Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to participate in this extremely important debate. This bill concerns the cancellation of the deal signed by the Conservative government. But it also puts to the test the government's credibility and the integrity of the parliamentary process.
The point I would like to raise in the next few minutes concerns the compensation provided for by bill C-22. When I read this piece of legislation, I had serious doubts. You, and all the members in this House, will surely agree with me that when parliamentarians make legislation, they must respect certain principles to ensure that our legislation is clear, the wording as precise as possible, and the clauses consistent.
Clause 7, regarding compensation, reads as follows:
No action or other proceeding, including any action or proceeding in restitution, or for damages of any kind in tort or contract- may be instituted by anyone against Her Majesty, or against any minister or any servant or agent of Her Majesty-
In other words, clause 7 means that no compensation may be paid in connection with the Pearson deal.
But when reading clause 10, we find that:
10.(1) If the Minister considers it appropriate to do so, the Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into agreements on behalf of Her Majesty to provide for the payment of such amounts as the Minister considers appropriate in connection with the coming into force of this Act, subject to the terms and conditions that the Minister considers appropriate.
And further, still under clause 10:
(3) No agreement may be entered into under this section after one month after the coming into force of this Act.
When comparing those two sections, in my area, we would say that "there is something missing" because on the one hand, we have the impression that no action may be taken by anyone against the government in relation to any possible agreement or compensation while on the other hand, the minister may, with the blessing of Her Majesty, enter into an agreement, but only within one month after the coming into force of the bill.
After rereading those sections, I finally managed to find some cohesion. Basically, what the bill is suggesting to us in terms of compensation is that there is already a done deal. We now have to find a way to go ahead with the deal. We have to be careful not to fall into two or three traps. First, according to section 7, we must not give the impression of giving away compensation. Better still, we say to people: "Don't worry, you will not have to take us to court because we are going to forbid that. So, there's no problem, you see the minister-under section 10-and you make a deal with him which does not seem to be related to the transaction itself but which will basically allow you to achieve the same result".
The reason I say that in all likelihood the deal has already been made is because of the obligation to come to an agreement within one month after the coming into force of the bill. Therefore, there seems to be some urgency because the legislator, who does not usually speak for nothing, comes to the conclusion that all agreements must be entered into within one month. That is what I wanted to point out.
I will go on about this deal, which has obviously already been struck, although we know nothing about it. As was mentioned by some of my colleagues, including the hon. member for Brome-Missisquoi who just spoke and others who repeatedly said so this week, lobbyists belong to every party and feed at every trough, whether it be with this Liberal government or with the former Conservative government. They just turn coat, then go meet the minister and get the same results.
Everybody remembers the famous $1,000-a-plate dinner held during last election campaign. Charles Bronfman, unquestionably a francophile emeritus who, in 1976, the day after the election of the Parti Quebecois, had nothing better to say than he would move the Expos out of Quebec, attended this dinner party and was told by the Prime Minister that the agreement concluded for the privatization of Pearson airport would be cancelled.
During the election campaign, the Prime Minister took great pride in saying that Mr. Bronfman paid $1,000 to hear that his agreement was no good. The dinner must have lasted a little longer that this conversation, and Mr. Bronfman surely got guarantees for what was to follow.
Several people reached that conclusion, especially the chairman of the board of inquiry, Mr. Robert Nixon, who said in his report: "My review has left me with but one conclusion: To leave in place an inadequate contract, arrived at with such a flawed process and under the shadow of possible political manipulation, is unacceptable. I therefore recommend that it be cancelled".
Also, still with reference to the famous $1,000-a-plate dinner, I would like to quote the comment made by André Pratte, a journalist for La Presse , during the election campaign: ``If a $1,000 gift can help you drop a few words in the leader's or the potential prime minister's ear, what privileges do people who give $5,000 enjoy?''
And what does a business like Canadian Pacific, which gave $64,000 to each party last year, get? These questions have to be asked; and they have to be answered! There is an old saying, "A man is known by the company he keeps". We have to know the facts, we have to find out about these relations.
Therefore, it goes without saying that I support the Bloc Quebecois's amendment and the Reform Party's sub-amendment requesting a commission of inquiry. Mr. Speaker, it is one thing to come and legislate in this House, even if we support the purpose of the bill, which is to cancel this ridiculous contract, but we must also ensure that the government and politicians never again find themselves in such a situation.
And to ensure this, we have to know the facts. To find them out, since we have the report prepared by Mr. Nixon, who conducted an in camera inquiry but still came up with some serious conclusions, it is absolutely justified to appoint a commission of inquiry. I repeat that we must not permit this bill to end a process which, in my opinion, reveals some troubling facts.
We have to know the truth because those who elected us throughout Quebec and Canada want to know what this is all about. The credibility of the government and of all parliamentarians is at stake, and that is why we need a commission of inquiry.