Debates of Nov. 30th, 1999

Minister Of International Trade

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, because these clouds and allegations are hanging over his head, perhaps the wisest thing for the international trade minister to do would be to absolutely clear his name. I am sure he is sleepless in Seattle and it is probably not the trade talks that are bothering him.

If the trade minister categorically denies, as this minister just said that he has, why in the world would the government not have an investigation as soon as possible and clear his good name?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, to repeat what I answered awhile ago and for the benefit of the hon. member, the allegations in question are based on an unsubstantiated claim made in a divorce case. The members will know what kind of case we are talking about.

Furthermore, the minister issued a statement yesterday in which he said “According to the information provided by my official agent from the 1997 federal election, the Canada Elections Act was respected by the campaign”.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the official agent giving reports is not exactly unbiased information either.

The minister talks about “for the benefit of the minister”. For the benefit of the country, I think this needs to be brought—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. The hon. member for Edmonton North.

[Deborah Grey, Reform, Edmonton North, AB]

Mr. Speaker, there are serious allegations that the international trade minister has broken the law under the Canada Elections Act. It would seem to me that the wisest thing to do would be to have an investigation, clear it up and prove the minister's innocence.

I will ask my question again. Regardless of what the National Post or a convicted murderer said, when will the government have an investigation to clear this mess up?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, let us be clear about what the hon. member said. She called into question the work of the official agent, a sworn statement that he made audited by duly accredited auditors and submitted to Elections Canada. She can spread blame around the House, but is it absolutely necessary to tarnish the reputation of everybody?

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the case of Marcel Masse, in 1985, services provided by the firm Lavallin had not been included in the election expenses. Minister Masse claimed he was innocent and he was indeed found not guilty.

In the case before us, someone is accusing the Minister for International Trade of having received services that were not recorded. A complaint has been filed. The situation is exactly the same; the minister claims he is innocent.

Why should, in this case, the minister not be required to resign when, under the ethics rules of the previous government, Marcel Masse had to resign?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, first, and contrary to what is being alleged today, no accusations have been made against the minister, his campaign committee or, to my knowledge, his official agent. There are no accusations.

Second, this is a dispute having to do with a divorce in which one party is accusing the other, a dispute set in a specific context, as we know.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us be serious here for a minute. We are talking about very serious allegations made in a formal complaint, which is now before the Commissioner of Canada Elections.

My question is: What is the new level beyond which a minister can no longer sit in cabinet? Do we have to wait until the minister is found guilty, or is a simple complaint with serious allegations enough to have him temporarily removed from cabinet, as has always been the case under such circumstances?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member is trying to get some mileage out of the complaint that he is referring to.

First, as far as we know, no official complaint has been filed. If the hon. member is aware of a complaint having been filed by someone he knows, he should tell us about it.

Second, no accusations have been made against anyone. Third, in a statement made yesterday, the minister categorically denied having received, directly or indirectly, the said contribution. That is clear.

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, when we brought to the attention of the government the serious allegations of electoral wrongdoing by the international trade minister, the government House leader urged me to bring these allegations to the attention of the commissioner of Elections Canada, and I have done so. Unfortunately, the commissioner cannot prosecute because two years have passed since these events occurred.

The government House leader knows about this problem between the passage of time and the alleged incidence. What will he do to make sure that this tarnished reputation is restored to the minister and an investigation takes place?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the reputation of the minister in question is not tarnished. Perhaps there are attempts to do so on the part of some, but the minister's reputation is untarnished and it will remain untarnished.

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, he can wish the problem was not there. He can wish the allegations were not in the press and being circulated amongst Canadians but they are there and that is a fact. I wish it was as easy as the Government House Leader would have us believe.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please.

[Chuck Strahl, Reform, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, if the government side would listen, the allegations are a fact of life. They are out there. They are in the media. They are being circulated.

The government House leader knows that section 279 of the elections act clearly prohibits the commissioner from prosecuting any offence that happened during the last election. He is prohibited from prosecuting. He cannot do it.

The government House leader's advice to the House yesterday is not useful. An investigation should take place. It should be designed, I hope, to clear the minister's name. Does he not realize that we should immediately start an investigation to get to the bottom of these allegations?

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I can see that clearing the minister's name is right at the top of the agenda of what the hon. member wants.

He just stated moments before that these allegations were facts. No, they are not facts. They are, with respect, factually incorrect.

Airline Industry

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Beauport—Montmorency—Orléans, QC]

Mr. Speaker, InterCanadian, a regional carrier in Quebec, is in great difficulty. But the Minister of Transport is still not ruling out the possibility of granting a licence to a new regional carrier based in Hamilton.

Could the minister just this once do his job and make a formal commitment not to add another regional carrier to Canada until the case of InterCanadian is satisfactorily resolved?

[David Collenette, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, we are concerned about this regrettable situation, but I have been informed that other airlines have the capacity to serve all InterCanadian's passengers.

It is common knowledge that InterCanadian was in trouble before August, when we began the process of restructuring the airline industry. I find it odd that the president of InterCanadian has placed the blame on Air Canada, Canadian Airlines, Onex corporation and the federal government, but not on the shoulders of InterCanadian's management team.

National Film Board

[Sarmite Bulte, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Academy of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles have hosted celebrations honouring the 60th anniversary of the National Film Board of Canada.

What is Canada doing to celebrate an organization that gave us Norman McLaren, Donald Brittain and 11 academy awards?

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, with the support of the Reform Party and all other parties in opposition I think we want especially to salute the 60th anniversary of the National Film Board of Canada.

This organization in its 60 years of existence has garnered almost 4,000 awards for excellence. This year it launched CinéRoute, a new project to put 1,000 movies on the web for every Canadian to be able to watch.

I think that the history of the National Film—

[The Speaker]

Order, please. The noise level is getting a bit too high. The hon. minister of heritage was giving an answer.

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Hamilton East, ON]

I would just like to say again how proud we have been of the National Film Board over the past 60 years. I am certain that, with the support of all members, it will continue to do an excellent job in Canada's film industry.

Employment

[Diane Ablonczy, Reform, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, even some Liberals can no longer stomach the corruption in the jobs fund. Today a Liberal member blew the cover on how the HRD minister broke the rules to use a cool million of other people's money to lure a business to her riding away from a higher unemployment area next door.

Does the minister think that she has the right to rip off the jobs fund and thumb her nose at the unemployed in Sarnia just because she holds a cabinet post?