Gilles Duceppe

[Public Works and Government Services, October 25th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the ridiculous thing is to say that there was nothing wrong with attending the cocktail party, but if he had to do it again, he would not. We are trying to understand but it is difficult. There is something else I would like to know. The Minister of Natural Resources said that public servants should testify in order to clear up the matter. Yet, ministers repeatedly continue to claim responsibility for their departments.

Therefore, I will ask the minister the question. Will he appear before the committee himself to answer questions?

[Public Works and Government Services, October 25th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, while being interviewed by the media a few days ago, the Minister of Natural Resources made some contradictory statements. He repeated that he had done nothing wrong by attending his party's famous fundraising cocktail party in Bourassa, which was also attended by a number of contractors who were awarded Parliament Hill renovation contracts.

If it was all right to attend, why did the Minister of Natural Resources state, in the same interview, that if he had to do it again, he would not attend? It is rather confusing, to say the least. What should we make of it? Can he explain these contradictory statements?

[Public Works and Government Services, October 20th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, what is ridiculous is deciding what is right and wrong based on the size of the donation. Following this cocktail party, Mr. Forbes' company qualified to be on a shortlist of prequalified bidders from which the Department of Public Works will choose over the next five years when it needs work done.

Will the Minister of Natural Resources admit that a donation to his party can be an excellent investment for a contractor? This is the seventh example from the same cocktail party.

[Public Works and Government Services, October 20th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, every day brings new information about how the Department of Public Works manages contracts. The latest news is that Cameron Forbes, a contractor from Markham, Ontario, made a $500 donation at the cocktail fundraiser in Bourassa that the Minister of Public Works attended. Mr. Forbes heads a firm that specializes in repairing copper roofs and has won several contracts from the Department of Public Works.

Can the Minister of Natural Resources, who was the minister of public works, tell us what the connection is between a contractor from Markham, Ontario, and the riding of Bourassa in Montreal?

[Public Works and Government Services, October 19th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, we recently learned that a certain Jacques Canac-Marquis, who took over managing the contract to renovate the Parliament buildings after the original contractor, Mr. Sauvé, went bankrupt, was also at the cocktail fundraiser attended by the then minister of public works.

Does the minister realize that this is starting to look eerily like a scheme to get political funding in exchange for government contracts?

[Public Works and Government Services, October 19th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, let us go over the facts concerning the awarding of contracts by the Department of Public Works. A contractor, Mr. Sauvé, won a $9 million contract to renovate the Parliament buildings. A few months later, Mr. Sauvé held a cocktail fundraiser for the Conservative Party. The party's Quebec lieutenant, who was also the minister of public works at the time, attended this cocktail party.

Does the Minister of Natural Resources, who was the minister of public works, think it was appropriate to attend a cocktail fundraiser for his party organized by a contractor to whom his department had just awarded a $9 million contract?

[Foreign Affairs, October 18th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the Canadian government's track record is hardly a glowing one when it comes to adhering to United Nations priorities. The government has opposed all United Nations initiatives in relation to the environment, aboriginal rights and fighting poverty, to name but a few.

Will the Prime Minister admit that he has only himself to blame for Canada’s stinging defeat at the United Nations?

[Foreign Affairs, October 18th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, a few days after Canada’s stinging defeat at the UN, the Prime Minister had the gall to say that his government would stick to its principles and that getting a seat at the United Nations was not a popularity contest.

Does the Prime Minister realize not only that his government has learned nothing from this defeat at the UN, but also that he is stubbornly agreeing to policies that are contrary to a number of United Nations policies?

[Government Contracts, October 7th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, he is neither a member nor an organizer, but he is a big party backer.

In other disturbing developments, the contractor who won the $9 million contract to renovate the Parliament buildings, Mr. Sauvé, held a cocktail fundraiser that was attended by not only the Minister of Natural Resources, but a number of other people who worked on the renovation.

Does the Conservative government not feel that this is starting to look like a system where contracts are handed out in exchange for partisan financing?

[Government Contracts, October 7th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government told us that Mr. Varin was no longer a member of the Conservative Party and was not a lobbyist. Yet Mr. Varin did lobby the government, most notably for the contract to renovate the Parliament buildings, and he twice contributed to the party's coffers, in 2007 and 2009. Mr. Varin was even photographed in 2008 with Conservative senators and Mr. Bourgon, the former Conservative candidate in Repentigny.

Will the government finally admit that Mr. Varin is an unregistered lobbyist and a non-card-carrying member of the Conservative Party?