Debates of May 24th, 2002

Leadership Campaigns

[The Speaker]

I am sorry but time has expired for the hon. member's question. Perhaps the Deputy Prime Minister will want to respond to that.

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Crown Corporations]

Mr. Speaker, I stand by what I said yesterday. If I am a candidate I intend to make the names of all the contributors public and I hope the Leader of the Opposition would be prepared to do likewise from his campaign.

[Stephen Harper, Canadian Alliance, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, typically nothing is made public until we read about it in the press.

Yesterday the Prime Minister promised a set of rules that no one has seen in nine years and no one believes the government will ever follow. Could the Deputy Prime Minister confirm that the reason the government is again delaying the announcement of any reforms is so that first it can be sure that all the loopholes are in place?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Crown Corporations]

Mr. Speaker, if the Leader of the Opposition comes to this place proclaiming himself to be reasonable, sensible and interested in honest debate, he might consider the standards that have been set in Canada in relation to those in other democracies, particularly on the Westminster formula. If he is honest in looking at that he will determine that the standards set in Canada under the government are among the best and most exacting in the world.

[Stephen Harper, Canadian Alliance, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, let me ask this then. At a minimum, would the Deputy Prime Minister concede that he should have told us about the approach that his Toronto fundraisers were using for his leadership campaign, but having not told us, that it was inappropriate and should not have been pursued?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Crown Corporations]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure I understood that question. I do not know what it has to do with the administration of a government.

The Prime Minister has indicated to the House and publicly that he intends to set standards for ministers who are raising money for political purposes. That is an important element in this.

All of us need to accept, and that includes the Leader of the Opposition, that standards of probity must be followed, which means that anyone who thinks they want to be the Prime Minister of Canada had better be prepared to release the names of their contributors as--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Battlefords--Lloydminster.

Government Contracts

[Gerry Ritz, Canadian Alliance, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the public works minister tried to deflect his personal responsibility for another untendered contract for $56,000 to Groupe Everest by saying that he was not the minister at the time.

As usual, that answer was totally irrelevant and inaccurate. He was personally in charge of the Francophonie games and it was his office that negotiated that untendered contract.

In light of the fact that the Prime Minister and the minister of public works both admit that mistakes were made and continued to be made, which is a great start, is the Prime Minister, in his newfound zeal for ethics, ready to commit to a fully independent judicial inquiry?

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, a contract for $56,000 was granted to Groupe Everest with regard to the Francophonie games. The minister at the time was the House leader of the government and was responsible for the Francophonie games. A document, called une entente contractuelle, was drafted but it was not signed by his office. After its consideration the draft document was accepted as a contract in November 1999 with Groupe Everest. All of this was handled in accordance with treasury board guidelines.

[Gerry Ritz, Canadian Alliance, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

Mr. Speaker, as usual the government ministers are wearing out their own credibility and the patience of all Canadians by hiding behind obscurity, sleight of hand and treasury board guidelines that can be shifted back and forth.

As these files progress, it is not difficult for anybody out there to connect the dots and see a clear picture of Liberal abuse of ethics.

We all know there are very special relationships between the minister of public works and Groupe Everest. Will the government at least freeze all business with Groupe Everest until a full public inquiry can be held?

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, I would also add that in connection with this particular contract a number of other firms were considered at the time, as is the practice of public works.

I would simply repeat to the member that the contract was awarded in accordance with treasury board guidelines and, with regard to this particular one, it was done in a fair, open and transparent manner.

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister keeps on saying that the House of Commons is the ideal place to ask questions and that the ministers are here to answer them.

Will the Deputy Prime Minister explain to us how, in this House, we can ask questions of Jean Brault, Charles Guité, Pierre Tremblay, Alfonso Gagliano and all the other witnesses involved in the Liberal network?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Crown Corporations]

Mr. Speaker, if there is a question about the government's administration of contracts, the member may ask the minister.

[Caroline St-Hilaire, Bloc, Longueuil, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister still needs to be present and we still need to be sure that he will provide answers, which we have been waiting weeks for him to do.

Worse yet, one of the resources available to parliamentarians is committees. Yesterday, however, the Liberal majority arranged to keep problematic witnesses away, thus making it completely impossible for us to get to the bottom of the Liberal network.

I therefore ask the government, which is still refusing to launch a public inquiry, where we may put all our questions to all the witnesses?

[John Manley, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Crown Corporations]

Fortunately, Mr. Speaker, there are perhaps six members of the Bloc Quebecois here today to ask those questions.

In fact, if there is a problem, they have an opportunity to ask questions here, and there is also the process of committee of the whole, during which she and her colleagues may ask very specific questions.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister should not be giving any lessons to anybody: there are only seven ministers in the House today.

The Prime Minister keeps telling us that a public inquiry is not necessary because MPs can ask all the questions they want in the House. The problem is that the government refuses to answer the questions that we ask. As parliamentarians, we have a duty to shed light on the matter, to foster the trust that allows the government to govern.

Will the Deputy Prime Minister ask the Prime Minister to order a public inquiry that will finally provide answers to the questions to which the government is refusing to reply?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Crown Corporations]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the hon. member does not know how to count either.

In any case, I can state that, if they want to ask specific questions, they can do so not only today, but every day, during oral question period. Next week, the House will go into committee of the whole and this will also be an opportunity to ask questions.

There are a number of opportunities to do so. If questions are put, it is up to the public to decide if the replies are adequate.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister of public works, who is a former government House leader, knows the rules of the House of Commons well. He knows that members cannot call witnesses in the House. He knows that committees, which are controlled by the government majority, refuse to hear some witnesses.

Should the minister not admit that the only forum that can shed light on the current situation is an independent public inquiry?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Crown Corporations]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member knows full well that, every day, a number of witnesses appear before House committees.

We are also well aware that he is fishing, he is just asking questions that are not relevant to the existing situation.

Ethical Standards

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, far be it for me to coach the Deputy Prime Minister, but he might have mentioned that the Leader of the Opposition was the head of a secretly funded organization before he came here called the National Citizen's Coalition which refuses to divulge its sources of funding.

On the same subject, I want to ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether, in the proposals that the government is considering bringing forward, it is considering not just changes with respect to disclosure but also with respect to--

[The Speaker]

The hon. Deputy Prime Minister.

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Crown Corporations]

Mr. Speaker, I am always happy to be coached by the member for Winnipeg--Transcona on many different matters, but unfortunately I did not hear the conclusion of his question.

However I would indicate though that what we are trying to accomplish is greater transparency and greater openness to give the people of Canada the ability to judge whether they agree with Transparency International which already has evaluated us as one of the most open--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Winnipeg--Transcona.

National Drinking Water Standards

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I asked the Deputy Prime Minister whether the government was considering changes not just to disclosure with respect to political donations but changes with respect to the acceptability of certain political donations. For instance, changes have been made in Manitoba recently. Are they looking at that kind of change?

I intended to also ask him about another matter having to do with a different kind of pollution, not the pollution of money but water. What does the Deputy Prime Minister, as the minister in charge of infrastructure, intend to do about the recommendations of the second Walkerton inquiry report which calls on the federal government to play an expanded role in setting national standards and bringing in a national safe drinking water act.

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Crown Corporations]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to propriety of political donations, I think it will be important for members of not just the government but of all political parties to look carefully at all of the rules to consider whether they meet the current standards that are expected by the public. In reviewing that, the Prime Minister has undertaken to do so.

With respect to water, clearly the Walkerton report is something that we will have to take into account. However, I can assure the hon. member that water and water management is part of the--