House of Commons Hansard #107 of the 36th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was devco.

Topics

Canada Information OfficeOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

Bloc

Ghislain Lebel Bloc Chambly, QC

Mr. Speaker, when the Minister of Public Works and Government Services wanders around Quebec, it costs the taxpayers big bucks. For instance, Michèle Tremblay has been receiving $53,500 annually from the department for the past three years to provide communication services.

In addition, Ms. Tremblay's firm receives contracts from the Canada Information Office, the CIO, to organize tours, including drafting speeches.

Will the Minister of Public Works and Government Services explain why he is paying Michèle Tremblay twice for the same services?

Canada Information OfficeOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel Québec

Liberal

Alfonso Gagliano LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services

Mr. Speaker, first, I wish to point out to the member that I have a number of responsibilities: Canada Post Corporation, CMHC, the CIO and the Department of Public Works and Government Services.

Second, all contracts complied with treasury board regulations and were put out to tender.

Canada Information OfficeOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Bloc

Ghislain Lebel Bloc Chambly, QC

Mr. Speaker, will the minister, who is also the chief organizer for the Liberal Party of Canada in Quebec, tell us whether the reasons he paid Michèle Tremblay twice for the same work had to do with his officials' inability to prepare his tours, or was it because the CIO is supposed to pay for strictly partisan communications?

Canada Information OfficeOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel Québec

Liberal

Alfonso Gagliano LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services

No, Mr. Speaker.

I have already explained that the ministerial tour of Quebec is strictly governmental. We meet with municipal representatives, chambers of commerce and community groups for the purpose of discussing Government of Canada programs. While there, we listen to them, so that our programs will reflect public needs.

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

June 5th, 2000 / 2:40 p.m.

Reform

Jay Hill Reform Prince George—Peace River, BC

Mr. Speaker, on November 3, the member for Calgary—Nose Hill asked the HRDC minister about mismanagement of the transitional jobs fund. The minister said:

In terms of the projects...they were managed appropriately. They went through the acceptable review process.

Yet today the minister admitted that she knew about the problems when she was briefed on August 9. Perhaps she did not know about the specific audit, but she clearly knew about the so-called hot issues and yet she kept that information from the House.

In light of the breach of trust with Canadians, will the minister do the honourable thing and resign?

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh.

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

The Speaker

Order, please. I ask the hon. member to please withdraw the words breach of trust.

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Reform

Jay Hill Reform Prince George—Peace River, BC

I will, Mr. Speaker.

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Brant Ontario

Liberal

Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development

Mr. Speaker, let us remember what the internal audit was all about. It was not about money. We have shown that the money is clearly invested in programs right across the country, even in the hon. member's riding. What it was about was missing paperwork, important paperwork.

We made it clear to the Canadian public that we had an issue there. We have made it clear to the Canadian public that we have a strategy to fix the problem. If the hon. member would spend more time talking about the results of the work to date, he would be able to say to the Canadian public we believe the government has this thing in hand, because indeed we do.

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Reform

Jay Hill Reform Prince George—Peace River, BC

Mr. Speaker, the audit was about the government's mishandling and mismanagement of tax dollars. Not only was the minister aware of the hot issues in August. She disregarded it and continued to write cheques for a further $425 million without changing a single procedure.

A responsible minister would have suspended the program until it was accountable, not this minister. She just kept right on trying to buy the votes of Canadians. In light of the fact that the HRDC minister continued to write cheques, will she now do the honourable thing and resign?

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Brant Ontario

Liberal

Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development

Mr. Speaker, now we get to the heart of the problem, the problem we have always known to be the truth, that that party does not believe the government has any business working with Canadians from coast to coast to coast to help them with their problems.

Again we see that party wants nothing but tax cuts, but on this side of the House we are prepared to defend, to support and to ensure that we have the administrative structure in place to be sure that we can help Canadians with disabilities, help young people who are having difficulty finding work and Canadians who want to improve their literacy skills. That is what we believe in.

Canada Information OfficeOral Question Period

2:40 p.m.

Bloc

Stéphane Bergeron Bloc Verchères, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Works and chief organizer of the Liberal Party of Canada in Quebec not only awarded two parallel contracts to Michèle Tremblay to organize his tours to Quebec, but he also awarded a third contract for the same visits, this time to the firm Communications et Stratégie, whose boss, Serge Paquette, is a former candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada.

Could the minister explain to taxpayers how he can pay friends of the Liberal Party three times to organize his visits to Quebec?

