Hansard
Consult the user guide
For assistance, please contact us
Consult the user guide
For assistance, please contact us
Add search criteria
Results: 1576 - 1590 of 1644
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 32(2), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, two copies of the 2002-03 annual report of the National Defence and Canadian Forces Ombudsman.
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
Madam Speaker, I rise on behalf of the member for Markham to present a petition signed by residents of Markham who call upon Parliament to focus its legislative support on adult stem cell research and to find the cures and therapies necessary to treat the illnesses and diseases of suffering Canadians.
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech by the member for Vancouver East, a member for whom I have considerable respect. I had the privilege of working with her on a special committee of the House on the non-medical use of drugs. Her commitment to many issues is well known. I certainly learned a lot from working with her.
By way of a comment I wish to correct the record. In her opening remarks she referred to the testimony of a former member of the House, the hon. Lloyd Axworthy, a distinguished former minister, and Dr. John Polanyi . She made the assertion that there were no Liberal members at that committee. Obviously the chair, the distinguished member for Nepean--Carleton, is a Liberal. I was at the committee when it was called to order and stayed for the duration. I was accompanied at the table at all times by at least two other colleagues. I am not even sure that we could have a quorum and call the committee to order if her assertion were true, but I am not an expert on parliamentary procedure.
I attended the committee this morning and enjoyed Mr. Axworthy's presentation immensely. It was nice to see him back in this building. At the time that I was at the committee I did not see the member for Vancouver East. I thought it was important to correct the record.
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
Mr. Speaker, like the member for Yukon, I find the interventions of the member for Lac-Saint-Louis interesting and reflective. I appreciate a lot of his comments.
I am wondering if he might offer some views on one issue which certainly is of concern to many of us in this caucus. It is the issue of the weaponization of space.
I was very happy that the minister in his comments reiterated the longstanding Canadian position that we do not support the weaponization of space. The minister indicated that was one of the three important reasons to engage in a discussion, so that we have a forum to advance that perspective and to support those in the United States who share our view that this would be unwise.
I am wondering if the member agrees that the longstanding Canadian position in opposition to the weaponization of space is worthy and should stand. How would he suggest the government could advance that in these discussions?
I had the chance to see Mr. Axworthy's presentation this morning. He was very eloquent on that very issue as well.
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke for her comments with respect to JTF2. I know she shares my view that this very elite unit of the Canadian Forces has done remarkable work, both in Canada and abroad. As members know, last summer I had the chance, along with the Minister of National Defence, to visit Afghanistan and to see firsthand the remarkable work our forces are doing.
In budget 2001, the Government of Canada invested more than $1.2 billion in the defence portfolio. In this budget we also called for an increase in the capacity of JTF2 to better respond to Canada's security needs, both at home and abroad. This was, in particular, to respond to the new terrorist threat.
As the member knows, the enhancement plan for JTF2 requires additional infrastructure at the current Dwyer Hill training centre in order to accommodate and train more personnel. The Dwyer Hill facility is a unique facility with a unique and sensitive mandate where JTF2 forces, as well as members of other police forces, conduct various training exercises.
At present, as the minister has indicated, there are no plans to relocate the facility as there continues to be, in the view of the department, a very significant operational advantage to be derived from the current location. Indeed, the department has identified two adjacent properties to the current centre that would be appropriate to support additional infrastructure requirements. One of these properties has been purchased and the department has expressed an interest in purchasing the second property.
The department is well aware that the plans to expand the facility at Dwyer Hill have caused concern among local residents. Indeed, the member for Nepean—Carleton, on a number of occasions, has made the government aware of the concerns of local residents. The department has taken those concerns seriously and a team of departmental officials, led by a senior officer of the forces, has been established to better the communications with local residents by listening to and responding to their very legitimate concerns.
However we do not share the member's opinion that a plan to relocate JTF2 at this point would be warranted or appropriate. We believe it is more important to work on the existing facility by improving the relations with the local residents, and we acknowledge that this will require some work.
For that reason, the minister has instructed his group of people to begin a consultation with the local residents. I can report that they are making good progress. However to say that there are plans at the current time to relocate this facility to Petawawa is simply not an accurate representation of what we believe the operational requirements of that facility to be.
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
Mr. Speaker, I want to make it very clear that in no way would the government or the Department of Defence seek to harass local residents, permit local residents to be harassed or in fact compromise the health or safety of local residents.
