Debates of April 14th, 2005
House of Commons Hansard #82 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was liberal.
Topics
- Points of Order
- Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Committees of the House
- Trade Compensation Act
- Telecommunications Act
- Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act
- Petitions
- Questions on the Order Paper
- Supply
- Science and Engineering
- Agriculture
- World Health Day
- Ms. Odette Ménard
- Aboriginal Affairs
- National Defence
- Vaisakhi
- Exports
- Skating
- Health Care
- National Defence
- Agriculture
- The Prime Minister
- Replacement Workers Bill
- Health Care
- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Ascot en Santé
- Sponsorship Program
- Government Contracts
- Sponsorship Program
- Health
- Liberal Party of Canada
- Sponsorship Program
- The Environment
- Sponsorship Program
- Official Languages
- Liberal Party of Canada
- Health
- Liberal Party of Canada
- Sponsorship Program
- Textile Industry
- Sponsorship Program
- Somalia
- Justice
- Business of the House
- Points of Order
- Privilege
- Supply
- Income Tax Act
- Supply
- Business of the House
- Supply
- Income Tax Act
- Committees of the House
Sponsorship Program
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Conservative
Peter Van Loan York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Works is fond of casting doubts on the evidence at the Gomery commission, calling it mere allegation.
An elementary lesson: it is not allegation, it is evidence. It is sworn evidence given under oath. The giving of false evidence is a serious offence. It is called perjury. To imply that those witnesses are perjuring themselves is to comment seriously not only on the evidence but in a very negative way.
Will the Prime Minister order his Minister of Public Works to stop accusing witnesses of perjury or to at the very least stop commenting on the evidence in a fashion that bullies Gomery--
Sponsorship Program
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Some hon. members
Oh, oh!
Sponsorship Program
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
The Speaker
Order, please. The hon. Minister of Public Works and Government Services has the floor to respond to this question.
Sponsorship Program
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Kings—Hants
Nova Scotia
Liberal
Scott Brison Minister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should talk to his colleague, the member for Calgary Southeast, who yesterday basically accused and in fact used the word perjure when he accused the Prime Minister of, in front of Gomery--
Sponsorship Program
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Some hon. members
Oh, oh!
Sponsorship Program
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Liberal
Scott Brison Kings—Hants, NS
The fact is that the Leader of the Conservative Party has accused witnesses of lying before Gomery. The deputy leader has accused some witnesses' testimony of being a sham. They do not have much caucus unity or they at least do not have very good question period coordination, because that hon. member is completely out to lunch and completely--
Sponsorship Program
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
The Speaker
The hon. member for York--Simcoe.
Sponsorship Program
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Conservative
Peter Van Loan York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Speaker, that minister of the Crown seems to think that he is able to comment without any restraint on the evidence at the commission and I think that is contrary to what he directs at everyone else.
We now know that Richard Boudreault, who was a Groupaction employee, was clandestinely paid to work for the Liberal Party. He was put on the payroll of another firm, which then billed Groupaction with bogus invoices for fictitious services.
This was obviously a very sophisticated, carefully structured, systematic operation to use the taxpayers' money to finance the Liberal Party. How many people were paid using sponsorship funds to work for the Liberal Party?
Sponsorship Program
Oral Question Period
2:55 p.m.
Kings—Hants
Nova Scotia
Liberal
Scott Brison Minister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, I will make an agreement with the hon. member. Members opposite will not comment on daily testimony and we will not comment on daily testimony. I think that we are keeping our part of that agreement, because we respect the independence of a judicial inquiry. We recognize the difference between allegations and facts. We trust Justice Gomery to do his work, as do Canadians.
Somalia
Oral Question Period
April 14th, 2005 / 2:55 p.m.
Liberal
Borys Wrzesnewskyj Etobicoke Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Over the last decade, warlordism in Somalia has created a country that is a tragic example of a failed state. The recent election of a transitional government and the parliament's confirmation of the president's appointment of a prime minister and cabinet have at last provided the Somali people much hope for peace and stability.
When will the minister state that he is prepared to formally acknowledge the transitional government and appoint a special envoy to help this country at this historically critical juncture?
Somalia
Oral Question Period
3 p.m.
Papineau
Québec
Liberal
Pierre Pettigrew Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Speaker, since 1991 Canada has taken a most proactive role in Somalia, contributing almost $50 million on the ground, primarily through CIDA.
We understand that a majority of Somalis and the bordering states recognize the transitional government as the legitimate voice of Somalia. In this context, we will continue to work with the transitional government and the bordering states to help establish peace and stability in Somalia. We will look at all options that could facilitate this transition.
Justice
Oral Question Period
3 p.m.
Conservative
Gord Brown Leeds—Grenville, ON
Mr. Speaker, after another knife killing in Kingston, Ontario, Deputy Police Chief Dan Murphy expressed concern about the growing number of people carrying knives to use as weapons. Statistics Canada says that from 1999 to 2003 guns killed 833 people while knives killed 787.
People who kill with knives face no minimum sentence. Will the justice minister tell us when his government is going to take knife crime seriously and impose mandatory minimum sentences?
Justice
Oral Question Period
3 p.m.
Mount Royal
Québec
Liberal
Irwin Cotler Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, we take all crime seriously, but when it comes to mandatory minimums, we are not going to go ahead and introduce something that all the evidence shows is neither effective nor a deterrent. We want to combat crime, but not with ineffective deterrents.
Justice
Oral Question Period
3 p.m.
Conservative
Gary Goodyear Cambridge, ON
Mr. Speaker, despite the bafflegab from that side of the House, criminals are considered more important and are put in front of the safety of our children. A convicted pedophile was recently transferred from the United States to my riding of Cambridge after the brutal raping of two young boys. The police were not even informed. This left a violent offender to prey again, and he did.
My constituents are bloody well fed up with the lip service from that side of the House. We demand to know why the police were not informed.
Justice
Oral Question Period
3 p.m.
Edmonton Centre
Alberta
Liberal
Anne McLellan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
In fact, Mr. Speaker, if it involves the Correctional Service of Canada, that information should have been provided to the local police. It is the local police that will make the decision as to whether that information is provided to the community. Since I am not aware of the specific situation, I will be happy to follow it up and get back to the hon. member.