Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Scratch my back and I will scratch yours. That is about the extent of what is currently happening between the Liberals and the Conservatives who once occupied these very same seats.
Along with my whip, I attended the committee meeting at which time the question of potential witnesses was discussed. When the Pearson Airport bill was debated on second reading, the Liberals opposite told us: "A royal commission of inquiry is unnecessary. You will have every opportunity to hear all the witnesses you want in committee".
When we got to committee stage, quite a squabble broke out. It was worse than selecting jurors for a trial. As soon as we mentioned the name of someone with ties, however remote, to the Liberal Party of Canada, our choice was rejected. At most, they agreed to let us hear from a few witnesses who were particularly well connected with the Conservatives. Even then, they could not provide us with a great deal of evidence. Therefore, when the members across the way claim that they agreed to all the witnesses we suggested, that is false.
Now they are saying that we will have the opportunity to discuss the deal next year when the Auditor General of Canada releases his report.
This calls to mind an infamous statement which the Prime Minister made during the Oka crisis. He said: "So let the Indians escape. We will catch them later". The Liberals appear to be using somewhat the same tactics in this case. They seem intent on playing the role of the blushing, innocent bride.
And yet, in this morning's Globe and Mail , not the Journal de Montréal , Terence Corcoran reports the following: ``Not a shred of evidence has been produced to demonstrate that the Pearson contracts are anything but honest, legal, sound and desirable agreements to redevelop the airport''. This is not me talking, or the separatist Journal de Montréal , but a Toronto newspaper.
This reporter also mentions that Torontonians are beginning to get fed up with the attitude of the Liberals. Furthermore, he states clearly that during the election campaign, the Liberals lied to the public. And they act like prima donnas. How sad, a contract that should not have been signed in the first place is going to be cancelled! Did they include a compensation clause when they cancelled the helicopter contract in Montreal? Did they include a little clause to make sure their friends were taken care of? No, there was none. These people are acting in bad faith.
I call the people of Canada to witness and I tell them this: "See, people of Canada-and of Toronto in particular-how easily you are done out of $250 million, with a stroke of the pen in a transaction that will make the national deficit grow. You are being taken for a ride". These people have been taking us for a ride for over 25 years, and now on the pretence of remedying, resolving a problem, they cancel a small contract which may not have been desirable, a contract we probably would not have signed. Now that their friends have been caught red-handed, they are trying to backtrack, they are putting on the brakes, so to speak. They are trying to spare as much as possible those of their buddies who meddled in this business. That is a disgrace!
It is too bad that certain people, in Toronto in particular, may decide not to listen to what is being said on this side because it is coming from Bloc members, those mean separatists. Torontonians might then realize that we would rather get out of this confederation before the members opposite sink us and, by favouring their buddies, leave this country in such a sorry state that it will never be able to recover and that dismantling Canada will make sense after all, financially speaking. The bottom line is these people are not acting in good faith.
When I first spoke on this bill, I asked what had led the government to introduce such a bill when we are dealing with a valid contract-I did not say legitimate, but valid as in legally
signed- one which normally, based on rulings regularly made by the Supreme Court of Canada, was binding on the government that was in office at the time and had the power to enter into contracts.
In this morning's paper, Terence Corcoran also tells us: "Any reading of Bill C-22 makes it amply clear the special law was crafted to avoid a legal expropriation process-and to avoid embarrassing the Liberals rather than Mr. Matthews". He is one of the Tories involved. "If there are any smoking guns at Pearson, they're in Liberal hands".
That is how highly the Liberal Party is regarded by the people in Toronto. I always knew when the leader of the party currently in power spoke of a chair, that the chair he had in mind was not of the kind that generally comes to mind. In the Prime Minister's mind, a chair can have two horizontal legs, a tilted seat, a horizontal back- That is the Prime Minister's idea of a chair. His perception must be contagious because I think the members of his Cabinet and his ministers' parliamentary secretaries, some of whom are sitting across from us, have had their minds warped by all kinds of inconsistencies or by the tendency to mislead everyone.
The Pearson contract is a disgusting scheme-I hope the term is strong enough-and they are taking at least $250 million out of the pockets of Canadians who have trouble making ends meet, in an effort to put out the fire.
The smoking guns referred to in this morning's press review are what they are attempting to hide. Try to make our friends happy? Always. Scratch my back and I will scratch yours, and the Liberals are the best at this kind of scheme.