Mr. Speaker, you and I understand that the role of a local member of Parliament is to do what one can to help his or her constituency. The member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke has done a good job of making a case to relocate this facility to her constituency.
I am from Atlantic Canada. We hope very much that we can find reasons to have large federal infrastructure in our constituencies, but a case has to be made on the merits. The arguments to relocate a facility have to hold water. I hope that in this case there would be no indication of gross patronage or an attempt to relocate a facility from a current location, where it is doing a wonderful job, simply for crass partisan purposes. We on this side would certainly never support such an effort.
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
Mr. Speaker, today we honour Public Service of Canada employees who also serve our nation as members of the reserve forces.
Reservists train on evenings, weekends, and for periods of full time service usually during the summer. To facilitate this training the government is taking a leading role in reiterating its position on military leave regulations for reservists and setting an example that many civilian employers are following.
Following question period today, the Minister of National Defence and the President of the Treasury Board will mark Federal Reserve Force Day by signing a statement of support for flexible leave regulations and launch a year long awareness program.
Many of these same reservists are in Ottawa today. I would like to thank them on behalf of all Canadians for the outstanding contribution they make to Canada by dedicating a portion of their busy lives to serve in Canada's reserve forces.
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member from St. John's. His kind comments as he began his statement made me think that his long parliamentary experience, both in this House and in the Newfoundland House of Assembly where he served in many roles, gives him a great knowledge of fisheries issues.
In the two and a half years since I came to this place, I have had a chance to get to know the member for St. John's West on the fisheries committee and to appreciate his good nature and his sense of humour but also to appreciate his very considerable understanding of the Newfoundland fishery. I have learned a great deal from him from the discussions we have had at the committee and also from having heard the many witnesses that he and other members from Newfoundland and Labrador encouraged the committee to meet with in the lead-up to this very difficult decision.
But I also recognize a trap, with his knowledge of the issue and the complicated debate surrounding this question, in his inviting me to depart from some careful remarks that I have pondered and that were prepared by those who have a very considerable knowledge of this question. I will go some distance to accommodate him, but I will not respond entirely to the trap he set.
Like the minister and the member for St. John's West, I represent coastal communities. I am fortunate that not many of the fishers in my constituency are dependent on groundfish, on cod. That is not the case for the members from Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and other provinces. I have a deep understanding of the importance of the coastal fishery for these many communities, but I also understand, as I know the member does, that sometimes the minister has to make very difficult decisions in the name of conservation.
The minister's decision to completely close the northern cod fishery and the southern cod fishery in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is one of these very difficult decisions.
However, I know that it was made for the right reasons. The information we have on these stocks indicates that their condition has not improved. The scientific assessment presented to the minister paints a very bleak picture when it comes to the future of these stocks.
To compound the difficulty, the scientific information given to the minister indicated that high mortality and low production of juveniles is slowing the growth of the adult population. All three of these stocks are below the levels where harm is serious and it may be very hard to reduce this trend.
The latest scientific assessment was unprecedented in its nature and scope and that is reassuring. A very considerable effort was made to ensure that the scientific advice involved over 70 scientists from DFO, fisheries managers, participants from the fishing industry and experts from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Iceland. The data does not come from vessels from Canada alone.
When the minister made this difficult decision in the name of conservation, he also announced, with the minister of state for ACOA, who has done a remarkable job in ensuring that these coastal communities have some short term measures while the government prepares a longer term response, a $44 million investment to provide assistance to those affected.
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
Mr. Speaker, the member for St. John's West was at committee when the minister was there on the estimates. He was asked very precisely if he would revisit the decision and the minister gave a very clear answer at that time.
He said that he would only revisit the decision if he had subsequent information which indicated to him that the decision he took, with considerable difficulty and a great deal of consideration, was the wrong one. The minister said that he has not been convinced by what he has heard and that in spite of the difficulty this decision has caused it was based on sound information, a great deal of consideration having been given to options, and in the best interests of conservation.
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Renfrew--Nipissing--Pembroke for her interest not only in the men and women who serve at CFB Petawawa but also her genuine interest in JTF2. She has asked questions about JTF2 in the past. She is on the defence committee. She does have a genuine interest in the welfare of the men and women of our forces, particularly those who serve in that elite unit and for that I thank her.
