Debates of Nov. 4th, 2003

Jean Chrétien Saint-Maurice, QC

Mr. Speaker, today at this time the Alliance will vote for me.

Stephen Harper Leader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, I wish the Prime Minister would have been so non-committal about being Prime Minister 10 years ago. It might have saved us all a lot of trouble.

Finally, the time has come for the new Liberal leader to pay back the Prime Minister. The new Liberal leader said he would review all the government decisions, even the bills that are part of the Prime Minister's legacy.

Which bills would the Prime Minister like to see passed by both Houses before he leaves for the United Nations?

Jean Chrétien Prime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I do not want to live in New York. I want to live in Ottawa and in Shawinigan.

As for the bills before the House, obviously, if there is adjournment or prorogation, when Parliament resumes, according to tradition, the bills will be put back on the orders of the day. I am confident that the bills that have been introduced and voted on in the House by the party that I am currently leading will be finalized by the same party when the time comes to—

Jean Chrétien Prime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I thank the leader of the Progressive Conservatives for acknowledging this 10th anniversary. I could simply remind him that ten years ago, when we had to cancel this contract, the government had a $42 billion deficit that represented 6.2% of Canada's GDP. The Progressive Conservatives had forced us into bankruptcy, and we had no choice but to make that decision.

Now there is a selection process to find a new helicopter. There is a competition, and several companies are submitting tenders. The best contract—

Peter MacKay Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS

Mr. Speaker, disingenuous until the end.

The EH-101 cancellation fee is $500 million. Sea King maintenance is $600 million. The cost in splitting the procurement is $400 million. The total cost of the Liberal program is over $8.6 billion. The Conservative government's replacement cost was $4.3 billion, exactly half, plus the 43 helicopters on delivery.

After 10 years of Liberal mismanagement and a loss of eight lives, will the Prime Minister, before he takes his 40 year retirement, rectify his biggest mistake in his time in Ottawa and replace the 40 year old Sea Kings?

Jean Chrétien Prime Minister

Mr. Speaker, imagine all the money that we saved in not having to pay the interest on the amount of money that we would have been obliged to pay at that time. If the interest is calculated, it is close to $5 billion for 10 years of interest with the level of interest that existed at the time when we took over which was 11.5% every year for the interest alone on that airplane.

I think we made a very good decision. We will replace the helicopter in due course.

Gilles Duceppe Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Finance said he had no need to account for his vacations, where he spent them and with whom, provided he paid the bill himself. Last winter, he enjoyed a family sailing holiday on a boat chartered by the Brewers Association of Canada.

My question is a very simple one: Did the Minister of Finance pay for his time on the brewery association's sailboat? We are not asking whether he paid for his airline tickets, but whether he has reimbursed the cost of his stay on the boat?

John Manley Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, I pay my own way.

Gilles Duceppe Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment has indicated that he paid for a stay at the Irving family lodge, and that the cost was $1,500. I would imagine, therefore, that a week aboard a boat in the Caribbean would be pretty pricey.

I would like to know whether the minister can tell us how much he paid to stay on the manufacturing association's boat and whether he declared this to the ethics counsellor as the other ministers did?

Jean Chrétien Prime Minister

Mr. Speaker, here we go again. The minister has just risen in this House to say that he paid what he was supposed to pay under the circumstances.

This is one more attempt to sully someone's reputation. There is a tradition in this House that, when a minister or member rises and makes a statement, he is taken at his word. Here there is no presumption of guilt, people are presumed innocent.

There is a constant attempt to sully people's reputation, and that is why voters do not want to support parties as negative as the Bloc Quebecois.

Yvan Loubier Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC

Mr. Speaker, when one holds an office like that of the minister, it is important to know how much the minister spent to vacation in the Caribbean for nearly one week on a sailboat chartered by the Brewers Association of Canada.

We want to know how much it cost him and we want him to produce receipts for this vacation in the Caribbean on a sailboat, a luxury sailboat chartered by the Brewers Association of Canada.