Preston Manning

[Foreign Affairs, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, Canada also has a longstanding reputation as a peaceful country and our participation in military action against Serbian military positions should not mean that we cease diplomatic and political efforts to find a solution.

Is the Prime Minister or the foreign affairs minister participating in any new political and diplomatic efforts to bring about a peaceful end to the crisis in Kosovo?

[Foreign Affairs, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the stated objective of the NATO air strikes is to damage Serbia's capacity to make war, including making war against innocent civilians in Kosovo.

Will the defence minister inform the House how long he expects these NATO strikes to continue and at what point the mission will have been considered to be a military success?

[Foreign Affairs, March 25th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday marked the first time that Canada was directly involved in a major bombing attack since the Korean conflict.

Canadian pilots flew in the first wave of NATO air strikes against Serbian military positions in Yugoslavia.

Will the government give us an update on what was achieved yesterday, including a comment on the safety of Canadian personnel involved?

[Foreign Affairs, March 24th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the disintegration of the Yugoslav federation has been characterized by bloody military conflict in Slovenia in 1990 and Croatia in 1991, in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995, and now in Kosovo.

Will the Prime Minister tell us what action is being taken on the political and democratic diplomatic fronts to halt this disintegration and what role he sees for Canada in that process?

[Foreign Affairs, March 24th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, by all accounts the Serbs may well offer serious military resistance to the NATO strike. Unfortunately, this military campaign could turn into a long one. Canada's defence budget, as we all know in this House, is already seriously strained.

Can the Prime Minister pledge today that any Canadian personnel sent into that conflict will be properly equipped and supported throughout? Will he also agree to fully brief and consult with parliament before any new commitments are considered?

[Foreign Affairs, March 24th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, NATO air strikes in Yugoslavia have begun. We understand that Canadian CF-18s will be involved. On behalf of the official opposition, and I am sure all members, we want to offer our support to our brave men and women who will be in danger.

So far Canadians have been provided with very little information on the role that our CF-18s will be playing. I wonder if the Prime Minister would tell Canadians what specific functions our CF-18s will be playing in the NATO air campaign.

[Division No. 359, March 23rd, 1999]

Mr. Chairman, perhaps members of the House would also like to understand what is in the tentative agreement because it affects what we are doing tonight.

If the President of the Treasury Board cannot present the agreement or table the agreement in the House, could he at least explain the substantive points in it that make it different from the current collective agreement or the one that would be perpetuated if the legislation were passed?

[Division No. 359, March 23rd, 1999]

Mr. Chairman, when this evening began there was no tentative agreement. Now there is a tentative agreement which substantially changes the whole nature of the discussion.

I want to ask the President of the Treasury Board a simple question. Is it his intention to table in the House tonight the tentative agreement which we are now discussing?

[Building Contracts, March 22nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, we are not talking about jobs. We are not talking about local communities. We are not talking about the Prime Minister associating with his imaginary homeless friends. We are talking about his association with crooked business people, a convicted criminal and an embezzler, both receiving government grants.

Why would the Prime Minister have dealings with these people in the first place? Why does he not disclose the nature of these dealings and clear the air?

[Building Contracts, March 22nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, this is not about jobs. A convicted criminal named Yvon Duhaime received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the government after he bought a money-losing hotel from the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister's assistant personally intervened in the process.

Pierre Thibault, another businessman with a crooked track record, also met with the Prime Minister and soon he gets hundreds of thousands of dollars in public grants.

Why does the Prime Minister not tell us about his private dealings with these people? Why will he not release all of his notes and records on these transactions?