James Bezan

[Systemic Racism and Religious Discrimination, March 21st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, it is indeed a pleasure to rise to speak on a question I first raised on February 13, which coincidentally was on the very issue on which we just took a recorded division, which was on a motion I presented in the House on March 9 on restoring danger pay and tax benefits for our troops who are in the fight against ISIS. The unfortunate thing is that we had to essentially embarrass the government to support this motion, when we gave the government so many opportunities to correct this wrong.

Whether they are in Iraq or whether they are in Kuwait, as long as they are engaged in battle and are supporting the operations of the Canadian Armed Forces to stop ISIS through Operation Impact, they deserve all the danger pay and all the support of the Government of Canada, because the government called on them to go into this mission.

We also have to realize that this danger pay is in support of not just military personnel, recognizing the dangerous work they are doing, but is also about supporting their families back home. Military families are the enablers of our armed forces, and they are often dealing with all sorts of hardship because of the separation from their loved ones, such as the extra costs of child care and home and yard maintenance and all the other things that pop up from time to time during these extended periods when their loved ones are deployed.

I raised a question in the House today on this very issue. The minister has, on a number of occasions, misled this House. We raised it with the minister and with the chief of the defence staff back in the fall. We were made aware of this in October 2016. I went the proper route, first writing the minister on this issue. I got a very vague response. It took months to get the response. I raised it in committee when we had, first, the chief of the defence staff there and then the minister, in December, and again, there was no response. It essentially took all sorts of media coverage and questions in question period from the opposition for the Liberals to start recognizing that this now needed to be dealt with.

Unfortunately, we never saw this rectified until tonight, when we saw the vote and the unanimous support for my motion to reinstate hardship pay and danger benefits for all troops in Kuwait and to make it retroactive to September 1, 2016.

The minister kept saying in question period today, when I asked the question, that it was our Conservative government that sent our troops into Iraq without danger pay and that he corrected it in February 2016. I tried to get up on a point of order, and I will make the point now, that we have the question on the Order Paper, No. 600, signed by the minister himself. It clearly says that Operation Impact in Iraq has had all of the danger pay in place since August 22, 2014. Even for the operation in Baghdad, which started on April 17, 2015, they have had all of their danger pay, so he has definitely misinformed the House or has continued to mislead on the situation.

We also know, from section (h) of the question on the Order Paper, that all the armed forces personnel in Kuwait received tax relief from October 5, 2014, until September 1, 2016, so I would like the parliamentary secretary to correct the record and say that--

[Points of Order, March 21st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. During question period, I believe the Minister of National Defence misspoke, and I would like to give him an opportunity to correct the record, when he said that we sent troops to Iraq without any support. I can tell members there was danger pay. He has an Order Paper question that he has tabled in the House under his signature, and I would like to point out for him that if he would look at Question No.—

[National Defence, March 21st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians get really tired of waiting for the Liberal government to do something about securing our borders. They are also really tired of seeing the Liberal government tax our troops who are in the fight against ISIS.

This has to stop right now. These men and women in uniform were promised up to $1,800 per month in danger pay, yet halfway through their mission, the Liberals pulled away these benefits. Trying to pinch pennies on the backs of our troops and military families is wrong and it is immoral.

Will the defence minister support our Conservative motion to give back the danger pay, and will he give these benefits to all our troops who are putting their lives on the line in the fight against ISIS now—

[Taxation, March 21st, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, tonight the Liberals have a chance to right a wrong for a group of soldiers who feel like they have been kicked in the stomach by their own government. Since September, a small group of Canadian soldiers stationed in Kuwait in the fight against ISIS have been losing up to $1,800 per month because of a new tax on their danger pay. When the minister said he would make sure there was more equity for our troops, I never thought this new tax would be extended by the Liberals to an additional 300 soldiers. On this side of the House, we understand that our troops deserve better.

Tonight we will be voting on our Conservative motion to reverse this cold-hearted tax grab from the brave men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces and their families. The defence minister has indicated that only a small group will have their tax relief restored, while nearly 300 stationed in Kuwait will continue to pay the Liberals' tax for fighting ISIS. I urge all members of this House to stand tonight, on behalf of every member of the Canadian Armed Forces and their families, to ensure that they receive all the benefits, danger pay, and respect they deserve.

[Operation UNIFIER, March 20th, 2017]

Mr. Chair, I want to thank my colleague, the member for Elmwood—Transcona, for his intervention tonight and for laying out some of the concerns he has. I appreciate his bringing up the prospect of working with our allies in the United States and with other NATO members in trying to find some resolution.

I would ask him if he would care to comment—I know that the Ukrainian community in his riding is quite concerned—on the aggression Russia continues to promote in Crimea, the war it wages in Donbass, the destabilizing effect it is having throughout eastern Europe, including in Georgia and the Baltic States, and the concern being expressed by Poland and Germany. We also can never forget about Romania and Moldova in this whole process.

