House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 44% of the vote.
Government Appointments May 31st, 2017
Mr. Speaker, Ms. Meilleur admitted that she attended inappropriate meetings with Gerald Butts and Katie Telford, the Prime Minister's chief advisers, outside the official appointment process. Yesterday, the NDP proposed conducting a committee investigation into the appointment process, and the Liberals completely shut down the meeting.
My question is this: will the Liberals block an investigation into the process for appointing the Commissioner of Official Languages, yes or no?
Infrastructure May 30th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I have a quick question for the minister. He just told us that the municipalities and the provinces want his bill, which is essentially a steamroller. The infrastructure bank is going to steamroll over the municipalities and the provinces.
Does he have the nerve to tell us, today, that the province of Quebec agreed to this encroachment by the infrastructure bank on Quebec’s jurisdiction, yes or no?
Infrastructure May 30th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, the only suggestions the Liberals are open to are Liberal suggestions, even if they make no sense. I got it.
When it comes to the infrastructure bank, the Liberals are no longer even pretending they are open to improving or changing it. This is a multi-billion dollar boondoggle made by corporations for corporations.
In terms of the Liberal decision to not make any changes, did that directive also come from BlackRock?
Government Accountability May 30th, 2017
It is the wrong card, Mr. Speaker. We are not on the middle class; we are talking about the parliamentary budget officer.
In fact, the Liberals are so close to listening to reason that they passed a Liberal amendment that would do the exact opposite of what they thought it did. Get this, Mr. Speaker, you are going to like this one. The Liberals claimed that they removed “explicit limitations” on the PBO's disclosure of information, but what they actually did was remove exceptions to the limitation, thus, in fact, creating even greater restrictions on the PBO.
Therefore, either the Liberals do not understand their own bill or they are intentionally misleading Canadians. Which is it?
Government Accountability May 30th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, Madeleine Meilleur is being appointed because she is a Liberal, period.
The Leader of the Government in the House of Commons said, and I quote, “Our government welcomes suggestions on ways to improve the bill, and we are open to amendments to ensure we accomplish the objective of an effective and independent parliamentary budget officer.”
Is the leader able to rise today and explain how this statement can be true after the Liberals refused and rejected each opposition amendment to make the parliamentary budget officer truly independent?
Government Appointments May 18th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, it is not about Madeleine Meilleur's integrity or her experience; it is about a fake consultation process.
The Prime Minister has just chosen a Liberal minister to be the official languages commissioner. Ms. Meilleur wanted to be a senator, but the Prime Minister made it clear that he preferred her to be commissioner.
We learned today that Gerald Butts, the Prime Minister's principal secretary, had contacted Ms. Meilleur previously.
What right do Gerald Butts and Katie Telford have to interfere in this so-called non-partisan appointment process?
Government Appointments May 18th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have lost all credibility on independent appointments by choosing a Liberal minister as commissioner.
If the Liberal government had chosen, say, a former Conservative, it would have shown it was serious about accountability and moving beyond partisanship. However, that is not what it did.
Could the Liberal House leader, in charge of defending Liberal ethical scandals, please explain in what official capacity Gerry Butts communicated with Madeleine Meilleur before she was nominated?
Ethics May 18th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, the reason the Liberal House leader is forced to stand and defend the Prime Minister day after day is that there is no minister for ethics on the government side. That is why we have an Ethics Commissioner.
The independence of the Ethics Commissioner is of paramount importance, no matter the political party.
What would the Liberals have said if Stephen Harper, as prime minister, had named Paul Calandra to choose the ethics commissioner during the Senate scandal?
Ethics May 18th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal House leader rises every day to defend her own boss's ethical scandals.
How can she possibly have the credibility to choose the next Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner when this person will most likely continue investigating her boss?
If the Prime Minister felt the need to recuse himself from choosing the next commissioner, why does the Liberal House leader not feel the need to do the same?
Government Appointments May 17th, 2017
Cash for access, accepting private gifts, using private aircraft, co-writing legislation with corporations, appointing a member of a firm immediately after blocking an investigation into that firm—the list goes on, Mr. Speaker.
With all these conflicts of interest, it is more important than ever that we have an independent Ethics Commissioner. The Liberal government House leader stands every day to defend her boss's ethical scandals. How can she have any credibility to choose the next person to investigate her boss? Will she recuse herself?