--last minute Hail Mary guidelines on ethical behaviour, golf courses in Quebec, canoe museums, Auberge Grand-Mère, and helpful priests.
The Prime Minister yelled across $25,000. We have never charged $25,000 a ticket for anything. The most we have ever charged in this party is $2,500 for a leader's dinner. Perhaps it was a table for 10.
It cost $10,000 a head to meet with the Prime Minister on a weekend. I think an old age pensioner gets a little more than that in a whole year. A soldier's widow gets about $1,400 a month. To pay $10,000 to meet with the Prime Minister is unacceptable in this country.
The list goes on: Alfonso Gagliano, untendered contracts to handle publicity for francophonie games, $25,000 sent back by the finance minister, fundraisers for the heritage minister, and buying access to the Prime Minister for a mere $10,000 each.
We can list conflicts of interest, questionable ministerial ethical behaviour, leadership fundraising activities and memories of a rat pack that once talked only about integrity in government, not to forget a Prime Minister who once made many promises, none of which have been kept. The House has demanded many times that we have an independent ethics counsellor who reports to the House.
It is amazing to watch the minister for heritage, who is yelling across the floor. When she was in opposition she climbed over tables to get at the government because it was doing things that were not correct or proper at that time. It is our duty to bring these issues up so Canadians can have a chance to have them investigated properly.
Why can we not have an independent ethics counsellor to report just to members of parliament? Why can we not have an independent inquiry into this mess so Canadians can get to the bottom of it?
We look forward to hearing the Prime Minister speak this morning. We hope he will bring to Canadians some of these issues so we can start to clean up this corruption in government.