Would the member care to comment on how we work with our American allies? Congress in the United States has adopted a bipartisan motion to send lethal weapons to Ukraine to defend the territory of Ukraine's sovereignty that is right now a hot zone, due to Russian aggression, Russian-backed rebels, and Russian troops on the ground, the little green men.

Should we be matching that? The Conservatives have been calling for supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine's military, because that is the front line against Russia's aggression and its expansionist aspirations to bring back the old Russian empire. Could the member comment on that?

I know that the Ukrainian community within his riding wants to see those lethal weapons and to work with people like Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and others who want to see Ukraine properly equipped to defend not just Ukraine but indeed all NATO nations.

[Operation UNIFIER, March 20th, 2017]

Mr. Chair, as our immigration critic dealing with issues of refugees, my colleague knows all too well the plight of the people in Ukraine and knows all too well the leadership that was shown by the previous government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper and how Mr. Harper strongly said to Putin to “get out of Ukraine”.

Short of Russia pulling out of Ukraine, I would ask the member to comment on how Canada has been there for the people of Ukraine but how much more needs to be done. Over the last year, we have seen the number of internally displaced people increase to 1.6 million Ukrainians without a home, orphans without orphanages to take care of them and families to love them, and widows begging on the street. Also, could she comment on how Canada could play a bigger role in supporting humanitarian efforts in Ukraine?

[Operation UNIFIER, March 20th, 2017]

Madam Chair, I want to thank my colleague from Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, the vice-chair of the national defence committee, for her passion and her support for the Canadian Armed Forces. She has always fought to ensure that they are well represented at committee and in the House; that their care, needs, and benefits are, first and foremost, at the forefront of our debates here; and that they get the proper equipment and kit to do the jobs they are so often called upon to do.

In the situation in Ukraine, there are over 200 members of the Canadian Armed Forces training with Ukrainian military members. They are somewhat removed from harm's way, but at the same time, the situation over there is fluid. Russia has a very advanced military and can move over a lot of territory very quickly.

I would ask the member to talk about the concerns she has about danger pay, tax benefits, and things provided to those in the armed forces and in support of military families back home that are dealing with long periods of separation from their loved ones who are deployed. Can she talk about how that should be implemented for Operation Unifier and Operation Reassurance, with our troops going to Latvia?

[Operation UNIFIER, March 20th, 2017]

Madam Chair, I understand the member participated in a bit of a dog and pony show the Liberals took into Winnipeg with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress to talk about the extension of Operation Unifier. I understand that the government took full credit for $700 million of humanitarian assistance in aid and loans that have been provided to Ukraine. I would point out that some 600 million of those dollars were provided by the previous Conservative government. I just offer her this opportunity to correct the record to lay out that this has been bipartisan, and indeed, there has been all-party support for Ukraine.

I would ask her to respond to the Ukrainian Canadian community's questions in Winnipeg of why the government is not supplying lethal weapons to the Ukrainian military to defend themselves from this Russian aggression.

[Operation UNIFIER, March 20th, 2017]

Madam Chair, I want to thank my colleague for his intervention, and I want to thank him for his service to Canada as a lieutenant colonel in the Canadian Army and someone who understands what needs to be done when it comes to training to NATO standards. He is an individual who has trained in NATO countries and trained NATO forces. I want to ask him if he feels there is more that can be done under Operation Unifier to bring Ukrainian troops up to NATO standards. I also want to ask if would care to comment on the change of attitude that I hope we are starting to see from the government with the departure of the former foreign minister, Stéphane Dion, who wanted to appease Russia and engage in discussions, which was detrimental to having Russia pull out of Ukraine, and making sure there is no longer this illegal occupation and annexation of Crimea and Donbass.

[Operation UNIFIER, March 20th, 2017]

Madam Chair, I congratulate the minister on extending the Conservative-initiated mission, Operation Unifier.

I know that the minister visited the troops last year. He invited me to accompany him, but unfortunately, I was ill and was not able to be there. It is something I hope he and I can do again in the near future.

As everyone in this House always recognizes, our troops are second to none. Their skills and abilities, as the minister knows first-hand, are easily transferrable, and our Canadian Armed Forces are always up to the job of helping those who want to better themselves and defend themselves, and in the case of Ukraine, who want to train to NATO standards. I thank the minister for extending this mission for the next two years.

Ukraine has been asking the minister, as well as the government, to sign the Canada-Ukraine defence co-operation agreement so that we can take this relationship even beyond what it is in Operation Unifier by expanding exchanges of officers and bringing their trainers here so they can get even more involved in the Canadian institution and the military culture we have here, which really is, in my opinion, the leader in the NATO nations. Something Ukraine, of course, aspires to is having NATO membership at some point in the future. Of course, they have to train to the standard. They have to make sure that they have that ability.

Will the minister commit to signing that agreement? Will he also take a serious look at providing lethal weapons to the Ukrainian military to defend Ukrainian territory, as the government has done with the Kurdish Peshmerga in fighting ISIS?