That number has now gone up. The number of refugees trying to escape communism moved up in the early nineties to over 140,000. Because of the impetus of a Conservative government of Canada, we have a strong and vibrant Vietnamese community here in Canada. Now, that's ministerial accountability. That's ministerial action. That's coming to parliamentary committees and seeking parliamentary approval for important actions that change generations, lives and Canada for the better, which, after all, is why we are here.
I had a chat with Judy Sgro at that particular event. Here's what the Library of Parliament writes about 2004:
...the then Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Judy Sgro, was accused of giving temporary residence and work permits to people who had volunteered on the Minister's re-election campaign. The Ethics Commissioner was asked to investigate the alleged conflict of interest. The Commissioner concluded that the main burden of responsibility for placing the Minister in a conflict of interest lay with the Minister's chief of staff, who continued to work on departmental matters during the election. The Commissioner said that this did not absolve the Minister of responsibility....
There's that term again: “ministerial responsibility”. To have ministerial responsibility, you have to show up. You have to show up to work. You have to show up.
Jack Layton once famously said, I believe it was of Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, in a debate, that Canadians pay you to show up to work and it would be nice if you decided to do so once in a while. It appears Michael Ignatieff's approach to Parliament and disdain for Parliament has now become that of the Minister of Finance.