Canada Information OfficeOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel Québec

Liberal

Alfonso Gagliano LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services

Mr. Speaker, as I said, it is clear that Bloc Quebecois members are getting nervous about our ministerial tours.

I want to share with the House what I read in L'information du Nord of November 20, 1999:

Municipal authorities, officials from the chamber of commerce and the economic development centre, representatives of the senior citizens group, all enjoyed this meeting of about one hour with Mrs. Robillard, who is on a provincial tour. Several future projects for Sainte-Agathe were discussed. The minister was informed about our situation, while we learned more about available programs.

The comments of the mayor of Sainte-Agathe—

Canada Information OfficeOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. member for Ottawa Centre.

InfrastructureOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Liberal

Mac Harb Liberal Ottawa Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the President of the Treasury Board.

In the Speech from the Throne, the government indicated its intention to invest in infrastructure. Would the minister consider supporting local initiatives, such as convention centres or local bridges, as part of this infrastructure initiative?

InfrastructureOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Westmount—Ville-Marie Québec

Liberal

Lucienne Robillard LiberalPresident of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for Infrastructure

Mr. Speaker, in the near future we will negotiate formally with the provinces on the new infrastructure program for municipalities. It is with the clear support of the Canadian Federation of Municipalities that priority will be given to green infrastructure, but other kinds of projects will be accepted too.

The program will be designed with a bottom up approach so that the needs of the local communities will be answered.

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Reform

Val Meredith Reform South Surrey—White Rock—Langley, BC

Mr. Speaker, the minister maintains that she knew nothing about the internal audit until November 17. We now know that her own ministerial staff knew four weeks earlier. That means one of two things: Either the minister has no idea what is happening in her office, or her staff is keeping her out of the loop. Either way, there is only one thing that the minister can admit to and that is that it is time for her to resign.

There is only one thing that Canadians want: A minister who not only knows what is going on in her department but who is in control of what is going on in her department.

How is it possible that a minister with a multibillion dollar budget can be so unconcerned about what happens in her department? Will the minister do the right thing and resign today?

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Brant Ontario

Liberal

Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development

Mr. Speaker, did I show I was unconcerned by making the internal audit public? Did I show I was unconcerned by bringing 10,000 pages of documentation to the House to demonstrate where the grants and contributions went and where that money that is so important to us is invested?

Did I show I was unconcerned by asking my department to review 17,000 files to prove that a billion dollars was not missing but that it was a question of paperwork and to show that we can indeed create a new system of administration to support these grants and contributions? I think not.

DevcoOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

NDP

Peter Mancini NDP Sydney—Victoria, NS

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources said that the government would review the Devco arbitrator's decision carefully so that the government understood its implications.

Will the minister indicate today that the government accepts the binding nature of the decision, that the government will not be appealing the decision and that the government will implement the decision as quickly as possible?

DevcoOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Wascana Saskatchewan

Liberal

Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board

Mr. Speaker, I said all that on Friday.

DevcoOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

NDP

Michelle Dockrill NDP Bras D'Or, NS

Mr. Speaker, after 18 months of uncertainty and suffering, Cape Breton miners have finally had this minister and the government acknowledge that their human resource package was inadequate.

Will the minister tell the House today whether or not the money related to the arbitrator's decision is new money or will it come from money already allocated for Cape Breton?

DevcoOral Question Period

2:45 p.m.

Wascana Saskatchewan

Liberal

Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board

Mr. Speaker, we are in the process of precisely determining the financial implications of the arbitrator's decision. I am pleased that process has come to a successful conclusion. To the extent that arbitration award requires incremental funding from the Government of Canada, the Government of Canada will provide it.

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Peter MacKay Progressive Conservative Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS

Mr. Speaker, the minister is obviously trying very hard to distract and deflect. We are not talking about simple briefings. We are not talking about the mismanagement of millions of dollars. We are not talking about the entire audit.

I want to ask the minister a very straightforward question, a question that has been asked before. Is she telling Canadians that she had no knowledge, none, of the problems in her department prior to the date of November 17 which she stated in the House?

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Brant Ontario

Liberal

Jane Stewart LiberalMinister of Human Resources Development

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the question of the internal audit, that comprehensive review of all the programs in my department, I was briefed on November 17.

Human Resources DevelopmentOral Question Period

2:50 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

Peter MacKay Progressive Conservative Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS

Mr. Speaker, I hope Canadians are watching this spectacle because she has refused to answer a straightforward question. She professes to have respect for the Canadian people, but it is only after an access to information request and she is dragged kicking and screaming to the altar of truth that she comes up with an answer.