John McCallum

[National Defence, October 1st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I think there might have been more than one question in that question.

I would point out simply that in terms of pride in our military I share the hon. member's view. The fact of the massive response in Edmonton twice, once to the four deaths and secondly the largest response to homecoming soldiers since at least the second world war, indicates that the hon. member is not alone in being extremely proud of what our military has done.

As was cited in the throne speech, the government is committed to equip the army, the navy and the air force with the resources they need to carry on their duties.

[National Defence, October 1st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that helicopters are not a simple matter. We have had more than a thousand technical suggestions by industry on this matter and the fact remains the same. The bottom line is that we are doing our best to get the right helicopter at the right price as soon as possible.

[National Defence, October 1st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, in the first place it is hardly in my power to scuttle any plans the Prime Minister might have. What we are in fact doing is carrying out our job in a serious manner.

Canadians want us to be serious at this time of global tensions and a possible war in Iraq. We are working very hard with stakeholders in studying the capabilities of our military, and hoping and planning to put in place armed forces for the future which will respond to the needs of all Canadians in the 21st century.

[National Defence, October 1st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, not only did the throne speech explicitly recognize the four who were killed in Afghanistan and the response of Canadians to that but it went on to say that by the end of the mandate we would ensure that the Canadian Forces were equipped to do whatever the government wanted them to do in the world.

Not only that, we are as we speak heavily engaged in consultations and in studies of sustainability of our Canadian Forces to ensure that we have the fittest, strongest Canadian Forces for the 21st century.

[National Defence, June 21st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I will look into this particular case and report back to the hon. member.

In general, what my department does is it puts these contracts out to tender. There are bids made and we go by a combination of the lowest price and the best technical performance. I have every reason to expect that this was done in this case, but I will look into it.

[National Defence, June 21st, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his steadfast support of the military which has taken his party in new and very welcome directions.

As for the supply chain, he said that there was no security. As I explained in the House a while ago, not only are all the workers guaranteed their jobs at full wages, but they get seven years job security which, as I indicated before, is a lot more than those of us sitting on this front bench.

[National Defence, June 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the review will be undertaken expeditiously and with consultations.

As for the safety of the Sea Kings, it is my first priority after parliament ends to go up in one so as to demonstrate my confidence in their safety.

[National Defence, June 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the defence review will take place very quickly and expeditiously.

As for the helicopters, we have been assured that the Sea Kings are safe. It is in the culture of the military that they never put their people into harm's way in helicopters.

At the same time, the government is committed to purchasing the right helicopter at the right price as soon as possible.

[National Defence, June 19th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, at 8 o'clock this morning General Baril deposited his report with our chief of defence staff. I will receive it within hours. I have instructed our department to move heaven and earth to release this report to the Canadian people at the earliest possible time.

My primary responsibility is to the families of those killed and to the Canadian people to get this information out at the earliest possible moment.

[Soil Decontamination, June 18th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, as one of the federal government's major property owners, my department is firmly committed to minimizing the environmental impact of its past and present activities and operations.

In addition, environmental considerations are part and parcel of any decision making at all departmental levels, and several major initiatives are under way.