Madam Speaker, my question to the Minister of Transport was a result of a proposal I sent to the minister on October 7.
In that proposal I pointed out that Bill C-22 does not protect Canadians as the minister would have everyone believe. What it does do is strip all Canadians of the right of due process by pronouncing a group of Canadians guilty until proven innocent and then proceeds to remove their right to prove their own innocence.
In his response to my question the minister suggests I want this to go to court to protect my friends. I point out to the minister as I did in my proposal to him that of the group of companies that make up the Pearson Development Corporation only 18.5 per cent have close known ties to the former Tory government.
In actual fact there are far more Liberals than Tories involved in the deal and I have never heard him accuse me of being in this to help the Liberals.
My interest in this matter goes far beyond the subject of the Pearson contract. It goes to a matter of basic justice. If the government can cancel any contract without regard for due process, no one is safe.
The Pearson Development Corporation had a contract with the government. The minister quotes me as stating that I see nothing wrong with the deal. Frankly, I have not found anything wrong. If there is something wrong with the deal, I do not know what it is.
Interestingly enough, according to a secret government document supplied to Robert Nixon, the government also thinks that it is a good deal. Quoting from that secret document, airline rents are in line with other airports undertaking major capital investments. Crown return is considerably better than the crown construction option. The Pearson Development Corporation return on investment is endorsed as a reasonable rate of return by both the Department of Finance and an independent financial consultant.
The parliamentary secretary to the minister stated on October 17 that the government was waiting to get the national airport's program all set up so that it could go ahead and start spending the $740 million that the Pearson investors were going to spend.
Maybe he should consult with the Minister of Finance to find out where their cash strapped government is going to get another three-quarters of a billion dollars. He should also read his own government's secret document that says that this is not a good idea.
If the government chooses to cancel it, that is its prerogative. However, when a contract is cancelled there are rules to govern this. The government chose to ignore those rules.
To put this in an analogy of a ball game, imagine a game, top of the ninth. Canadian taxpayers are ahead four-nothing against the government. The government says it is pulling the ump and putting in a person of its own. It extends the game until it
announces it is over, changes the rules so it can get ahead and then announces that the game is finished.
The Minister of Transport has tried this group of Canadian investors on the basis of accusation alone. He has been the judge, jury and financial executioner. If there is any evidence of illegal activity then and only then are the contractors the ones who have broken the rules.
So far the government has not brought forth any such evidence. A judicial inquiry would help clear the air and assure that justice is done. That was my proposal to the minister.
My question was will the minister agree that the Pearson problem is not going to go away and that the proposal I sent him is the only fair and logical way to bring this matter to a just conclusion. The minister did not answer that question. Therefore I ask it again and I await a response.