Preston Manning

[Health Care, April 4th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I asked the minister to reduce the confusion caused, not to add to it.

Last month the Prime Minister spoke in favourable terms about bringing Canada's health care spending more in line with that of European countries. The Prime Minister must realize however that almost all of those European countries to which he refers have a private health care backup to the public system which is how they get more bang for their health care buck.

Does the health care minister support the Prime Minister's recommendation that Canada's health care funding should become more like that of Europe? Does she have a concrete plan for bringing that reform about?

[Health Care, April 4th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, there seems to be growing confusion throughout the country concerning the federal government's intentions with respect to health care funding.

The health minister and the Prime Minister have both hinted that funding could be reduced by up to $16 billion or 2 per cent of GDP and that Canadians in future will not receive the same degree of coverage that they have in the past. At the same time, the government has also suggested that health care funding should be simply frozen or flat lined.

My question is for the health minister. What precisely is the government's agenda for reforming health care, in particular reforming the scope of health care services and health care financing?

[Peacekeeping, March 30th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, we simply asked the minister what he was doing to bolster the position of our people in Croatia and Bosnia. That is hardly undermining their position.

All Canadians share a concern that a withdrawal of peacekeepers from Croatia and Bosnia without adequate replacement could result in wholesale tragedy for innocent victims. If that is our priority concern, should the government not have been doing a great deal more to mobilize world opinion against atrocities being committed there, particularly to mobilize European support for peacekeeping?

What is the government doing to mobilize world opinion against atrocities in former Yugoslavia and to pressure our

European allies in whose backyard this is occurring to play a bigger role in the peacekeeping and humanitarian mission there?

[Peacekeeping, March 30th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the minister said one of his criterion was not wanting to let the UN down. Surely a more important criterion is not wanting to let Canadian peacekeepers down.

Our peacekeepers are not adequately equipped to do the job. They are not getting the leadership they deserve from the minister and the government, and morale is at an all time low. There have been six suicides in six months in the royal 22nd regiment, the same regiment that will be returning later this month.

What concrete steps is the minister taking to remedy the morale problems and the equipment deficiencies being experienced by our peacekeepers in Croatia and Bosnia?

[Peacekeeping, March 30th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to peacekeeping in Croatia and Bosnia, it has been the Reform Party's position that the government should develop clear criteria to determine whether Canada should involve itself in such situations, how long we should stay and when we should get out. Last December we proposed four minimal conditions for continuing our presence in Bosnia, only one of which has been met, which is why we counsel withdrawal.

Will the Minister of National Defence outline the minimal conditions which he feels must be met in order to justify keeping our peacekeepers in Croatia and Bosnia?

[National Defence, March 29th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the minister's refusal to answer the question undermines confidence in the inquiry.

Yesterday the minister also stated that the Judge Advocate General helped him to draft the terms of reference of the Somali inquiry.

As the minister knows, the Judge Advocate General works with, and some would say for, the chief of defence staff and the deputy minister of defence. In effect the Judge Advocate General is part of the same military hierarchy that the inquiry is to investigate.

How big a hand has the national defence hierarchy had in drafting the terms of reference of the Somali inquiry? How can Canadians be assured that this involvement has not already prejudiced the inquiry?

[National Defence, March 29th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the minister just said that this name was brought to his attention.

My question is, who brought this potential commissioner's name to the your attention?

[National Defence, March 29th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, Anne-Marie Doyle may be gone from the Somalia inquiry but a serious unanswered question remains about how she ended up on the panel in the first place.

The Minister of National Defence has told the House that he personally named Ms. Doyle to the panel after reviewing the résumés of potential commissioners. Therefore, he should have no trouble in answering my question.

Who put Anne-Marie Doyle's name on the minister's list of potential commissioners?

[National Defence, March 28th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, we are simply doing our job. The minister would do a better service to the House by answering the question.

Surely the minister will acknowledge that any appearance of partiality or connection with the people the Somalia inquiry is investigating undermines the whole purpose of the inquiry.

Could the minister categorically state that Bob Fowler, the former deputy minister of defence, had nothing to do with framing the terms of reference of the inquiry and played no role whatsoever in proposing the name of Anne-Marie Doyle as a possible panel member?

[National Defence, March 28th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians will be wondering whether this was just a bungle for which an apology is sufficient or whether there is something more to it and whether it was planned.

The Minister of National Defence announced his intention to hold an inquiry in November. Bob Fowler did not leave his post as deputy minister until January. Before he left did Mr. Fowler play any role in the drafting of the terms of reference of the inquiry? Did he recommend any names of commissioners to the government?