Debates of Oct. 3rd, 2002

Government Expenditures

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, it is perfectly appropriate for Canadians to scrutinize every government expenditure. That is why we have our very elaborate process for reporting on those expenditures, and it is important for government to be able to balance a whole range of priorities all at the same time. Investing in aircraft is one of those priorities, but so also are health care, where we invest $29 billion every year, children, $7 billion every year, innovation, $7.5 billion every year, and aboriginals, more than $6 billion. The government has very balanced priorities.

[Rex Barnes, Progressive Conservative, Gander—Grand Falls, NL]

Mr. Speaker, while the cabinet ignores advice from its own officials, wasting millions of taxpayers' dollars on Liberal luxuries, rural Canada is actually being forgotten.

I can guarantee that the people of Gander--Grand Falls do not want jets. They want jobs. The Prime Minister twice misinformed the Canadian people on this issue, first when he stated that the purchase decision was made on the advice of officials and second when he stated that the rules were all followed in granting the contracts.

Now his own minister says that the government was not sued only because the deadline had passed. When is the Prime Minister going to come clean about these Challengers and give the public what it deserves--the truth?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, indeed the records show that all of the rules were properly followed in this transaction to acquire the aircraft. The government needs to address those priorities like it does have to address all of the other priorities, including job creation, in Atlantic Canada and elsewhere.

I am very pleased that in the most recent financial information released by the Minister of Finance he indicated that Canada does in fact today enjoy the best job creation growth record in all of the G-8.

Government Contracts

[Monte Solberg, Canadian Alliance, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to quote from the contract with the Solicitor General's official agent. It states:

Payments will be made to the Contractor upon receipt of an invoice and approved by the Executive Assistant to the Solicitor General of Canada.

Does the Solicitor General really expect the House to believe that he is unaware of a contract between his official agent and his department, a contract that his own executive assistant has to sign off on?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times, I will get the details from my department and inform the House of the details.

[Monte Solberg, Canadian Alliance, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it is a good thing that the Solicitor General is sitting between two lawyers because he is going to need them.

The situation is unbelievable. The minister is trying to convince the House that he is unaware of a contract with someone who was twice his official agent, a contract that his own executive assistant, who is probably sitting in the lobby, has to sign off on. Why does the minister not come clean and simply tell us the details of this sordid contract?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I never said I was unaware. What I told my hon. colleague was that I will get the--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker]

Order, please. We have to be able to hear the minister's answer.

Order, please. There are other questions. The hon. member for Mercier. We need to be able to hear.

Iraq

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the proposed resolution made public yesterday by the United States seriously weakens the UN's role in resolving the conflict in Iraq. First, inspectors will be accompanied by American soldiers; second, it will be up to member states, not the UN, to decide if Iraq is demonstrating goodwill or if force is necessary.

Now that it knows the American position, does the government still support the U.S. resolution?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as the member is fully aware, this is a draft resolution that was given to the media. We have not yet received the official version.

This resolution will be debated at the Security Council. Once the Security Council makes a decision, because it is up to the council to decide, we have said that the Government of Canada will support the Security Council's decision on the conditions involved in sending inspectors into Iraq.

[Francine Lalonde, Bloc, Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, France is opposed to the idea of giving carte blanche to any country to launch a war against Iraq. Russia says that it will not support any resolution unless the inspectors deemed it useful to their work.

How is it that Canada can claim that it wants the UN to maintain its key role in resolving international crises, when it supports a position that essentially sidelines the UN?

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, if the Security Council passes the resolution, then it will be the Security Council that will have decided. So, we will support the Security Council. However, the member does not know what the outcome of that debate will be. Let us wait to see what the Security Council decides. The Government of Canada will support the Security Council after it makes its decision.

Government Contracts

[James Rajotte, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to give the Solicitor General an opportunity to clear up the matter of this contract here and now.

Will he state for the record when he became aware of the contract with his two time official agent that was signed off on by his own executive assistant?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as I said many times, I will get the details and make the member aware.

[James Rajotte, Canadian Alliance, Edmonton Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, that is completely unacceptable. He just said that he was unaware and a moment ago he said that he was aware.

It is incumbent upon him as a minister of the House to stand up and state when he became aware of this contract. When did he become aware of a contract with his own official agent that was signed off on by his own executive assistant?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, as I said to my hon. colleague, when I get the details I will make the member aware of the details.

Government On-Line Initiative

[Diane St-Jacques, Liberal, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Speech from the Throne delivered on Monday does not mention the Government On-Line initiative. Earlier this week, it was reported by some media that the Government of Canada was about to set aside this important initiative and replace it with an agenda more closely related to social issues.

Could the President of the Treasury Board and minister responsible for the Government On-Line initiative tell us about the government's intentions? Does she intend to implement the GOL by the year 2005?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Shefford for raising an issue that is important to our fellow citizens.

Yes, our government maintains its commitment to become an e-government by the year 2005. We allocated moneys in the year 2000 budget to achieve this objective within five years. Incidentally, Canada has been recognized as a leader in e-government initiatives, because our public-based approach. Main services will be provided online by 2005, and I hope that parliamentarians will take a close interest in this issue.

Government Contracts

[Chuck Strahl, Canadian Alliance, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Solicitor General said that he will get back to the House as soon as he knows what is going on, but the details that we know about so far today are not very encouraging.

What we know so far is that his official agent was given an untendered contract. We know that his executive assistant had to sign off on that contract. We know that the Solicitor General earlier today admitted that he knew there was a contract but that he just did not know what was in the contract.

When did he find out that his official agent for the last two elections was given an untendered contract in his department?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, what I have said many times and what I will say again is that I will go back to my department, get the details and then make them available.

[Chuck Strahl, Canadian Alliance, Fraser Valley, BC]

Mr. Speaker, that is hardly an adequate answer.

When the Solicitor General's executive assistant signed off on this contact to his official agent and friend, did he give the Solicitor General any advice about potential conflicts of interest? Did a light bulb not come on over there that this was following a pattern typical of the government?

Why did the Solicitor General and his department give an untendered, sole source contract to a friend and official agent of the Solicitor General? What were they thinking about?

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

All I can tell my hon. colleague, Mr. Speaker, is that I will get the details and make them available.

Official Languages

[Benoît Sauvageau, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the Commissioner of Official Languages reminded us of the government's slowness and apathy regarding the issue of official languages. While urgent action is needed, the minister responsible is suggesting that he may postpone until this winter the tabling of his action plan, which we have been waiting for two years.

How does the Prime Minister explain this new delay in the tabling of the action plan, considering that the Commissioner of Official Languages is increasingly insistent in condemning the slowness, lack of leadership and apathy of this government in the area of official languages?

[Lucienne Robillard, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, the government is very receptive to the report of the Commissioner of Official Languages. We are pleased to note the commissioner's new approach to also recognize examples of leadership and success. This week's Speech from the Throne clearly demonstrated the government's commitment to revitalizing our whole official languages program.

Rest assured that an action plan will be tabled in the near future.