The House will know that in budget 2001 the government increased by more than $1.2 billion the amount of money invested in the defence portfolio. The budget also demonstrated the government's strong commitment to address the challenges posed by the terrorist incidents of September 11.
The security measures funded in budget 2001 were aimed specifically at meeting the new terrorist threat. For example, new funds were dedicated to intelligence, biological and chemical protection, emergency preparedness and anti-terrorism. In that context budget 2001, as the member knows, also called for an increase in the capacity of JTF2 to better respond to Canada's new security needs both at home and abroad.
To successfully fulfill its role and mission, JTF2 is trained to very high and exacting physical and mental standards. These standards will never be compromised. The idea that somehow these standards were lowered as a means of recruiting people simply is not an accurate reflection of what has happened. As the hon. member knows full well having been on the defence committee longer than I have, revealing operational information around JTF2 and its training details in our view puts current and future missions of this unit in jeopardy and the safety of the members of this unit at jeopardy.
This is not an issue of accountability and democracy; to continue the fisheries analogies of before, that is a red herring. The member knows it would be irresponsible of the government to provide details of training practices, of training programs, of operation missions.
One thing I can tell the member is that JTF2 performs a remarkable role in protecting Canadians. I had the chance to go to Afghanistan, to Kandahar with the Minister of National Defence last summer. We heard from many of our allies serving there of the remarkable work that these dedicated professionals have done. Kandahar was not, as some people and the hon. member might believe, some kind of Hollywood training exercise. These professional soldiers had earned praise from all of the other allies with whom they had come into contact.
To say that there is a recruitment and retention problem in JTF2 is to misrepresent the challenge that all organizations, including national defence, have with respect to recruitment and training. However there has been enormous progress and very positive recruitment initiatives undertaken in the Canadian Forces. I can assure members that JTF2 will continue to do the remarkable work it has done in preserving and protecting the security of all Canadians.
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
Mr. Speaker, I hope there is no misunderstanding with respect to what the member refers to as a cloak of secrecy put over JTF2. The only reason the government does not talk about the operational missions, the deployments and the military persons serving in this regiment is for their own safety, the safety of their families and the safety of the unit.
To somehow pretend that because there is not a large public viewing of all JTF2's operations that somehow the physical or mental health or the needs of these remarkable soldiers or of their very understanding families are not met simply is a misrepresentation. At all times the Canadian Forces looks after its members. We recognize that people who serve in this unit have special needs and those needs will continue to be met regardless of people's attempts to uncover great secrets that simply are not there.
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the very distinguished member for Mississauga South.
I wish to speak briefly on the second part of the motion before the House, that regarding the close relationship between Canada and the United States. I do not think there is any doubt in the House that the United States is Canada's most important ally, because while geography has made us neighbours and trade certainly has made us important partners, a history over many years has made our two nations friends.
Much of our common history is based on our solid defence relations and our shared goal of international peace and security.
Defence relations between Canada and the United States go back to the beginning of the second world war.
In 1940, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister King signed the Ogdensburg agreement, which acknowledged the indivisible nature of North America's security and pledged mutual assistance in the event of hostilities. The Ogdensburg agreement led to the creation of the Permanent Joint Board on Defence, which is our highest level bilateral defence forum for discussing matters of North American security. Since its two chairmen report directly to the President of the United States and the Prime Minister, defence issues are discussed at the highest levels in both the military and diplomatic communities.
Our defence relations with the United States are based on over 80 treaties, more than 250 statements of understanding and some 145 bilateral forums in which defence issues are debated. Those documents are not mere pieces of paper. They are the basis for our cooperation.
As members know, the most visible aspect of the Canada-U.S. defence relationship is of course the binational North American aerospace defence agreement, NORAD. Since NORAD was created in 1958, we have been working side by side with the Americans to protect the skies over our continent. NORAD still is one of the most dynamic organizations we have. For example, over the past two years it has broadened its focus to respond to the changing threats to North America. In this regard, I can assure members that it will remain a fundamental pillar of Canada-U.S. defence co-operation.
There are numerous other less visible aspects of the defence relationship such as, for example, our co-operation in testing and evaluating new equipment or in the training of military personnel. In fact, we have access to many U.S. testing facilities that would otherwise be impossible for us to afford. Canadian personnel also train side by side with the American forces. This not only ensures that our two militaries can operate side by side when called upon to do so, but it increases our operational effectiveness.
