Gallant Confirms Rejection of Government Appointee

[Jim_Steed]

For Immediate Release                                                                                                              June 16, 2005

Gallant Confirms Rejection of Government Appointee for

Military Ombudsman



Ottawa, Ontario... Cheryl Gallant, MP, Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke confirmed the decision of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs to reject Mr. Yves Cote as the preferred government appointee to be the new Canadian Forces (CF) Ombudsman.



â Å“When Mr. Cote appeared before the Committee, I was left with the sense that he was holding back, particularly when it came to his involvement in the Somalia Inquiry,â ? said MP Gallant.

  Mrs. Cheryl Gallant (Renfrewâ ”Nipissingâ ”Pembroke, Conservative):  The independence and impartiality of the ombudsman's office must be paramount for it to operate with the confidence of our soldiers. It's been suggested by a distinguished former Somalia inquiry commissioner that the decision to shut down the Somalia inquiry was motivated by politics rather than the need to get at the truth. You played a significant role in that inquiry. What has changed that will give confidence to soldiers, who look to the ombudsman for support, that in the face of a political request an investigation will not be handled like the Somalia inquiry and shut down before the truth comes out?

The controversial decision by the Liberal government to disband the Canadian Airborne Regiment in 1995 was, in the words of one observer, a â Å“hasty and ill-advised decision, fuelled largely by media hype and political direction...â ? The choice to disband the regiment was greeted â Å“with a mixture of disbelief, horror and anger,â ? by former members of this proud Regiment. Testimony from the Somalia Inquiry was used in part, by the government of the day to justify the disbanding of the Canadian Airborne Regiment.

Mr. Cote is currently employed in the Privy Council Office. The recent disclosure by the national media of a million dollar â Å“special unitâ ? in that office to handle negative fall-out from the Gomery Inquiry into Liberal Party fraud may be a reprise of this individual's past involvement in the Somali Inquiry. Individuals from the Privy Council Office have been identified in the past as being involved in partisan political activity by the former director of Research for the Liberal party, Mr. Murphy.

Mrs. Cheryl Gallant: Already since the previous ombudsman has left--whom I trusted and the soldiers trusted--there have been a number of situations come before me, and I have to have the confidence that I can trust you enough--

    Mr. Yves Côté: Me?

    Mrs. Cheryl Gallant: --right--to refer these soldiers to you. There has been this question hanging over the Somalia inquiry, and your ability, willingness, to answer this question will for me provide the answer as to whether or not I can make a reference to you if it becomes necessary.    My question is, what exactly was it that prompted the government to close down the Somalia inquiry? What was the truth that they didn't want the public to know?

                                                                         

For More Information Please Call Cheryl Gallant, M.P. at (613) 732-4404