By: Janice Dickson, iPolitics
Conservative Interim Leader Rona Ambrose alleged today that the Liberals are no longer briefing the media on Canada’s role in its anti-ISIS mission in Iraq.
Ambrose said Trudeau “is not being transparent with Canadians about our role in these combat operations. He called it a training mission, but we have learned through social media that our troops on the front lines and engaging the enemy. This is serious.”
In question period today, she accused the Liberals’ of changing the communications policy to eliminate technical briefings for media “for political reasons.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau replied by insisting his government remains open and transparent about the mission — “but we will not compromise their safety for a communications exercise here at home.”
While the Canadian Forces and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan continue to update the media on Canada’s mission in Iraq, media were told earlier this month that the Canadian Forces will no longer disclose details when Canadian troops come under fire from ISIS militants while advising and assisting Kurdish fighters on the front lines in Iraq.
But the government hasn’t stopped the briefings altogether, as Ambrose and other Conservative MPs claimed today. Sajjan took questions from reporters for nearly 40 minutes this week; the Canadian Forces updated reporters earlier this month on the ISIS mission and will update them again next month.
Conservative MP James Bezan called on Trudeau to apologize to the Canadian Forces for signalling he didn’t trust them to provide briefings. Sajjan’s parliamentary secretary John McKay assured Bezan that the CF is pursuing its Iraq mandate — to advise and assist — and their role has not gone beyond that.
Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus raised an additional issue related to recent media reports that CF soldiers have gone beyond the limits of advise-and-assist and are taking part in skirmishes against ISIS militants.
“We learned last month the mission changed … but this was hidden from Canadians,” he said. “There are rumours they are doing more than advising. When we were in power we were more transparent about what our soldiers were doing.”
Bezan, jumping in for a second time, pointed to Sajjan’s refusal Tuesday to rule out expanding the mission to Syria.
“Is the minister aware he has contradicted the prime minister?” he asked.
McKay said that the government will assess the needs of the coalition, but right now the mission is focused on Iraq. McKay did not answer an additional question from Paul-Hus about whether an extended mission in Syria would be put to a vote in Parliament.
Showing posts with label Conservatives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Conservatives. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2016
Monday, September 12, 2016
Liberals won’t amend cluster bomb treaty loophole
By: Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The Trudeau Liberals are facing criticism at home and abroad for not closing a controversial legal loophole that allows the Canadian Forces to operate alongside allies, such as the United States, which use cluster bombs.
The previous Conservative government faced widespread international condemnation because the law it used to ratify the United Nations treaty banning cluster bombs contained a controversial clause that allowed joint military operations with countries outside the treaty.
The Conservatives said Canada couldn't compromise its ability to conduct military missions with its key ally, the U.S. — which has not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) — but pledged never to use the weapons.
That sparked widespread criticism that Canada was undermining the legal basis of the treaty, including complaints from the normally neutral International Committee of the Red Cross.
In opposition, the Liberals along with the NDP pushed unsuccessfully for amendments to the bill that would categorically rule out any connection to the use of cluster bombs — tennis-ball sized submunitions that can lie dormant for decades and have maimed or killed civilians, often young children, in dozens of post-war countries.
After almost a year in power, the Liberal government has yet to change the law and faces the same criticism as the Conservatives.
While the Conservatives never worried about snubbing the UN treaty system, the stance could have implications for the Liberals, who are pursuing closer ties with the world body, including a temporary seat on the Security Council.
"Canada's implementing legislation meets our obligations under the CCM and we currently have no plans to amend it," Chantal Gagnon, a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion told The Canadian Press.
"Canada believes that our legislation, like the CCM, strikes an appropriate balance between humanitarian considerations and security interests in addressing the impact of cluster munitions."
Gagnon reiterated what the government told the annual international meeting of state parties to the treaty in Geneva last week.
Canada has a "special responsibility" to encourage countries that have not ratified the treaty to join it. "As such, we are demarching all states outside the convention with whom we operate militarily to remind them of our responsibilities as a CCM state party and to strongly call upon them to join the convention," she added.
But Canada was singled out at the Genva meeting by the international Cluster Munition Coalition for not doing enough.
"We also call on countries to strengthen weak implementation legislation. For example, Canada's new government should amend its 2014 statute in order to prohibit assistance with the use of cluster munitions in joint military operations," said Bonnie Docherty, of the New York-based Human Rights Watch, on behalf of the coalition.
Earl Turcotte, Canada's former chief negotiator for the treaty, said he is "surprised and disappointed" by the government's inaction.
Turcotte quit the federal government in protest five years ago over the then Conservative government's decision to include the controversial clause.
"I had expected far more from Mr. Trudeau's government," Turcotte said. "I will continue to advocate for amendments to avoid further loss of civilian life from these indiscriminate weapons."
