Ujjal Dosanjh

[National Defence, September 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister on national television last night made the following statement. He said, “it's I think making them a better military, notwithstanding maybe, and in some ways because of, the casualties”. He was talking about the Canadian military.

Will the Prime Minister please explain to Canadians what he meant?

[National Defence, September 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in an interview the Prime Minister said that for much of the past 30 or 40 years Canadians were the ones hanging back from international commitments and not carrying our fair share of the load.

How dare the Prime Minister diminish the Canadian soldiers' contribution in Cyprus, in Haiti, in Rwanda, in Bosnia and in Kosovo.

Will the Prime Minister have the courage to apologize to all those veterans who have served Canada with distinction over the years?

[National Defence, June 22nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, this is not about the military. This is about the minister, who refuses to answer the questions about his lobbying past.

The fact is, I know that in the military generals do not have to answer questions. In this House, they have to answer to the Canadian people. Will the minister recuse himself or will he resign?

[National Defence, June 22nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, of the five upcoming purchase projects for the military, the Minister of National Defence has a potential or perceived conflict of interest in three of them. Of the $15 billion in purchases proposed, $8 billion will be directly tainted by the minister's lobbying past.

I have one question for the minister. Will the minister recuse himself or will the minister resign?

[National Defence, June 21st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, in Washington last week the Minister of Industry met secretly with the president of Boeing's defence division and with top representatives of Lockheed Martin, a potential bidder on the tactical airlift purchase.

By meeting with these companies secretly, the minister has opened up our country to legal challenges for years to come. Why was the Prime Minister blind to the fact that these meetings take away the integrity of what must be an open, transparent and competitive process?

[National Defence, June 13th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence knows what procurement was obtained during the 13 years. He is absolutely wrong. He should know the truth as a lobbyist.

Based on military advice, the previous government announced last November the acquisition of tactical airlift under a competitive process with maintenance to be done in Canada.

Why did the minister play politics by cancelling that decision?

[National Defence, June 13th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, there is a very serious shortage of tactical airlift for our troops in theatre. This is a concern recognized by the previous Liberal government and repeatedly expressed by the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier.

Would the Minister of National Defence listen to our troops and pursue the tactical airlift as his first priority for purchase?

[National Defence, June 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, considering the serious questions parliamentarians must ask concerning the purchase of the C-17, could the Minister of National Defence commit to announcing the airlift acquisition only when the House is sitting so we can ask those questions on behalf of all Canadians, including the 75,000 aerospace workers in Canada?

[National Defence, June 12th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the government has refused to engage in any debate in the House regarding the C-17 purchase. However, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, appearing before the defence committee, made it seem a fait accompli.

Would the Minister of National Defence inform the House and his colleague, the foreign minister who should be interested in the sovereignty of our country, whether it is true that these aircraft would be maintained and repaired by the Americans and would not be able to fly where the Americans would not want them to fly?

[National Defence, June 7th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, because the Prime Minister will not resolve this conflict between the military leadership and his Minister of National Defence, the ultimate losers would be the Canadian taxpayers as the government acquires a mixed fleet of aircraft.

Is the Prime Minister aware that his refusal to resolve this very important conflict will cost Canadian taxpayers $5 billion in life cycle costs because of the need to maintain two fleets when only one is needed?