House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 57% of the vote.
Afghanistan February 11th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the member is misinformed. I never said that it was the government's decision to make. This is clearly an operational decision. As I said again this weekend, if a decision were to be made about resuming the transfer of detainees or increasing the number of detainees transferred by military personnel, it would be a decision, an announcement or an operational call made by senior officers and leaders on the ground in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan February 4th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, that was a good question from the member for Burlington.
It seems perfectly logical that members opposite who have been calling for a more open, transparent and substantive debate on the subject of Afghanistan would welcome the opportunity to have their former deputy prime minister appear before a committee. Although some members of that committee referred to the panel as elitist, it seems logical that they would want to have a realistic and substantive debate rather than suggest that the committee should just gloss over these issues.
We welcome, and in fact invite, the leader of the Liberal Party to unleash his members and let them vote for this debate to take place.
Canadian Forces February 4th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I think the member opposite would have to agree that one would be hard pressed in the last 25 years to find a federal government that has been more supportive of Canadian troops.
With respect to her serious question, rigorous post-examinations are done upon return from deployment. Rigorous examinations are available to officers and members when they return. We do follow-up every three to six months. Upon their return, there are personnel available for operational stress related illnesses.
We will continue to do everything to support and protect our troops.
Canadian Forces February 4th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, this is a very serious question and I thank the hon. member for the notice she gave.
In fact, we have already moved very quickly to implement some of the recommendations of the Auditor General's report. We thank her for that important work. We continue to work with her office to see that the necessary psychological support will be available to officers and to all members of the Canadian Forces.
We recognize that this is a serious matter. We have now a large number of returning veterans. This is something our country will have to come to grips with very quickly. We are taking steps to double the number of spaces and treatment that is going to be available to those veterans.
Afghanistan February 4th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, given the mandate of the Afghan human rights commission, it has a certain mandate that involves the visits to Afghan prisons. We have, as a result of the flawed arrangement that was in place, improved upon the ability for Canadians and others to see what is happening inside those prisons.
I would think the member opposite would applaud the efforts of the government to improve upon the failings of her own.
Afghanistan February 4th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, we work very closely with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, as we do with the Red Cross. We continue to have regular contact with them on the subject of Taliban prisoners and other matters as we try to improve capacity, as my colleague from foreign affairs has said.
What is interesting is the ongoing fixation on the health and well-being of the Taliban. There are very few questions coming from the other side about our Canadian soldiers in action.
Afghanistan February 1st, 2008
Mr. Speaker, it is indeed unfortunate that we may miss this opportunity to have an impartial review, of an impartial independent panel quite frankly, on what is and I think has been appropriately characterized as perhaps the most important issue that we in this Parliament will ever deal with.
This process of working through a committee would allow for a more indepth study of an important substantive issue, that is the future of the mission in Afghanistan, looking at the detailed and laudatory report that was put in place by Mr. Manley and members of that panel.
I implore members of the opposition to reconsider this view and allow the committee to do this work.
Afghanistan February 1st, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I know the member opposite has a different view of sovereignty than I do but we are not going to tell the government of Afghanistan who it can put in place as its officials. We will, however, as we have always done, raise our concerns at the highest levels, which is what I did in November.
I spoke to the governor and I told him of our concerns. I said that there had to be action, that there had to be an investigation and that there had to be changes. I said the same thing, within 24 hours, to the President of Afghanistan and my counterpart, General Wardak, and that will continue.
We have regular contact with not only our own officials, but we raise concerns regularly with members of the Afghanistan government.
Afghanistan February 1st, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I should not have to remind the member opposite that it was the Government of Canada and the Minister of Foreign Affairs who revealed here on the floor of the House the fact that we had uncovered a credible allegation of mistreatment. That happened and that is undeniable.
Let us retrace what has been going on here. We put in place a new agreement. It leads to the ability to discover any improper treatment. That works. We discovered that. We suspended transfers. We revealed on the floor of the House of Commons what happened. We have done everything in line with our commitments to protect individuals and to support the Canadian Forces.
Afghanistan February 1st, 2008
Mr. Speaker, we always support our international agreements. We support the courts. We support the Geneva Convention. That is exactly the reputation that Canadians have always enjoyed.
However, what we will not do is follow the advice of the members of the opposition, the members opposite, who want certain operational details disclosed. They want information that might be of use to the Taliban, operational matters.
As General Hillier has said and as other Canadians working in the field know full well, operating in an area the size of Ottawa with a set group of individuals, certain information can help the Taliban. We will not do that.