The World Federalist Movement urged Dion last month to use the Geneva meeting to "initiate a process to review and repair" the cluster bomb law.
The same letter reminded Dion how MP Marc Garneau — now the Liberal transport minister — argued in opposition for amendments, once proclaiming: "You're either against cluster bombs or you're not."
In August 2015, the campaigning Liberal party told Mines Action Canada in a letter that the "ratification legislation for the treaty passed by the Conservative government did not adequately promote the stigmatization of the use of cluster bombs. Liberals believe that the legislation should have been more in line with both the spirit and the letter of the Convention on Cluster Munitions."
Paul Hannon, the executive director of Mines Action Canada, said it is "curious" the Liberals have not amended the "flawed legislation" given that Garneau and two Liberal senators "gave a very spirited, comprehensive and logical case for amending the legislation" during parliamentary hearings while in opposition.
Hannon said he realizes the first year of a new government can be busy, so his organization is being patient.
"But the government missed a significant opportunity" at the Geneva meeting, he said, to signal "a new approach."
OTTAWA — The Trudeau Liberals are facing criticism at home and abroad for not closing a controversial legal loophole that allows the Canadian Forces to operate alongside allies, such as the United States, which use cluster bombs.
The previous Conservative government faced widespread international condemnation because the law it used to ratify the United Nations treaty banning cluster bombs contained a controversial clause that allowed joint military operations with countries outside the treaty.
The Conservatives said Canada couldn't compromise its ability to conduct military missions with its key ally, the U.S. — which has not signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) — but pledged never to use the weapons.
That sparked widespread criticism that Canada was undermining the legal basis of the treaty, including complaints from the normally neutral International Committee of the Red Cross.
In opposition, the Liberals along with the NDP pushed unsuccessfully for amendments to the bill that would categorically rule out any connection to the use of cluster bombs — tennis-ball sized submunitions that can lie dormant for decades and have maimed or killed civilians, often young children, in dozens of post-war countries.
After almost a year in power, the Liberal government has yet to change the law and faces the same criticism as the Conservatives.
While the Conservatives never worried about snubbing the UN treaty system, the stance could have implications for the Liberals, who are pursuing closer ties with the world body, including a temporary seat on the Security Council.
"Canada's implementing legislation meets our obligations under the CCM and we currently have no plans to amend it," Chantal Gagnon, a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion told The Canadian Press.
"Canada believes that our legislation, like the CCM, strikes an appropriate balance between humanitarian considerations and security interests in addressing the impact of cluster munitions."
Gagnon reiterated what the government told the annual international meeting of state parties to the treaty in Geneva last week.
Canada has a "special responsibility" to encourage countries that have not ratified the treaty to join it. "As such, we are demarching all states outside the convention with whom we operate militarily to remind them of our responsibilities as a CCM state party and to strongly call upon them to join the convention," she added.
But Canada was singled out at the Genva meeting by the international Cluster Munition Coalition for not doing enough.
"We also call on countries to strengthen weak implementation legislation. For example, Canada's new government should amend its 2014 statute in order to prohibit assistance with the use of cluster munitions in joint military operations," said Bonnie Docherty, of the New York-based Human Rights Watch, on behalf of the coalition.
Earl Turcotte, Canada's former chief negotiator for the treaty, said he is "surprised and disappointed" by the government's inaction.
Turcotte quit the federal government in protest five years ago over the then Conservative government's decision to include the controversial clause.
"I had expected far more from Mr. Trudeau's government," Turcotte said. "I will continue to advocate for amendments to avoid further loss of civilian life from these indiscriminate weapons."
The World Federalist Movement urged Dion last month to use the Geneva meeting to "initiate a process to review and repair" the cluster bomb law.
The same letter reminded Dion how MP Marc Garneau — now the Liberal transport minister — argued in opposition for amendments, once proclaiming: "You're either against cluster bombs or you're not."
In August 2015, the campaigning Liberal party told Mines Action Canada in a letter that the "ratification legislation for the treaty passed by the Conservative government did not adequately promote the stigmatization of the use of cluster bombs. Liberals believe that the legislation should have been more in line with both the spirit and the letter of the Convention on Cluster Munitions."
Paul Hannon, the executive director of Mines Action Canada, said it is "curious" the Liberals have not amended the "flawed legislation" given that Garneau and two Liberal senators "gave a very spirited, comprehensive and logical case for amending the legislation" during parliamentary hearings while in opposition.
Hannon said he realizes the first year of a new government can be busy, so his organization is being patient.
"But the government missed a significant opportunity" at the Geneva meeting, he said, to signal "a new approach."
