It takes quite a lot of nerve to do that. First of all, it was not a sponsorship. Besides, a $66,000 commission was paid to a company that did not do the job it was paid to do.
To compare this situation with something that people will readily understand, say I buy a car. The dealer does not deliver it, although I have paid for it. What is more, I have paid him 12% as a reward for his excellent service. That is what happened in this instance.
Another thing has come out today. The RCMP is the state police. The Mounties are paid by the state. Their pay comes from the government, from a fund set aside for public service salaries, for RCMP employees. Their 125th anniversary came along and they wanted to celebrate it in a big way. I cannot fault them for wanting to celebrate 125 years, it only comes around once, and is good for Canada's image. We are all familiar with the sight of a Mountie standing beside his black horse, its reins in his hand, a Mountie wearing wide riding breeches, tall boots, gloves and his hat, holding a lance with a little flag on it. We have no objections to that.
But it would have been just too simple to say “Here is $1,168,000. Have a great party”. A middleman was involved, one who had no need to be there. He got the $1,168,000 to pass on to the RCMP. He took his cut. He was entitled to 12% of the $1,168,000, which comes to about $130,000.
The Prime Minister could have made cuts there. He would not be forced to come to us today for another $101 million. He should take a look at this big document. It is appalling all of the scandals in here. Just in here alone, he could find the $101 million. The $101 million that he is asking for tonight is all in here. He did not think to cut these expenditures. It is not is style. His style is cutting from others, no cutting from his own needs and lowering his own expectations.
There are countless examples: amounts of $289,000 or of $550,000. There is one entry for $293,000 for Chicoutimi's outdoor expo. The people who went to this expo packed up their folding panels, put them in a trailer and set it up in Chicoutimi for $273,913. Then they packed up the trailer again and drove across to Rimouski, and that cost $293,478. Then they went to Shawinigan and that too cost us a pretty penny. Then they visited the Quebec City agricultural fair for $273,913.
If we were to look at this whole document, we would see that it is appalling. It is appalling and sad.
Yesterday, or today, there was talk of a CD-ROM. A CD-ROM was published for $125,000; we never did learn the name of the client, they refused to tell us. Yet, this is public money.
One hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars was paid for a CD-ROM and 12%, or $15,000, went to Groupaction. Unfortunately, the same name crops up. That is what is says here. Then, $3,750 was paid for the person who cut the cheque for $125,000; $80,237 for who knows what--it says subcontract; $319,000 in professional services for a grant of $125,000
Then, someone had the nerve to charge $525 for Lord knows what--other costs. Nobody does anything for free here. On top of that, they have the gall to charge $80 for travel.