Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-28 and, more specifically, to clause 241, which I consider warrants all our attention. Since February 5, everything leads us to believe, as the expression puts it so well, that there is something fishy here.
We all know very well how this matter might be of personal interest to the Minister of Finance, who, it seems, would have every advantage as the sole owner of Canada Steamship Lines if the bill were passed.
How could the Minister of Finance sponsor a bill that includes tax provisions that could benefit his own company, when he is not entitled to speak on this matter in order to avoid a conflict of interest? This state of affairs led to the presentation before the Standing Committee on Finance of five motions that would enable us to get to the bottom of this matter.
First, we asked for testimony from the president of the CSL, representatives of the trust company, the minister himself and Mr. Wilson.
The five motions were important, but the most important one called for the appearance of any other witness who might help the committee understand clause 241. Four of the five motions were rejected.
The only witness allowed was Mr. Wilson, the government's ethics counsellor, who is employed by the Prime Minister, paid by the government and accountable only to the government.
Something unexpected happened in that Mr. Wilson's testimony reinforced our argument when he admitted that the Minister of Finance had not acted properly and that the code of ethics adopted by the government in 1994 had not been respected.
That code of ethics clearly stipulates that public office holders must do everything they can to prevent real, potential or apparent conflicts of interest from arising.
On February 5, 1998, the government's ethics counsellor said on the CBC, and I quote “Canada Steamship Lines has indicated clearly to me that it has no intention of using this provision”.
However, twelve days later, on February 17, this same counsellor stated before the Standing Committee on Finance, and again I quote “Mr. Martin sponsored this bill and questions have been raised by some members that this constitutes an apparent conflict of interest. Had I been informed in advance, before this bill was introduced, there would have been a discussion on how best to handle the introduction of the bill for the Minister of Finance, who is responsible for all tax legislation. However, this prior consideration of our options did not take place as it should have”.
This flagrant lack of impartiality by Mr. Wilson is appalling. And we are not the only ones to express criticism. The Senate is also addressing this issue. In fact, Senator Marjory LeBreton stated in the Upper House that there is an urgent need to establish new guidelines for the ethics counsellor, who should be independent from the government.
This is a matter I could not overlook, and when the Liberal majority on the Standing Committee on Finance denied our request, the three other opposition parties saw, just as we did, that something fishy was going on.
That is why, in a press conference held on February 19, 1998, the four opposition parties requested that the Prime Minister strike a special committee to shed some light on clause 241 of Bill C-28. We are still waiting for an answer.
What is unacceptable is that the Prime Minister is still refusing to clarify this issue for us, and is determined to put obstacles in our path at every turn. It is obvious to us, unfortunately, that everything is co-ordinated from the Prime Minister's office, including the Standing Committee on Finance.
In short, the Liberal government is showing obvious bad faith, and wants to protect its Finance Minister at all costs.
In conclusion, what is important for people to understand is that the Minister of Finance is preparing to get a bill passed which he himself sponsored and from which he very likely will be able to profit. And this is unacceptable.
I also have some serious questions about how available the self-same minister is to look after the financial interests of Quebec when he has demonstrated without a doubt that what is closest to his heart is to have ships plying the waters of the world, instead of concentrating his focus on his work and on keeping our ship with its fleur-de-lis colours afloat financially.