the former Yugoslavia. Once a settlement has been reached Canada will be there, if necessary, in the new force with our allies to help implement the peace under the authority of the United Nations and as part of Canada's continuing commitment to Europe.

Canada has been in the former Yugoslavia for three and a half years, since the beginning of peacekeeping in the region. Canadians have served with distinction in land, sea and air operations. We will continue to be involved with 13 military observers and one ship with a crew of 212 personnel. We will be involved in the Sarajevo air bridge with one aircraft and 45 personnel. We will also have six people in the AWACs aircraft and 50 people in headquarters.

I pay tribute to the courage and integrity of thousands of Canadian forces personnel who have served with honour under the Canadian and UN flags. I pay special homage to those who have paid the supreme sacrifice in the service of peace. I express on behalf of all Canadians appreciation to those who will continue to participate in the UN efforts to forge a lasting peace in the area.

I wish to thank this House for allowing us to make this short statement, which also gives the opposition parties an opportunity to express their views.

[Vietnam, October 4th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out the hon. member's important contribution to the defence of rights and freedoms. I think that his question is a suggestion to the government, and we accept it as such. I hope that Vietnamese authorities will take it into account in a positive way.

[Land Mines, October 3rd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I can give this assurance to the hon. member. Indeed, I have been informed that no such mines have been manufactured in Canada since 1992. In fact, none have been allowed to be exported since 1987.

I can give the member the assurance, since I am the minister and am looking at all of these export permits, that I have not authorized and will not authorize any of these exports.

[Nuclear Testing, October 2nd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the view expressed by the hon. member.

The test is the second in a series of tests France has announced. I have expressed our regret on behalf of the Government of Canada. We hope that by 1996 all countries that have the capacity to have nuclear armament will cease these tests. In the meantime I believe our position is well known by the Canadian public, by the French authorities and by the public at large. I do not think the hon. member should be excited today since this was announced some time ago and we missed his first reactions when the first test took place.

[Post-Secondary Education, September 20th, 1995]

The decision will be made by Quebec.

[Nuclear Tests, September 18th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, Canada deplored the decisions of France and China to continue nuclear testing. However, Canada mentioned that it wanted the recently unanimously approved UN resolution to end nuclear testing by 1996 complied with by all parties that already have a nuclear strike force. We expressed our satisfaction to the Americans as well as to the French who said they intended to comply with the 1996 deadline.

Under the circumstances, I do not think that we can blame French authorities for announcing that they will comply with the 1996 objective.

[Bosnia, September 18th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I want to say through you to the hon. member that I do not know where he is getting his information.

The soldiers who are there now, those who have served there and those who have come back from Croatia have all indicated their pride in participating in such a UN peacekeeping operation, although it is a very difficult one.

The Canadian troops are part of a UN peacekeeping mission. If the secretary-general decides to terminate the mandate I am sure it will done through proper consultations and we will obviously respond to the decisions of the United Nations.

Despite what the hon. member is saying, there is still a task to be performed and Canadians will be performing it to the end.

[Bosnia, September 18th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, Canadian soldiers are doing the right thing every day in that part of the world. They are there serving in a very difficult environment in order to protect civilians and help people to be fed and protected. Canada and Canadians should be very proud of what our soldiers are doing there.

We are committed to the end of the mandate. It is quite clear that Canada will respect the mandate it has received from parliamentarians and that the Canadians will stay to the end of the mandate. We will have a chance to discuss with our colleagues and other countries who are contributing troops in that part of the world what is the best thing to do in order to enhance the peace process that is taking place.

We hope that Mr. Holbrooke, on behalf of the contact group, will conclude his negotiations with the parties in order to install peace for all the parties in the region.

[Bosnia, June 21st, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to indicate to members of the House who are interested in the safety of our soldiers in Visoko that a liaison officer from the Bosnian government is now in the camp in Visoko to make appropriate arrangements to restore freedom of movement to the troops, including the resupply of our soldiers there.

In regard to the suggestion just made by the hon. member, indeed we have offered periodically to brief political parties, the official opposition and the Reform Party. Certainly if the caucus of the Conservative Party could get together we would be delighted to brief them.

As the member knows, we are the servant of parliamentary committees. If the chair of the standing committee wants to have briefings, I am sure the defence department or my department will respond quickly and expeditiously.

[Bosnia, June 19th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear on this. The Americans have not indicated that they were in a position to be a rapid reaction force.

The financial implications of it will have to be discussed at a later date. There was some urgency to pass the resolution at the United Nations and in order to ensure that the resolution would be passed it was decided to postpone the financial implications to a later date.

The Americans, although they have not indicated that they would be participating, have not ruled out the possibility of financing part of it as they have done in the past.