Debates of Feb. 9th, 1995

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

Interest Act

[Philippe Paré, Bloc, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I feel compelled to rise in the House to ask the parliamentary secretary to clarify an answer to a question I asked the Prime Minister Monday.

I had asked the Prime Minister which customary or parliamentary rule or law dictated that the Right Hon. Leader of the Official Opposition could not meet the American President during the latter's upcoming visit to Ottawa, at the end of February. I also asked whether he considered it normal for a Prime Minister to tell the President of the United States what he can or cannot do.

Instead of answering my question, and being unable to find an excuse for his emotional, partisan and inappropriate reaction outside the House, the Prime Minister got tangled up in strange and confused explanations and talked about the letter the Leader of the Opposition had sent to Mr. Clinton requesting a meeting with him.

Finally, he said that, since the letter was addressed to Mr. Clinton, only he could respond to it. What we must understand from this part of his answer, Mr. Speaker, is that he could not tell the difference between a letter addressed to him and a copy of a letter sent to him as a courtesy.

The Prime Minister also lapsed into vaudeville and the absurd by pointing out to me that a meeting with the Leader of the Opposition was not a universal practice and that he, as Leader of the Opposition, had not always exercised this prerogative.

In fact he reminded me that the President of the United States, Mr. Zedillo, had not met with the Leader of the Opposition during his visit of last December. The Prime Minister must be reminded that Mr. Zedillo is the President of Mexico.

Except for his pitiful medical diagnosis of the Leader of the Opposition's state of health, which would make Hippocrates blush, the Prime Minister in no way answered my question. On what grounds did he decide that the hon. member for Lac-Saint-Jean could not meet with the American President?

After having so clumsily avoided answering my first question, the Prime Minister gave no more of an answer to the second one I put to him. Let me repeat this question: Now that he admits that the leader of the Bloc Quebecois has the right to meet with the U.S. president "will the Prime Minister promise he will not use pressure tactics or indulge in any behind-the-scenes manoeuvring to try to discourage the U.S. president from meeting the Leader of the Official Opposition?"

The Prime Minister's answer was short and sweet:

-in the normal course of events, President Clinton's letter should come from Washington, not from Ottawa.

As you can see, this is not a promise not to use pressure tactics. On the contrary. What is the meaning of the expression "in the normal course of events" in his answer? Does it not clearly indicate that, in fact, the Prime Minister is not ruling out a possible attempt to dictate the answer that will come from Washington? The Prime Minister has mastered the art of dodging questions, as he showed us again in this case.

[Jean Augustine, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I will be clear and succinct in my answer which will also provide some information.

The question posed was answered by the Prime Minister in the House on Monday afternoon. The visit of President Clinton to Ottawa is an important event in the relationship between Canada and the United States. The government is very much looking forward to this, the first official visit of President Clinton to Canada.

He will arrive during the morning of Thursday, February 23. He will depart on the afternoon of Friday, February 24. The program will involve the participation of our new Governor General, a visit to Parliament, meetings with the Prime Minister and members of the cabinet.

The leader of the Bloc Quebecois has sought an appointment directly with the President of the United States for his time in Ottawa. As the Prime Minister indicated on Monday in response to the question, it is up to the United States to authorize such a meeting.

[The Acting Speaker (Mr. Kilger)]

Pursuant to Standing Order 38(5), a motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted.

Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 6.22 p.m.)