Denis Coderre

[Airbus, November 13th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, let us try in French. You have a Minister of Justice who begins a review of the investigation concerning Messrs. Mulroney and Schreiber. The ex-Reform Minister of Justice, the current President of the Treasury Board, was curious and asked for a full briefing on new developments in that matter. In my opinion, they found him too tiresome, because he lost his department. As luck would have it, this no longer interested the new Progressive Conservative Minister of Justice, and they lost the desire to recover all that.

Can the President of the Treasury Board tell us what new he learned about this matter while he was Minister of Justice?

[Afghanistan, October 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, it is Conservative incompetence that is responsible for this confusion. Those ministers are jeopardizing the efforts of our soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan.

This is about accountability. The government is perceived to be complicit in torture allegations because it keeps denying first-hand information from its own foreign affairs department.

When will the government learn? Why will it not stop these transfers until we receive a real assurance that the Geneva Convention will be respected?

[Afghanistan, October 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs was burying his head in the sand and casting doubt on the professionalism and integrity of an experienced journalist, his own department confirmed allegations of torture of some of the Afghan detainees transferred by our troops. This is quite serious. This government has a responsibility to enforce the Geneva convention before, during and after transfers.

Will the government make a promise today to stop transferring Afghan detainees until we can get firm guarantees that the Geneva convention will be respected?

[Afghanistan, October 29th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, General Hillier was very clear: he said 2017. It is the members opposite who are still creating confusion. The political incompetence on this issue is pathetic.

According to reports, not only was the Prime Minister's office furious about what General Hillier had said, but even the Minister of National Defence was apparently unaware of the visit by the Chief of Defence Staff, which proves that the general does as he pleases.

Either the military is carrying out this mission and the Prime Minister and his spokespeople have no control, or this Conservative government is not telling us the truth and the real end date for the combat mission is 2017. Who is telling Canadians the truth: General Hillier, who is saying 2017, or the Prime Minister, who is saying 2011?

[Afghanistan, October 29th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, 2007 plus 10 equals 2017.

The disarray between the government and our military with respect to the Afghan mission is astounding. The Prime Minister has told Canadians that our troops are to remain until 2011 in Afghanistan. Last week, the CDS made it clear that it cannot be. It would take at least another 10 years.

Who is in charge? General Hillier or the Prime Minister, who has said before that Canada has a moral obligation to stay until the Afghan army can take over? Is it 2011 or 2017?

[Foreign Affairs, October 24th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I did not see these people. Our military should be asked, for instance, what they think about the hiring of mercenaries. Our general here will tell you that it is unacceptable.

Now, what is also unacceptable is that Blackwater was hired to train DND special forces.

Does anyone find it acceptable that security firms like Blackwater be hired to protect our troops and show them how they should be training? I am just back from Wainwright. We are quite capable of training them ourselves. What do we need mercenaries for, and why associate with them?

[Foreign Affairs, October 24th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to come back to the issue of Saladin Security. It is worrisome to see a Conservative government hire mercenaries to provide security for our embassy, its personnel and some VIPs.

The question is quite simple. Given that, yesterday, the Minister of National Defence said that it was no big secret, will the Minister of Foreign Affairs commit now to table in this House a copy of their contract so that the legitimacy and legal responsibility of these mercenaries can be determined? That is simple enough.

[Afghanistan, October 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this government is prepared to commit our soldiers to combat missions until 2011, but it has to hire a mercenary company to protect our embassy in Kabul.

One might wonder why the Conservative government is associated with Saladin Security, a company of mercenaries specifically known for certain clandestine operations. This is not clear.

Why are the Conservatives interested in hiring mercenaries? Why can our soldiers not protect our embassy and its staff?

[Afghanistan, October 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, it is another day and another crisis of accountability for the ethically challenged government. Private U.S. security firms operating in combat zones have raised some very serious questions about whether or not NATO countries can be held accountable by local authorities if laws are broken.

The government has signed a contract to pay Saladin Security in Afghanistan, but Canadians have no way of knowing who will be held responsible if something goes wrong. Why? Because the contract is being kept secret. When will the government stop its pattern of secrecy and table the contract?

[Afghanistan, June 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, it seems he is the only one who thinks that.

The deception, cover-ups and misinformation that come from the government are a slap in the face to our soldiers who are serving in Afghanistan. The time has come to stop misleading and come clean with the Canadian people.

Between 2002 and April 2006 we know that Canadian troops transferred 40 detainees. How many of these Afghan detainees alleged torture and abuse by the Afghan authorities, and how many since?

What is the government's plan to deal with the Afghan detainees captured and transferred by our troops if they allege that they were tortured by the Afghan authorities? Canadians deserve the truth. Where is the plan?