Denis Coderre

[Afghanistan, May 17th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the government's incompetent handling of the Afghan detainees has raised its ugly head again.

Last week the Conservatives tried to prevent witnesses from being called before a committee to answer questions about why foreign affairs first denied the existence of a report on abuse in Afghan prisons and then blacked out much of its disturbing content. Today, Conservative members prevented these witnesses from giving evidence.

The Prime Minister has said that none of his ministers were responsible for the cover-up. Why are the Conservative committee members now helping out in this cover-up?

[Minister of National Defence, May 14th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, things were pretty topsy-turvy this weekend. The fax machine was working overtime.

Today, we have before us a man who has no courage, no convictions, no determination to carry things through. Yet this same man told us he was going to go through with it. We expected the member to show more of a backbone in the face of adversity; we did not expect him to back down at the first sign of difficulty. People should not put themselves at the mercy of polls like that.

Quebeckers are not stupid. They want a leader with a backbone. They want someone who will be there to brave the storm, who can represent the voters without trying to have his cake and eat it too. Quebeckers do not like quitters.

I am therefore asking the Minister of National Defence to reconsider his decision not to attend tomorrow's meeting of the Standing Committee on National Defence.

[Afghanistan, May 10th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, we have a question today. In light of what the Prime Minister said earlier, there do not seem to be any negotiations between NATO and Canada over what will happen after February 2009.

Yesterday, his Minister of Foreign Affairs responded to a question from James Cudmore on CBC Radio. The question was quite clear:

“Were there discussions involving NATO and other allies for battle group replacements on the ground post January 2009?” The answer was the following: “You're putting me in a difficult situation because you know a lot of the discussions are in camera, not in public, and there were certainly discussions about the combat role played by countries”.

Who said--

[Afghanistan, May 9th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, our troops need a defence minister. They do not need a seat cushion.

What we need right now are answers. We do not want to know how the polls are going, because I think that if we were talking about polls the Prime Minister would have some problems.

The question is clear. We want to know if there are negotiations with NATO right now, because the government is negotiating with NATO--

[Afghanistan, May 9th, 2007]

Maybe, Mr. Speaker, it takes one to recognize another one. I do not know.

What we need--

[Afghanistan, May 9th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, what is pathetic about the Afghan detainees scandal is not only the inconsistency and incompetence of this Conservative government but the fact that we have opposite a former military lobbyist and arms dealer who no longer has the right to speak because his own Prime Minister realizes that he embarrasses Canada every time he utters a word. However, he is the one responsible.

Can the Minister of National Defence confirm that, despite what the Prime Minister is telling us, negotiations are underway with NATO to withdraw troops from Kandahar in January 2009?

[Afghanistan, May 8th, 2007]

Not enough, Mr. Speaker. The lack of transparency of the Conservative Bush-style government raises a lot of questions.

Why does the defence minister remain chained to his chair? He cannot even stand up without permission.

While our troops are fighting to promote democracy in Afghanistan, the Conservative government is making a mockery of democracy at home by concealing and distorting the truth at every opportunity.

How many reports have been swept under the rug? How many eye witness accounts can be discounted before the government finally admits it is wrong and fires that useless and muzzled Minister of National Defence?

[Afghanistan, May 8th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this Conservative government, these wannabe Republicans, want so badly to take after their head office that the chaos and embarrassment they have caused all over Canada will lead us straight into a situation similar to the one in Iraq if the Prime Minister does not shoulder his responsibilities as the nation's leader.

Since our international reputation has already been tarnished by the Afghan detainee scandal, is the Prime Minister prepared to change his new agreement in order to prevent any parallel processes arising and to ensure that it respects the Geneva convention to the letter, especially when it comes to investigations?

[Afghanistan, May 7th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, there is no service at the number you have dialed.

Our brave soldiers are fighting in Afghanistan and the Conservatives in Ottawa are passing the buck. Foreign affairs denied existence of a report setting out allegations of torture. It is the lawyers' fault. The Minister of National Defence was contradicted by the Prime Minister about the existence of a new agreement. It is foreign affairs' fault. And do not forget the Minister of Public Safety who blames everybody except himself.

We have finger pointing instead of leadership, misleading instead of honesty. When will the Prime Minister put the troops ahead of them and clean up his own mess?

[Afghanistan, May 7th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Afghan detainee transfer scandal has showcased the Conservative government's propensity for screwing up and covering up. The muzzled Minister of National Defence's deliberate confusion and lack of transparency are becoming more and more troubling.

I do not know whether the Prime Minister will let him speak today, but we would like to know why his vice-chief of the defence staff intervened this weekend. Was Colonel Noonan, who was on the ground, too transparent and too honest?

Who in his office is keeping such a close watch over this file as to prompt this weekend's updates?