Debates of June 18th, 2002

Government Contracts

[Betty Hinton, Canadian Alliance, Kamloops, Thompson And Highland Valleys, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have been a mom for a long time and I, like my colleague from Souris--Moose Mountain, have seen a lot.

When we are raising a family we look for lessons that will help our kids as they go through life. What I have seen in the House of Commons for the last few weeks serves as a life lesson on how not to behave.

The government's behaviour on fundraising, spending on luxury jets, internal squabbles and, most frequently, its seemingly insatiable appetite for fat ad contracts for Liberal friendly companies is shameful.

The latest case involves a 1996 contract with Groupaction. It received $330,000 to publicize the gun registry, a job that nobody asked for and that nobody can find. The government could have done something six years ago but it did not.

I have raised enough kids to know that if we have a problem, dealing with it quickly and decisively is the best way to go. The Liberal government has yet to learn this basic life lesson. It is clear to me it never will.

The Media

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

Mr. Speaker, the government has considerable potential control over the media when it comes to regulations that affect its bottom line or, as we have seen in recent weeks, lucrative advertising contracts.

Yesterday the Deputy Prime Minister dodged questions when asked about the Prime Minister's contact with one of Canada's leading media families.

In recent weeks did the Prime Minister or any member of his staff ever meet with the Asper family and, if so, did they discuss the Ottawa Citizen's editorial policy or anything that could have led to the firing of its publisher?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister had nothing to do with decisions made by the CanWest Global management with respect to management of the Ottawa

Citizen.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Deputy Prime Minister did not actually answer the question.

However, through the CRTC, the government has considerable leverage over the nation's media companies. The cabinet can have final approval over all CRTC decisions involving millions of dollars. Canadians need to know whether the government has been abusing this leverage.

Has the Prime Minister, any other minister or any members of their staff had meetings or conversations with CanWest Global executives in recent weeks or in the past month?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, is there evidence that somehow or other the electronic media has been intimidated by the government? Does the Leader of the Opposition watch the news? If they are intimidated I would hate to see how they would behave if they were not.

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

Mr. Speaker, there is evidence. It was the Milewski affair and the government silenced the CBC report. The government has abused its power. It has abused it in advertising and sponsorship contracts. The Prime Minister abused it in the BDC loan affair.

Given the government's track record of abusing power, how can Canadians be sure the government did not use its considerable leverage to pressure CanWest Global into firing the publisher of the Citizen ?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member wants to debate media concentration, let us hear his suggestions. Presumably he was content enough when Conrad Black owned Southam and the National Post . Apparently now he is less happy.

If he has some suggestions on media concentration, let us hear what they are or perhaps there is something we could debate.

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

Mr. Speaker, the government did interfere with the CBC's coverage of the APEC inquiry. The Prime Minister and the CBC removed reporter Terry Milewski when it did not like his reporting.

Now we have the case of a publisher, employed by a family that has deep ties to the Liberal Party, being fired after he approved editorials calling for the Prime Minister's resignation.

How can Canadians be sure that the government did not abuse its power and did not intervene to have Russell Mills silenced on this issue?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that reminds me of a truism, that just because I am paranoid does not mean that people are not following me.

This is completely cooked up. It is extreme allegations based on fantasy, not reality.

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

Mr. Speaker, the government still has not answered the question about whether there was a meeting over this issue.

Will the Deputy Prime Minister stand in the House today and state categorically whether there was or was not a meeting with the Aspers regarding the editorial policy of the Ottawa Citizen and the silencing of a fine journalist in Canada?

[John Manley, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I answered the very first question. The Prime Minister had nothing to do with decisions taken by CanWest Global with respect to its hirings, firings or anything else. Nor did he have anything to do with the firings that occurred when Conrad Black took over some of the same newspapers.

Government Contracts

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Media IDA Vision went beyond its contract. According to the August 2000 report, this subsidiary of Everest perceived itself as the proprietor of the interest and dealt with it as it saw fit. The conclusions are clear, and on September 21, 2000, Pierre Tremblay of public works advised Claude Boulay, President of Everest, among others, accordingly.