Monday, March 21, 2016
Tories urge Liberals to reconsider unsolicited icebreaker bid
Written by Murray Brewster, CTV-News
OTTAWA -- Conservative MP and former cabinet minister Steven Blaney says the Trudeau government was too hasty in dismissing a pair of unsolicited bids from the Davie Shipyard, which offered to pad out existing plans to rebuild the coast guard's icebreaker fleet.
The company, in Levis, Que., is located in Blaney's riding.
"It is irresponsible not to consider a competitive offer that would provide additional, much needed ships," he said.
He said he supports the national shipbuilding program conceived under the Conservative government, but there is nothing stopping the federal Liberals from adding ships to the plan outside of the existing framework.
Blaney says the rapidly aging fleet of federal civilian ships, particularly the heavy icebreaker Louis St. Laurent, needs replacements right away -- or at least faster than the existing plan can produce them.
"Let's be clear. We are expecting the shipyards to deliver the ships awarded under (the national shipbuilding plan) on time and on cost," Blaney told The Canadian Press. "But what are the needs of the navy and the coast guard? They have huge needs and if there is room for additional ships, well, this should be seriously looked into."
The shipbuilding program, announced five years ago, has yet to see any vessels constructed because the winning yards -- in Halifax and Vancouver -- have gone through hundreds of millions of dollars in modernization and planning.
Davie offered to rebuild -- or construct from scratch -- seven icebreakers and support ships at a cost between $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion, in a bid that officials said would not be answered.
"(Procurement Canada) does not comment on or respond to unsolicited proposals," said department spokeswoman Michele LaRose.
The Canadian Press outlined details of the bids last week, but the department did not issue a firm denial until late Friday, a hesitation that stoked uncertainty in both Nova Scotia and B.C., which are heavily invested in the success of the existing program. Premiers Stephen McNeil and Christie Clark condemned the Davie offers.
The Davie proposals were seen as a deliberate attempt to undermine Seaspan shipyards in Vancouver, which is gearing up to build many of the vessels offered in the unsolicited bids. The shipbuilding program establishes both Seaspan and Irving Shipbuilding Inc., in Halifax, as the go-to yards for federal work.
Blaney says both of those facilities, which he has visited, are at capacity and still years away from producing the planned ships.
He noted that the civilian shipbuilding program -- depending on class and size -- has ordered fewer vessels than needed for replacements.
Asked why the Conservatives didn't order more ships up front -- or move the process along faster -- Blaney said that the government was working within a tight fiscal envelope and did what it thought best.
OTTAWA -- Conservative MP and former cabinet minister Steven Blaney says the Trudeau government was too hasty in dismissing a pair of unsolicited bids from the Davie Shipyard, which offered to pad out existing plans to rebuild the coast guard's icebreaker fleet.
The company, in Levis, Que., is located in Blaney's riding.
"It is irresponsible not to consider a competitive offer that would provide additional, much needed ships," he said.
He said he supports the national shipbuilding program conceived under the Conservative government, but there is nothing stopping the federal Liberals from adding ships to the plan outside of the existing framework.
Blaney says the rapidly aging fleet of federal civilian ships, particularly the heavy icebreaker Louis St. Laurent, needs replacements right away -- or at least faster than the existing plan can produce them.
"Let's be clear. We are expecting the shipyards to deliver the ships awarded under (the national shipbuilding plan) on time and on cost," Blaney told The Canadian Press. "But what are the needs of the navy and the coast guard? They have huge needs and if there is room for additional ships, well, this should be seriously looked into."
The shipbuilding program, announced five years ago, has yet to see any vessels constructed because the winning yards -- in Halifax and Vancouver -- have gone through hundreds of millions of dollars in modernization and planning.
Davie offered to rebuild -- or construct from scratch -- seven icebreakers and support ships at a cost between $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion, in a bid that officials said would not be answered.
"(Procurement Canada) does not comment on or respond to unsolicited proposals," said department spokeswoman Michele LaRose.
The Canadian Press outlined details of the bids last week, but the department did not issue a firm denial until late Friday, a hesitation that stoked uncertainty in both Nova Scotia and B.C., which are heavily invested in the success of the existing program. Premiers Stephen McNeil and Christie Clark condemned the Davie offers.
The Davie proposals were seen as a deliberate attempt to undermine Seaspan shipyards in Vancouver, which is gearing up to build many of the vessels offered in the unsolicited bids. The shipbuilding program establishes both Seaspan and Irving Shipbuilding Inc., in Halifax, as the go-to yards for federal work.
Blaney says both of those facilities, which he has visited, are at capacity and still years away from producing the planned ships.
He noted that the civilian shipbuilding program -- depending on class and size -- has ordered fewer vessels than needed for replacements.
Asked why the Conservatives didn't order more ships up front -- or move the process along faster -- Blaney said that the government was working within a tight fiscal envelope and did what it thought best.
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