Madam Speaker, I was in Ottawa on September 11 and watched in disbelief, as did millions around the world on their television sets, as one and then a second airplane crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. Quite simply, the world gasped as these horrible acts of terrorism unfolded right before our very eyes.
There is no doubt that this brought terrorism home to our country. A peaceful fall day was shattered by the hard realities of the terrible human toll right in front of us on our televisions. Since then a great sense of insecurity and vulnerability has swept the continent on a level unimaginable just an hour before the skyscrapers crashed to the ground.
These acts also brought terrorism to Parliament Hill itself. Terrorism arrived at the door of this House to a Canadian population that shared in our neighbour's grief and now shares in our neighbour's war response.
It changed things forever. It brought terrorism into our daily vocabulary. It brought terrorism into our daily lives. It caused a tidal wave of disruption that reached into every corner of our economy, government, schools and communities. It shook our placid society to its core as our government fumbled as it responded to the threat.
While the effect on our economy was definitely traumatic in the short term, our citizenry's response was unbelievable, incredible. There were many isolated great efforts as some rose above the rest to help. We saw thousands of Canadians step forward to host and help stranded air travellers and others race to New York to offer their specialized services. Those unable to assist directly did so through their generous donations of money and blood.
These acts by the terrorists succeeded in sending a number of companies in Canada and abroad into receivership, but our determination and resolve will quickly put things back on track. I am confident that with our collective international will we will fight these terrorist pressures with a vigour reminiscent of the stubbornness of allies in World War II. The bill today, while incomplete, will help in the war on terrorism.
The terrorists are not the enemies of the past, the ones who opposed us under the Geneva convention set of rules. Those rules of war were established to protect the innocent, the unarmed, the unprotected. No, today's enemies are cowards that hide in caves, behind rocks and live under the protection of the freedoms we fought for in previous times. Cowards like that deserve no respect or mercy. They are as much a danger to us as they are to the people they purport to represent and the false legitimacy they cower behind.
We, with the help of our allies, will overcome these terrorists. We will bring them forward and bring justice upon those determined to undermine our civilized nation's efforts and successes. We will exact retribution from those who cowardly assassinated thousands of peaceful civilians who were simply going about their daily lives working for their families. If we do nothing, we invite similar attacks in the future. These cowards must realize that their actions are civilly and morally repugnant and will come at a great personal cost to them.
We congratulate the government for finally getting on with the job of national security. To date, the government's reaction to this critical issue can be best described as slow motion and delayed reaction.
Already the changes are evident on Parliament Hill. There are tighter security controls. There has been the introduction of vehicle inspections and checkpoints. There are more officers on duty today than there were for the first four hours after the strikes in the United States on September 11. I am pleased to see that there is now a heightened level of awareness and vigilance on the Hill, at our airports and in other public buildings. This is welcome and gives confidence and reassurance to those who work in and visit these buildings.
As a past member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, it is fair to say that I have a sense of the military mind and thinking. Our military is proud and ready to serve at any time. As they say in the navy, they are ready, aye ready. They are ready to contribute and assist under any emergency, whether it be ice, fire, flood and of course now the war. They wear their uniforms more proudly today than they have over the recent past. I invite all members of the House when meeting members of our armed forces in uniform to give them warmest greetings and show them that we care and that they are appreciated.
While they have been under the continual assault of cutbacks, slashback and neglect, their years of training and patience again regain importance under present global circumstances. On Wednesday we will see them off from our port of Halifax in new frigates. I have personally been aboard the HMCS Charlottetown and can attest to its first rate construction and the pride of its first rate crew: first rate ships for first rate sailors.
I want to allay fears that the aging Sea Kings are unsafe. The crews and pilots need these assurances after recent reports. The minister too has assured us that they will be flown safely under strict limitations. Missions will be limited and greatly downgraded and scaled back from the mission standards of new helicopters, but will still have some limited air transport capability. Some day soon I hope the government will finally order first rate helicopters for our navy's first rate frigates.
I am sure the government will be analyzing our current military state under an expedited timetable. I hope it will revisit tenders in progress to ensure our men and women in uniform will have the best equipment possible to do the job and do it safely.
We must learn the lessons from our experiences in the past. In World War II we traded the safety of our soldiers for the sake of expediency. We provided Sherman tanks that were under-armoured and under-gunned compared with those of the enemy. Many lost their lives because we traded quality for quantity and low price. We provided the best soldiers with the least effective tank. I hope and pray that the government will never ever follow that strategy of providing lesser capability equipment to our frontline military simply to save money.
This is the time to reassess and reconsider overly simplistic assessments of a reduced threat by the end of the cold war. Today the hot war has begun. It is a war that is fought in some of the most extremely high temperature climactic conditions. The Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, the Balkans and now the Arabian Sea are theatres that severely test the high temperature operating capabilities of a helicopter to perform missions, but perform it must.
While our Sea Kings can be safely operated on very limited missions, they are not designed for service in the extreme heat zones of the world. They cannot lift off from a stationary ship if fully equipped with gear and fuel in over 35 degrees Celsius weather. They have served us well in cooler climates but now need to be replaced with a craft designed for hot war theatres and modern needs. I strongly stress my desire to see the public works minister expedite the maritime helicopter project to replace the Sea King with the best unit available for the job and to leave politics out of the decision for the sake of our aircrews' lives. We need the best equipment in the world for the best men and women in the world. Considering what we are asking of them, it is the least that we can provide. Our soldiers depend on our government to provide them with the very best to go into conflict with. If their lives are on the line, we must give them the very equipment possible.
I would like to comment on the bill we are debating today and read a short extract that emphasizes the need for this bill and the need for the bill to go further. A communique from the Equality Party with the heading “Canada soft and squishy on its own terrorists” indicated that punishment meted out to bombers and languished terrorists is laughable. Mathieu, recently convicted of planting bombs outside the Second Cup restaurants in Montreal because the chain carried an English name, was charged and sentenced and he will be serving no more than one to two months in jail. This is his second offence for a terrorist bombing action.
The judge imposed the minimum sentence despite the fact that Mathieu had a prior record for FLQ terrorist bombing and was described by the judge himself as not yet rehabilitated and motivated. He was motivated: by hate and prejudice.
This underlines the reasoning behind the very real need for the bill today. I support the bill but I would also suggest that it does need vast improvements to strengthen it. However, it absolutely will be a tool in the fight against terrorism.
