John McCallum

[Iraq, April 1st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the right hon. member I am sure is aware that while the motion he describes was indeed passed by the House, there was an amendment to that motion which was defeated by a massive four to one margin, a motion calling upon the government to bring back the ships and bring back the exchange officers.

Contrary to what we have been hearing from that corner of the House, the government would, if anything, be in contempt of Parliament if we did what the NDP is suggesting and brought back our ships and exchange soldiers, which of course we are not proposing to do.

[Canadian Forces, April 1st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the House that the people who are currently in Iraq will receive exactly the same benefits and treatment in every way as did our soldiers in Afghanistan and in other areas of conflict. No distinction will be made.

Notwithstanding the fact that Canada is not at war, those individuals will receive treatment as good as and totally equal to what they would have received had we been at war.

[Iraq, April 1st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I have said time and time again that I support our men and women of the Canadian Forces. I acknowledge their bravery and their service to the country. I do not say this only in times when I can score political points. I say this all the time.

I will not enter into a competition with those people as to whether they or we care more about Angie Little and Mike Bullock and every other brave person of the Canadian Forces.

[Iraq, April 1st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, yet another example of hypocrisy out of the mouths of the Canadian Alliance members.

I said yesterday that they should put down their political tools for just one moment, stop telling us where we should be and where we should not be and honour those who are there in the region, thank their families and thank them for their service and let us all hope that they will return safely.

I think once again they are scoring cheap political points on the backs of the men and women of the Canadian Forces.

[Iraq, April 1st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, as we have said a thousand times already, we are not at war. What we are doing is honouring exchange agreements we have had with our allies for decades. These soldiers follow their orders in the field as they would in Canada. It is the job of soldiers to follow orders, and that is what they are doing.

[Iraq, April 1st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, the government will not answer hypothetical questions.

[Iraq, April 1st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I do not accept the first of those premises. The hypocrisy of the Canadian Alliance members is showing up one more time. They agree with us on the ships. They do not want us to bring our ships home. They agree with us on the exchange soldiers. They do not want to bring them home.

What is all the fuss? Once again they are scoring cheap political points on the backs of the brave men and women of the Canadian Forces.

[Iraq, April 1st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I have said what I have said. I have said it correctly. I have said that we will honour our decision that the soldiers there are not involved in direct combat and that they are authorized to use force in self-defence. I do not know how many times I have to repeat the answer to the same old question after question.

That is the position of the government. I wish members opposite would understand that point.

[Iraq, April 1st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, life is full of risks, especially military life, and the government must manage these risks. The government must consider a number of factors. The government takes this responsibility extremely seriously.

What the government has decided, all things considered, is that it is best, given all the factors I have already mentioned, to leave the soldiers where they are.

[Iraq, April 1st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the government made its decision; the government considered the matter of these exchanges. The government has alliances and, for us, these alliances are extremely important, even crucial. If these exchange personnel are withdrawn, it could endanger the lives of members of allied countries. That is our decision, and we are not going to change it.