Can the minister of public works tell us whether immediate and total reimbursement of the interest pocketed by Media IDA Vision was required of Claude Boulay as far back as that meeting of September 21? And if so, what amount was involved?

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

Mr. Speaker, there have been no such discussions to my knowledge.

On the question of the amount, I have asked my officials to do a calculation of the amount that could have been paid during that particular period. It appears to be a few thousand dollars. The calculation is not yet complete but I would be happy to report to the leader of the Bloc when I do have that arithmetic.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister tells us that, to his knowledge, such discussions have not taken place and such demands have not been made.

Is he not somewhat curious about the fact that this group was earning interest on money belonging to the government, that senior officials met with these groups, examined the report, discussed it with Privy Council, discussed it with the Prime Minister, yet none of these people thought of asking their cronies to pay back that interest? That is what the minister has told me: no one thought of asking for the interest back, the money earned on taxpayers' funds ? Is the minister sticking to this version of the story?

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

Mr. Speaker, on the matter of the recovery of the amount in question, whatever that amount may be, I was asked this question in the House last week and I indicated that I would be examining the legal basis upon which a successful recovery could in fact be launched, and that legal examination is still underway.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the minister just said he looking into the possibility of recovering the amount in question. He has asked his officials to do the necessary examinations.

How does he explain that the government waited two years before checking if there might be a way to recover this money, which belongs to the taxpayers?

Why two years?

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

Mr. Speaker, I indicated last week that this was obviously a bad business practice and one that should not have been included in the contracting procedure. Because of the finding that came through the work of the internal audit of my department, corrective measures were recommended. They included the establishment of a separate and distinct bank account and the turnover of any of these funds within a maximum of five days.

I am advised that those corrective measures were implemented about a year ago.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the government waited until the scandal became public to undertake to recover money that should not have been in the hands of these firms. That is the reality.

Can the Minister of Public Works and Government Services tell us and confirm that the reason he has yet to take action is that, if he were to proceed immediately, he would be condemning the Prime Minister, who knew two years ago that moneys had been inappropriately collected by this firm and that the government did nothing about it?

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

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. gentleman is referring to the results of the internal audit, those results were summarized and posted on the Internet in the fall of the year 2000. Some of those results were even published in the Globe and Mail , so it was hardly a secret.

As a result of that internal audit, various corrective measures were recommended, including a new and better way to handle this matter of interest payments. The government at the time took the corrective measures that were implemented a year ago.

The Media

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the NDP raised concerns about freedom of the press and the diversity of voices when CanWest Global bought Southam two years ago.

When the CRTC granted CanWest its licence, cross media ownership concerns went unresolved. The federal cabinet flatly rejected the New Democrats' appeal last fall to reverse the CRTC decision.

As feared and predicted, another independent voice is silenced, this time the voice of the Ottawa Citizen editor.

How many more will be silenced before the government moves to protect journalistic independence from media concentration and convergence?

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

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member will know, and I am sure others will tell her if she is unaware, a standing committee of the House of Commons is currently reviewing a study of the broadcast system in our country.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the House leader will also know that it is not dealing at all with issues of newspaper convergence and concentration.

This Liberal laissez faire attitude toward media concentration poses a serious threat to democracy. That is why the CEP union representing 20,000 media workers has called for an emergency meeting on the future of journalism in this country. The heritage minister will be invited to explain the government's strategies or lack thereof.

Will the minister agree to attend this meeting or, better still, will the government pre-empt the meeting by announcing a full independent inquiry--

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Canadian Heritage.

[Sheila Copps, Liberal, Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I have no intention of attending a meeting that deals with the issue of editorial policy.

[Joe Clark, Progressive Conservative, Calgary Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, just 14 weeks ago, Leonard Asper of CanWest Global told the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage that “The newspapers in all of our markets, have been told time and again...that they are free to provide opposing editorial dissent”.

Mr. Asper then fired Russell Mills precisely for dissenting from the PMO-Asper line.

The government had proposed a panel to study media concentration when Conrad Black owned the Southam papers. That panel has been dropped.

Will the government inquire into the latest Asper abuse either by re-establishing that panel or by agreeing to a joint inquiry by the two houses of this parliament?