Gordon O'Connor

[Afghanistan, April 16th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I will say it again: our commitment is the end of February 2009.

[Afghanistan, April 16th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the hon. member got some of her information, because it is totally false. Our military commitment in Afghanistan is to the end of February 2009.

I will say it again for those who have not heard it: the end of February 2009.

[Afghanistan, April 16th, 2007]

As has been said, Mr. Speaker, and as I have told the newspapers and TV, as I have told this Parliament, and as the Prime Minister has also confirmed, our military commitment in Afghanistan is to the end of February 2009. However, we have to plan for the long haul, for other possible ventures by other governments in other countries.

[Afghanistan, April 16th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, there is absolutely no escalation. We have a squadron of tanks over there now, Leopard 1s. We are going to replace them with a squadron of Leopard 2s, which are more modern and overcome some of the technical problems we have had, so there is no escalation whatsoever.

[Questions on the Order Paper, March 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the fixed wing search and rescue statement of operational requirement is in development and has not been finalized. As such, it would be premature to discuss the specific contents of the document. However, it should be noted that requirements are not drafted to support a particular platform or aircraft. Rather, they are developed in response to the operational needs identified by the Canadian Forces.

[Veterans Affairs, March 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, over 94,000 veterans and caregivers receive the veterans independence program, for which at the moment we are budgeting $270 million, but like every program, we have to do better. We are reviewing the veterans independence program right now to see how we can deliver services better.

[Veterans Affairs, March 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, as I said before, this government is committed to looking after its veterans. We will look at each case and, if there is injustice, we will correct the injustice.

[Veterans Affairs, March 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, our government is very proud of our veterans and of the contributions they made to our country. Members will note that in the upcoming fiscal year, we will be spending half a billion dollars more on veterans than the previous government spent on veterans. We will continue to improve all the care packages we have for the veterans as we go into the future.

[National Defence, March 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the new secretary of defence in the United States in fact has decided to acquire more C-130Js. The Americans are increasing their fleet because they have faith in the aircraft.

[National Defence, March 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, as members know, our government is committed to rebuilding the armed forces. One of those rebuilds is the tactical air fleet.

The C-130J has been selected and it is being used by five countries at the moment. In fact, the United States is increasing its purchases of C-130Js. We believe it will meet the military's requirements.