CANADA House of Commons Debates VOLUME 137 Ï NUMBER 112 Ï 1st SESSION Ï 37th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Thursday, November 8, 2001 Speaker: The Honourable Peter Milliken CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) All parliamentary publications are available on the ``Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire´´ at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca 7129 HOUSE OF COMMONS Thursday, November 8, 2001 The House met at 10 a.m. The committee studied the bill and reports the bill back to the House without amendment. Prayers SCRUTINY OF REGULATIONS Mr. Gurmant Grewal (Surrey Central, Canadian Alliance): Mr. Speaker, as co-chair, I have the honour to present, in both ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS official languages, the third report of the Standing Joint Committee on Scrutiny of Regulations. Ï (1000) [Translation] NATIONAL DEFENCE AND VETERANS AFFAIRS CANADIAN GOVERNMENT Mr. Stockwell Day (Leader of the Opposition, Canadian Alliance) moved that the second report of the Standing Committee Hon. Lucienne Robillard (President of the Treasury Board on National Defence and Veterans Affairs, presented on Tuesday, and Minister responsible for Infrastructure, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, June 12, be concurred in. in order to provide parliamentarians and Canadians with information on the government's performance, I have the honour to table, in both He said: Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to the concurrence motion on official languages, reports on the performance of 84 departments and the second report of the Standing Committee on National Defence agencies. and Veterans Affairs on the subject of defence procurement. *** We are all preparing to head back to our constituencies tomorrow for Remembrance Day and it is an occasion on which we all look Ï (1005) back upon the heroism and the sacrifice of our serving troops in the CANADA CUSTOMS AND REVENUE AGENCY first and second world wars and certainly those who have served in Hon. Martin Cauchon (Minister of National Revenue and subsequent campaigns, Korea, the gulf war and others. Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec), Lib.): Mr. Speaker, pursuant to The report, which was tabled last June by the standing committee, Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official states in no uncertain terms that the Canadian forces of today need languages, the first annual report of the Canada Customs and enhanced resources. They need those resources if they are able to Revenue Agency for the year ending March 31, 2001. play the kind of role in the current war against terrorism or potential future conflicts that our forefathers played in World War I and World *** War II and in subsequent campaigns, Korea and others. [English] Just yesterday the committee tabled another report in the context GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO PETITIONS of the prebudget consultations again calling for a large new infusion for our Canadian forces. While the new report contains many useful Mr. Geoff Regan (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of suggestions, unfortunately it leaves the specifics out of the the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, recommendations. The Canadian Alliance felt that it had to table a pursuant to Standing Order 36(8) I have the honour to table, in both minority report in order to put the specifics on the table. official languages, the government's response to five petitions. The official opposition believes that the Canadian armed forces *** need at least $2 billion per year to be added to their base budget in COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE addition to the operational costs of the current naval campaign in support of the coalition in Afghanistan. Troop strength must be TRANSPORT AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS brought to at least 75,000 personnel from the current level of 56,000. Mr. Ovid Jackson (BruceGreyOwen Sound, Lib.): Mr. Our CF-18s must be retrofitted with new anti-missile and Speaker, I have the honour to present the fifth report of the Standing communication systems and provided with an inflight refuelling Committee on Transport and Government Operations with order of capacity so they can be used effectively in air campaigns like the reference of today's date, Thursday, November 8, on C-38, an act to current mission in Afghanistan and other missions in the future amend the Air Canada Public Participation Act. which may well face us as we move into this uncertain century. 7130 COMMONS DEBATES November 8, 2001 Routine Proceedings We need dedicated airlift and sealift capacity so we can get our war has been witnessed before in Canadian history. Canadian ground forces and their equipment into theatre without having to rely military history is simply proof of Santayana's dictum that those who on commercial transportation or the goodwill of our allies. will not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. We all remember only too vividly the sight of much of our We honour the heroism and the sacrifice of those who died in equipment floundering at sea some time ago because of a lease World War I and World War II and in other engagements, but how arrangement that was not apparently able to be met by the often do we pause to consider that many of those men died or were government. That is not a sight that we want to see ever again permanently disabled in part because of the politicians of the 1910s either for our equipment or, even more important, for our personnel. and 1930s, who had left our forces in a state of unpreparedness even We need a special forces unit that is larger than the current JTF2 as the signs were there that there was an imminent military threat? which has only approximately 250 personnel. Let me make it very clear that whether I am talking about the JTF2 or our armed forces in In world history there will always be a threat to peace. There will general, we believe the serving people in our armed forces are the always, in the global village, be those bullies who want to abuse the most dedicated and courageous in the world. neighbourhood by the exercise of their force and there must always be, in the global village, including in Canada, those forces who are My remarks on the government's lack of willingness to properly ready and prepared to stand firmly against those who would abuse fund our troops and personnel is no reflection on the personnel the freedoms and peace of others. It is when we back off from that themselves. We stand with them, we admire them and we support preparedness that we send a sign, and in a way send a signal of them, which is why I stand here to deliver this message today. That encouragement, to those who would try to use the powers of force brave force, the JTF2, which has about 250 personnel, has to be and tyranny to abuse others. divided between domestic security and foreign missions. There is always a threat to peace and democracy. I will quote from We note that when the government faced difficulties involving the a remarkable article that was written by Cliff Chadderton, the CEO Canadian airborne regiment, our existing 1,000 person strong special of the War Amps of Canada. He is chairman of the National Council forces component, instead of doing things it felt must be done in of Veterans Associations. Mr. Chadderton, with the Royal Winnipeg terms of reforming that regiment, the government, in a fit of political Rifles, fought on D-Day and his experience and those of his correctness, chose to abolish that regiment. Our allies could use a comrades who never returned should stand as a warning to those in regiment like the airborne at this time, but when they came asking the House who look to the armed forces as a source of easy spending for our support our cupboard was bare when it came to a regiment of cuts during peace time and to those who begrudge our military the that size. modern equipment it needs and has requested. As we prepare to honour the service of those who fought and died in the past, I invite the House to consider that there is no greater way Mr. Chadderton wrote: of honouring past veterans than by providing our troops of today It is remarkable that the First World War, which affected the development of our with the resources and equipment they need as they follow in the nation fundamentally, had no long term influence on this country's defence policy. In footsteps of those who went on before them. the First World War, 628,000 Canadians served and 60,000 lost their lives. Canada intervened on a large scale on European battlefields, and our troops were recognized Ï (1010) as being the most formidable on the Western Front. Notwithstanding, when the emergency was over the country reduced the armed forces to a level of I have spoken in the House before in great detail about the defence insignificance. Lack of funds restricted training and prevented the acquisition of readiness policies of the Canadian Alliance. Our defence critic, the new equipment. In fact, the losses and the horror of 1914-1918, despite the member for Lakeland, has done excellent work in this area both in achievements of our military, led to disarmament. the House and in committee, so I will not repeat the details of the policies we have discussed in our paper Canada Strong and Free, Mr. Chadderton states, then, that there was a practical disarma- and elsewhere, in order to reflect a bit more on the service of those ment following that war.