Jean Chrétien

[Ethics Counsellor, May 16th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the ethics counsellor will be invited to meet with a committee of this House if required. However, in his daily operations he has to be responsible to somebody so he is responsible to us. One of the reasons we have acted this way is because we did not want to have a multiplication of jobs. He has other responsibilities and we gave him this new responsibility. He is doing a good job.

In the end, no Prime Minister can get up in the House and say he is not responsible and that somebody else is. In this parliamentary system the government is responsible and the head of the government is responsible for the actions of all the government in front of this House, nobody else.

[Ethics Counsellor, May 16th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, there are some very strict guidelines for conflict of interest for everyone in the ministry and in the public service. The senior people in the departments are responsible for those guidelines. There is an ethics counsellor who is consulted on any problem and he reports to me. I am responsible to Parliament for any and all mistakes made and I have never run away from my responsibilities.

[Agusta, May 16th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, what the minister has just said is correct. I have said it and I repeat it: the government has a contractual obligation for expenses incurred up to that point, which we must fulfil. There will, however, be no compensation for loss of profit or for future work.

If we eventually have to buy new helicopters, no preference will be given to anybody. We will follow the usual procedures in order to obtain the best product at the best price.

[Intergovernmental Affairs, May 16th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I think the reply the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs gave yesterday was quite satisfactory. One aspect of the problem is being checked by the auditor general. Another aspect is being checked again. If there were any mistakes, we can correct them, but for the time being, we have no information to that effect.

As for the third matter, when determining payments to the provinces, the Minister of Finance does this according to formulas that are in the legislation. There is no flexibility, and if someone thinks the law was not interpreted as it should be, then that person should, and there are precedents for this, ask the courts to intervene.

[Chechnya, May 15th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, we have protested on several occasions. My colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, brought this matter up several times with his Russian counterpart. We are putting as much pressure as possible on the government. And if the problem persists, I will have another opportunity to launch a protest when I meet Mr. Yeltsin in Halifax next month.

[Chechnya, May 15th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I made it quite clear, although I may not have had a chance to announce my intentions publicly, but in communications with other heads of state, we agreed we would boycott this big military parade, and we did. The Russian government was well aware that Canada would not attend this parade.

[Chechnya, May 15th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, everyone knows that I raised the issue of the people of Chechnya with President Yeltsin, and I told him personally that his government's attitude did nothing to further Russia's interests in the world.

We were there to celebrate the 50th anniversary of V-E Day. The Russians made an exceptional contribution since 27 million Russians died during the war. We accepted the invitation as a matter of course.

My colleagues in the Western world and myself refused to attend the military parade, but we agreed to attend a parade of veterans who fought during the last war. To show our disapproval of what is now happening in one part of Russia, we boycotted their biggest parade.

[Telecommunications, May 3rd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the third party is completely mistaken. The review cannot be done by the minister because it is not hisresponsibility.

Ministers are going abroad and trying to do something good for the country. This sector is extremely important for Canada. We are in a surplus position. We can export. The more business we can get for the artists of Canada, the better I will feel and the more thanks I will give to the ministers.

[Bosnia And Croatia, May 3rd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, that would be extremely irresponsible at this moment. For the last few years situations have arisen where fighting was renewed. The troops were there doing their job and brought about many ceasefires.

The situation today is no worse than it was six months or a year ago. It is always difficult. Canadians are not afraid to take on a difficult task. We are there to maintain the peace. We are not there to come and go. When we make a commitment we fulfil our commitment.

[Bosnia And Croatia, May 3rd, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, all major decisions are made by the UN. UNPROFOR is a UN group and final decisions are made by the military command of the United Nations. We are not a member of the group of five for various reasons, among them the fact that some of the neighbouring countries think they can play a better role than we can.

We are doing what we do best. We are on the ground, making sure we are not taking sides. That is why the Canadian position is always appreciated by everyone. I talked with the President of Croatia when I was in Budapest and I talked with the President of Bosnia. They both told me they appreciate the professionalism of our soldiers.

Our soldiers are not there for us to gain political points internationally. They are there because they are the best.