House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 48% of the vote.
Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act December 6th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, on the same point of order, I would ask you to ask my hon. colleague to stick to the debate that we are supposed to be having, which is on Bill C-41. It has nothing to do with the joint strike fighter or some imagined relevance of military justice, which is something that sticks in his craw.
If he is going to debate that, Mr. Speaker, you might want to ask him why the Liberal Party refuses to even go—
Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act December 6th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, on a point of order, this is all a very nice diatribe on revisionist history, as it may be, but I would like the member to stick to relevance. I would ask him what this has to do with military justice.
Canadian Forces December 3rd, 2010
Mr. Speaker, we have covered that a number of times today and we will continue to do everything we can to make the system better for those folks.
I have spent a lot of time in the last few years with the Minister of National Defence and with the Chief of the Defence Staff at events with families of the fallen. No one takes it more seriously than those two men.
We will continue to do everything we can. We recognize the very difficult circumstances in which families find themselves. We grieve with them. Where the system has limitations, we will make that better. We will always try to do the best we possibly can for the families of our fallen.
Canadian Forces December 3rd, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the member is simply wrong. The previous veterans ombudsman finished out his term and we appointed a replacement.
The minister appreciates the advocacy that Mr. Daigle has brought to the job of defence ombudsman. He will continue to work with him. The minister has been working with him all along and will continue to do that into the future.
We will do everything we can, as we have done in the past, to make things better for the families of deceased members of the Canadian Forces. If there is a way to do it better, we will find it and we will implement it.
Canadian Forces December 3rd, 2010
Mr. Speaker, as I have already said in respect to the Bloc member, the minister takes this very seriously as does the leadership of the Canadian Forces. They do everything they can to treat families with fairness and compassion at a time that is obviously very difficult for families.
The minister has responded to the ombudsman in great detail. He has responded to the ombudsman in the past.
Yesterday he tabled with the ombudsman about 13 different measures that will go to making the situation better. We will continue to do everything we can within the constraints that we are faced with. We will do everything we can that is possible to make the situation better and to treat those families with the care and compassion they deserve.
National Defence December 3rd, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the minister appreciates the ombudsman's ongoing advocacy on behalf of the families of deceased Canadian Forces members. We share those concerns and consider the care and compassionate treatment of CF personnel and families to be of the utmost importance.
The minister has met with the ombudsman. He has responded to him several times. He responded to the ombudsman's letter of December 1 yesterday and provided a status report on the number of initiatives that we are considering for the families of fallen members. In addition, he has designated a senior officer to be a direct point of contact with the families.
We will continue to do everything we can to treat the family members in the best way possible. If we can find a way to do it better, we will.
National Defence December 2nd, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to a program that will bring Canada's air force into the next generation of fighter capability and Canada's aerospace industry into the next generation of high technology.
Along with that will come tens of thousands of high-tech, high-paying jobs for Canadians with the overall positive impact on the economy that will benefit all Canadians.
Unfortunately, the Liberals do not want to know the truth and they are so determined to remain ignorant of the facts that they scuttled an approved defence committee trip to Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth to get a close-up look at the aircraft and the program.
The truth is that the Liberals do not want to know the truth, because the truth would belie their irresponsible efforts to rewrite history, rob the Canadian Forces of a critical capability for the next 40 years and rob Canadians of the jobs they need.
The Liberals need to stop their wilful irresponsibility on this issue. We have seen this B-grade movie once already with the Sea King. The implications are even more serious with the F-35 program, and the Liberals simply need to stop their nonsense and get with the program for the good of Canadians and the good of our country.
Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act November 26th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, this will actually be in the form of a comment. I do have to clarify a couple of things that were previously brought up.
First, in response to the number of summary convictions, in the first example that was given, it was actually only for half a year, because that is when the legislation came into force.
The Bloc member confused the role and identity of the Canadian Forces provost marshal when he was referring to the ability to renew appointments. The Canadian Forces provost marshal is not a judge; the Canadian Forces provost marshal is a police officer. So that is why there is a difference.
Second, with respect to the JAG report, the Bloc intimated that the Minister of National Defence was not performing his duties. In fact, the Minister of National Defence did table the JAG report in question on June 7, 2010. It is a public document and it is available to anybody who wishes it.
Third, with respect to the independent review, that is covered under clause 101, section 273(601)(1) of the new bill, and also under the next section of the bill it is specified very clearly that the minister shall cause the report of the review to be tabled in each House of Parliament.
I just wanted to clarify those points.
Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act November 26th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I will try to raise this in the form of a question, but in the wake of the Somali experience, there was obviously concern about the efficiency of the summary trial system. As a result, the amendments made by Bill C-25, which is coming into effect, confidence in that system was restored and summary trials were returned to their place of importance in the whole process. That is one reason for the increase.
The other thing is we have more people in the Canadian Forces and we do much more difficult ops. Afghanistan is a big factor in that. There are more summary trials because of the kinds of things that arise on those kinds of deployments. This is an answer to that question.
The simple fact is the system is not antiquated. The system is still effective. It needs updating and that is what we are doing.
Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act November 26th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to my colleague's comments. This is best saved for committee but there are number of areas that he brought up which in fact have already been addressed, but that will become clear at committee.
I want to read a quote from former Chief Justice Lamer:
Canada has developed a very sound and fair military justice framework in which Canadians can have trust and confidence.
That being said, obviously there is always room for improvement. There is always room for modernization.
Would my hon. colleague agree that we are starting from a foundation of a system that is basically fair and just and has served us well for many years?