From the House of Commons - May 2, 2000:

Mr. Bill Blaikie (Winnipeg-Transcona, NDP): Mr. Speaker, the 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war should be cause for reflection in many quarters. The Vietnam war was a war that is widely regarded as a foreign policy mistake on the part of the U.S.

Even former cold war warriors like Robert McNamara have said so. It was a tragedy that marked a generation by showing us that our allies are not always right and that all conflicts should be approached with a self-critical consciousness.

In such a spirit we remember politicians like former NDP leader Tommy Douglas who opposed the war when it was not yet popular to do so. We celebrate the openness of our country, Canada, to young Americans who refused to participate.

We also remind the current Vietnamese government that it repudiates and abuses the values and goodwill of those who opposed the war when it acts as it did last week by executing Nguyen Thi Hiep, a Canadian citizen who should have been given the benefit of the doubt. She certainly should not have been the victim of capital punishment, a form of punishment that leaves no room for reconsideration, further evidence or mercy.