House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 61% of the vote.
Political Financing March 1st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives can try to spin this as “administrivia” all they like, but the truth is they are being prosecuted on charges for illegal and unlawful election cheating. The Conservative senators are facing potential jail time. Conservatives are facing charges, not allegations.
The Prime Minister fired the member for Simcoe—Grey based on allegations. Why will he not take responsibility here and why will he not clean up his party when it comes to election financing laws?
International Co-operation February 28th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, it is always a question of passing the buck and debating responsibility. That is what the Prime Minister is all about.
We have the case of a minister misleading the House, but for the Prime Minister, evading the truth and doctoring a document is a job well done. How about that? I do not think anybody is buying the government's feeble excuses.
Where is the accountability? Where is the leadership? When is the Prime Minister going to take some responsibility for the mistakes that are being made and replace the minister and restore KAIROS' funding?
Political Financing February 28th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, this in and out business is the epitome of the Conservative Party's hypocrisy when it comes to the whole issue of accountability, open government and broken promises.
It is time for the Prime Minister to take some responsibility. He cannot pretend to be tough on crime when he has his own minions out there wilfully breaking the very laws that are the underpinning of our democracy, which speak about fairness in election campaigns. It is another example of why so many Canadians think that Ottawa is broken.
When is the Prime Minister going to show some leadership and tell the senators who are fundraisers to get out of the Senate and get out of--
Political Financing February 28th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have been caught red-handed. The in and out scandal is a perfect example of one of the government's broken promises: the promise to do things differently and to put an end to partisan scandals in which money is slipped questionably from hand to hand.
The Prime Minister should do some housecleaning and he should begin by removing all the bagmen from the Senate. When will this major cleanup be done?
International Co-operation February 17th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the fact that one of his ministers misled the House and arranged for a document to be forged is bad enough. However, it is a pattern of abuse. It is a pattern that shows we cannot trust the government. We cannot trust it on prorogation. We cannot trust it on access to information or on media access. On its own election law, we cannot trust it, for heaven's sakes. We cannot trust it on the census because it does not want real information. We cannot trust the Prime Minister with democracy.
It is not too late. Do the right thing and fire the minister.
International Co-operation February 17th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the government is becoming a little too confident in its spin, because that was not an answer to the question. We still do not know why the funds were cut.
The Prime Minister really needs to take a look at this. The fact is his minister did not tell the truth. She forged a document and the Prime Minister says that is okay.
What kind of a civics lesson is that for our young people, that one can go ahead and forge documents? What a travesty that is when it comes to our responsibilities as parliamentarians. We are here to say that this is not the sort of leadership for which Canadians are looking.
It is not too late. Will the government finally take some responsibility?
International Co-operation February 17th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister supports the Minister of International Cooperation; we know that. We know that he supports her decision to cut funding to KAIROS, an organization that is respected around the world for its work. His refusal to fire the minister shows that, for him, forging documents is okay, inventing excuses is okay and blaming others is also okay.
However, we still do not know why funding to KAIROS was cut. Why did they do it?
International Co-operation February 16th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the denial of funding has nothing to do with merit or effectiveness as evaluated by the bureaucracy. It has everything to do with politics, politics right out of the Prime Minister's playbook; politics that say it is fine to play partisan games with no accountability, to forge documents, to make things up, to come up with arbitrary political decisions, and then let them cover up afterwards and, even worse, let them mislead Parliament. That does not matter; that is fine according to the politics of the Prime Minister.
When will he take some responsibility and restore the funding for KAIROS? That is the bottom line.
International Co-operation February 16th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Cooperation no longer deserves her position. Everyone is in agreement about that. She made the wrong decision by cutting funding to KAIROS. She did so against the advice of government experts. She did so by forging a document. And she did so by using the bureaucracy as a cover-up. She does not deserve to be a minister.
Where is the Prime Minister's leadership?
International Co-operation February 16th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, in the KAIROS affair, the question is no longer about a discredited minister. The question now has to do with the Prime Minister.
Yesterday in this House the Prime Minister condoned forging documents and condoned misleading this House. How can Canadians trust a Prime Minister who would have such contempt for this place? He tries to claim that the minister has the right to make decisions, but there is no right to forge documents. There is no right to mislead the House.
What kind of leadership is that?