Editing Art Eggleton (section)

==Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister==
[[File:Donald Rumsfeld meets with Art Eggleton.jpg|left|thumb|185x185px|Defence Minister Art Eggleton (left) and the Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Kergin (center) meets the Honorable Donald H. Rumsfeld (right), U.S. Secretary of Defense in 2001]]
Eggleton ran in the [[1993 Canadian federal election|1993 election]] in the suburban Toronto riding of [[York Centre (federal electoral district)|York Centre]], again as a Liberal, and won election. He was appointed to the position of [[President of the Treasury Board]] and [[Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada|Minister for Infrastructure]] in the new cabinet.

From January 1996 to June 1997, he served as [[Minister for International Trade (Canada)|Minister for International Trade]]. Eggleton retained his [[Legislative seat|seat]] in the [[1997 Canadian federal election|1997 election]], and was appointed [[Minister of National Defence (Canada)|Minister of National Defence]]. In 1999, Eggleton supported Canada's involvement in [[NATO]]'s campaign in Kosovo.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}

He was re-elected again in the [[2000 Canadian federal election|2000 election]], and continued as Minister of Defence, focusing on sweeping changes to the National Defence Act which implemented changes to the military justice system, including the set up of several oversight entities including the nation's first ever Military [[Ombudsman]] and a Military Police Complaints Commission.<ref name="ourcommons.ca">{{Cite web |title=Evidence - NDVA (36-1) - No. 106 - House of Commons of Canada |url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/36-1/NDVA/meeting-106/evidence |access-date=2023-01-27 |website=ourcommons.ca}}</ref> These entities would provide another level of conflict resolution for military members and civilian employees.<ref name="ourcommons.ca"/> He also improved [[compensation and benefits]] for Canadian Forces personnel and their families dedicating roughly $700 million in funding to provide housing and pay under the quality of life program.<ref name="ourcommons.ca"/> In November 1999, Eggleton established a new ministerial advisory board focused on gender integration and employment equity in the Canadian Armed Forces.<ref name="ourcommons.ca"/>

During his tenure, Canada continued to contribute to international peacekeeping ventures in the Balkans, the Central African Republic, and the Persian Gulf. Eggleton led Canadian participation in the NATO intervention in Kosovo pushing Serbian troops out of the region. Eggleton at the time defended Canadian participation in the NATO air campaign stating he was convinced it was the right thing to do, citing the effects of the Serb military assault, and the mass graves containing the bodies of ethnic Albanians.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=July 8, 1999 |title=Eggleton tours Kosovo |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/eggleton-tours-kosovo-1.189032 |access-date=January 26, 2023 |website=CBC}}</ref> Eggleton toured Canadian peacekeeping forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo and the Central African Republic.<ref name=":0" />

The [[Disaster Assistance Response Team|Canadian Forces Disaster Assistance Response Team]] (DART) was also deployed to Honduras for the first time to aid [[Hurricane Mitch]] relief efforts.<ref name="ourcommons.ca"/> In addition to peacekeeping, Eggleton continued Canadian participation within the United Nations, NORAD and NATO.<ref name="ourcommons.ca"/>

Eggleton pushed for increased procurement of equipment and the continued modernization of the Canadian Armed Forces during his time as Minister for National Defence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Evidence - FINA (37-1) - No. 49 - House of Commons of Canada |url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/37-1/FINA/meeting-49/evidence |access-date=2023-01-27 |website=ourcommons.ca}}</ref>

In January 2002, Chrétien and Eggleton were accused of misleading Parliament. Both Chrétien and Eggleton when asked in Question Period if Canadian troops had handed over captured Taliban and al-Qaeda members in Afghanistan to the American forces amid concerns about the treatment of POWs at [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo Bay]], replied that was in Chrétien's words only a "hypothetical question" and that the Canadians had taken no POWs.<ref name="CBC News">{{cite web
  | title = Eggleton confirms JTF2 has taken prisoners in Afghanistan
  | publisher = CBC News
  |date= January 30, 2002| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/eggleton-confirms-jtf2-has-taken-prisoners-in-afghanistan-1.313599
  | access-date = 2018-05-29}}</ref> Critics of the government such as [[Joe Clark]] then proceeded to point out that in the previous week, the Toronto newspaper the ''Globe & Mail'' had run on its frontpage a photo of Canadian soldiers turning over POWs to American troops.<ref name="CBC News" /> Eggleton maintained that he and the rest of the Cabinet had been kept unaware that the Canadian Forces were taking POWs in Afghanistan and turning them over to the Americans, claiming that he had only learned of the policy of handing over POWs several days after the photo had appeared in the ''Globe & Mail''.<ref name="CBC News" />

Eggleton stepped down from cabinet in May 2002, amid allegations of a breach of cabinet minister conflict guidelines by hiring a former girlfriend for a research contract and after ethics counsellor, Howard Wilson, concluded Eggleton breached conflict guidelines for cabinet ministers.<ref>{{cite web
  | title = Eggleton resigns amid allegations of conflict
  | publisher = CBC News
  |date= May 27, 2002| url = http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/eggleton-resigns-amid-allegations-of-conflict-1.303432
  | access-date = 2018-05-29}}</ref> Conservative Leader Joe Clark criticized Jean Chrétien's decision to move Eggleton to the backbenches, citing similar accusations towards another Liberal MP Don Boudria and their continued membership in Chrétien's cabinet. Stephen Harper also criticized Chrétien's decision stating "He's sending the message that he defends his friends, and he sticks by his own positions."<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 28, 2022 |title=Opposition renews calls for independent ethics counsellor |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/opposition-renews-calls-for-independent-ethics-counsellor-1.333967 |website=CBC}}</ref> This happened during the growing leadership turmoil between Prime Minister [[Jean Chrétien]] and [[Paul Martin]], who left the cabinet the following week in disputed circumstances.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/martin_paul/timeline.html CBC News Indepth: Paul Martin]. Retrieved 2017-12-21</ref> Increased scrutiny on Chrétien's government and cabinet may have contributed to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien pressuring him to resign.<ref>Martin, Lawrence ''Iron Man'', Toronto: Viking 2003 page 361.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/1169236|title=Jean Chrétien v Paul Martin: now it's really war|date=2002-06-06|newspaper=The Economist|issn=0013-0613|access-date=2016-10-11}}</ref>

Eggleton then became a member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade. On May 13, 2004, Eggleton announced he would not be a candidate in the [[2004 Canadian federal election|2004 federal election]], making way for the nomination of [[Ken Dryden]] as the Liberal candidate in York Centre.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/eggleton-will-not-seek-re-election/article20433262/|title=Eggleton will not seek re-election|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|access-date=2016-10-06}}</ref>