Since September 11, Canada and the United States have been discussing various ways to strengthen and increase cooperation and military assistance in case of terrorist attacks in North America.
Just last December we announced the creation of a binational planning group. This group will conduct surveillance, share intelligence, provide our governments with attack warning and threat assessments, and validate plans for potential maritime, land and civil responses. This group is located within NORAD headquarters and is led by a Canadian, Lieutenant-General Ken Pennie. It is important that in addition to our bilateral defence relationship we will significantly enhance the ability of our countries to work together in case of emergency.
The close defence relationship between Canada and the United States does not express itself only at the institutional level. Our two countries also co-operate in the field. Canadian and American troops operated side by side in Afghanistan as part of the campaign against international terrorism. Just to give an example, the Canadian Forces provided security to U.S. troops in Kandahar and closely worked with American forces to destroy residual Taliban and al-Qaeda forces, and may I say that the Americans were very grateful for the quality of our contribution in Afghanistan. I had the privilege of going to Afghanistan with the Minister of National Defence last summer and heard firsthand from senior American officers in Kandahar about the remarkable work done by the Canadian Forces.
The Canadian navy is also the only navy in the world to be able to completely incorporate some of its ships into American maritime groups. Canada and the United States are thus able to carry out joint sea denial operations in the Persian Gulf. U.S. ships are currently part of a multinational naval force under Canadian command.
Lastly, Canadian pilots and surveillance officers are working closely with the Americans taking part in Operation Noble Eagle. That operation was launched following September 11 to protect the airspace over North America.
The second part of today's motion asks the House to reaffirm that the United States continues to be Canada's closest friend and ally. I have no hesitation in doing so. The links between our two countries in the fields of defence, in particular, and security are deep, they are strong, and they remain secure.
Canada and the United States have many international objectives in common, objectives such as international peace and stability, democracy, free trade and the rule of law, but as independent countries we sometimes disagree on how to achieve them. And we may well have disagreements in the future. I can assure members of the House that these disagreements will not compromise the very strong relationship our two countries have developed over decades.
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
Madam Speaker, I will answer the question very directly. No, it does not concern me at all because we have not been cut off from access to important intelligence from our allies. What does concern me is the continual push from members of the Alliance to have the Solicitor General and the government list groups or entities based on knee-jerk political reaction.
As the Solicitor General has indicated in the House many times, and I think very persuasively, the decision to list entities is based on a careful analysis of criminal intelligence information which we have access to, both Canadian criminal intelligence information and also that of the very effective and very robust relationship between our intelligence community and that of our allies. That process continues.
What I find disturbing is that some members think the listing of groups should be made based on headlines or on rather exaggerated political rhetoric. We base it on intelligence and we have access to the best intelligence in the world.
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
Madam Speaker, I think the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs is absolutely correct. The relationship between our two countries is based on decades of co-operation, certainly on economic co-operation, and co-operation in national defence. I have outlined some of the many important areas such as trade co-operation and co-operation in various international organizations and groups. The list is long.
She referred to training exercises that increase the interoperability of our forces, which is something that on this side of the House we are very proud of. I referred briefly to my visit to Afghanistan with the Minister of Defence a year and a half ago. We had a chance to meet with American military leaders. A general commanding the marine group in Kandahar was full of praise for the work our soldiers have done and thanked Canada for our continuing commitment to that operation.
View Dominic LeBlanc Profile
Lib. (NB)
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the 2003 Canada Winter Games Host Society and the more than 7,000 volunteers who successfully hosted the Canada Winter Games in Bathurst and Campbellton, New Brunswick.
Thanks to their dedication and effort more than 2,800 athletes representing all 13 provinces and territories were provided with optimal conditions to enable them to perform at their personal best.
Many of these athletes will go on to represent Canada on national teams, while others will continue in sport as coaches, officials or administrators.
I would like to congratulate Team Quebec for winning the Canada Games Flag and the Centennial Cup.
As well, I wish to congratulate the team from Prince Edward Island which won the Jack Pelech Award and the team from Nova Scotia which won the Claude Hardy Award.
I would like to pay tribute to the thousands of coaches, officials, event organizers and volunteers from northern New Brunswick who did a terrific job.
Results: 1576 - 1590 of 1644 | Page: 106 of 110

|<
<
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
>
>|
Export As: XML CSV RSS

For more data options, please see Open Data