House of Commons Hansard #144 of the 37th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was quebec.
Gerald Keddy Progressive Conservative South Shore, NS
Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely scandalous that the Minister of Industry is now saying he has asked the ethics counsellor if there is a basis for repaying his Irving bill.
How can the minister not know that he is responsible for paying his bills? It is not the ethics counsellor who we are judging here, it is the minister who is being judged. What is his answer?
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, it is the one I gave. Eighteen months ago when I asked the ethics counsellor for advice, the issue of payment did not arise. I have asked the ethics counsellor to provide me with advice on the basis of which a payment would be made. It is as simple as that.
The fundamental thing is that the House has to know that I never acted in conflict of interest. That is the fundamental thing here. Having sought and received the advice of the ethics counsellor, I disqualified myself from matters where there were decisions to be made affecting the Irving interests. I believe I can assure the House that I have not acted in conflict of interest.
Gerald Keddy Progressive Conservative South Shore, NS
Mr. Speaker, that is a well practised routine, but I think the minister himself knows that ministers of the Crown are expected to uphold certain levels of integrity. They must be responsible for their actions.
Canadians know that the ethics counsellor is little more than just a green light for ministerial excuses.
Will the Minister of Industry accept responsibility for his actions, or is it time for the Prime Minister to make that decision for him?
Allan Rock LiberalMinister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, integrity is honesty and being straightforward, which I have been. Integrity is making full disclosure, which I have done. Integrity is taking the advice of the ethics counsellor. Integrity is disqualifying myself in these circumstances from areas where decisions would be made affecting the Irving interests. Integrity is standing in the House and responding frankly and fully to questions that have been asked.
I think by that standard I have respected the integrity required of a minister of the Crown.
Michel Guimond Bloc Beauport—Montmorency—Côte-De- Beaupré—Île-D'Orléans, QC
Mr. Speaker, there is a serious deterioration in the relationship between the Cree and the federal government because of its refusal to sign an agreement with them, along the lines of the Government of Quebec's “peace of the braves”. How can the government justify Chief Ted Moses' description of relations between the Cree and the federal government as being at an all time low because this government is so bogged down by the transition from the present Prime Minister to his successor?
Bob Nault LiberalMinister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
Mr. Speaker, I think it is fair to say that we are not going to be negotiating with the Cree here in the House of Commons.
I can say that negotiating is ongoing. Our negotiator and the Cree negotiator have been meeting regularly for the last two years. We are making progress. This is a very complicated file. It is not going to happen overnight, but it is one on which I am very optimistic we can get a resolution.
Michel Guimond Bloc Beauport—Montmorency—Côte-De- Beaupré—Île-D'Orléans, QC
Mr. Speaker, health care funding, the Quebec City-Windsor high-speed train and relations with aboriginal people are all important decisions that have been put on ice pending review by the incoming prime minister.
Does the uncertainty caused by the transition hanging over our heads, which is going to go on for another four months, not make it clear to the Prime Minister that he needs to revise his departure date and allow his successor to face Parliament as soon as possible?
David Collenette LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said he will be leaving in weeks or months. The decision is his, and we respect it. In the meantime, the government is here and it is our duty to act in Canadians' best interests. I believe the Canadian government is functioning very well.
Jim Gouk Canadian Alliance Kootenay—Boundary—Okanagan, BC
Mr. Speaker, the incoming leader says that VIA should not spend its new funding windfall. The transport minister's people say he should butt out. Meanwhile the people who are really suffering are the taxpayers whose priorities are health care, justice issues and many other areas other than VIA Rail.
Last Friday the minister claimed that the transport committee unanimously called for revitalization of passenger rail, but that is not true. There were three separate reports challenging this.
Given the opposition to this spending spree, why is the minister rushing ahead with funding announcements when his authority to do so is measured in days?
David Collenette LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, as a minister of the Crown, I have the authority to discharge my duties, as do all other ministers and we will do that until such time as a change is made.
In the meantime, we have to focus on the fact that we have a policy here that is going to improve passenger rail across the country. In fact, the hon. member should take note that the western transcontinental fleet that is so important to his province of British Columbia will be totally refurbished by this announcement.
Jim Gouk Canadian Alliance Kootenay—Boundary—Okanagan, BC
Mr. Speaker, the latest announcement of a $692.5 million handout for VIA Rail is a lot of taxpayers' money. It is a major commitment that will fall on future administrations and the incoming leader is opposed to this funding. Given this, is VIA authorized to make financial commitments from this announcement?
David Collenette LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, in case the hon. member has not listened to the earlier answers, the fact of the matter is that we have announced a policy that has been consistent with the government's approach to passenger rail for a number of years.
It has been well received by Canadians. Some critics, such as the opposition, obviously do not agree. Is the hon. member prepared to tell the people of British Columbia that they should not have good quality passenger rail service? A big chunk of the money announced on Friday will improve the equipment that will be used in his province.
Richard Marceau Bloc Charlesbourg—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Mr. Speaker, in a soon-to-be-published book spotlighting the role of the RCMP in the struggle against criminal gangs, we learn that the RCMP was prepared to allow murders to be committed rather than jeopardize the work of its informant, Dany Kane.
Can the Solicitor General tell us whether he intends to open an investigation as quickly as possible in order to shed more light on the RCMP's behaviour in this matter?
Wayne Easter LiberalSolicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, I reject the hon. member's allegations.
The RCMP has always been very consistent in its mandate of protecting, to the best of its ability, the public security of Canadians. Since 9/11 we have enhanced its role in national security areas as well. It is in fact protecting Canadians, providing public security and enhancing the lives of Canadians as a result.
Richard Marceau Bloc Charlesbourg—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Mr. Speaker, does the minister realize that if he remains silent and there is no investigation, it will be impossible to find out whether or not the RCMP committed illegal acts that might have led to the death of an innocent child?
Wayne Easter LiberalSolicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, our sympathies certainly go out as a result of the death of the 11 year old individual in this case, but again I refer to my earlier response. The mandate of the RCMP, in and of itself, is to provide security and safety for Canadians, which is exactly what it is doing.
James Moore Canadian Alliance Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment is the next minister who has engaged in behaviour that, shall we say, could be seen as very questionable by the Canadian public. Two years ago he stayed in the Liberal retreat on the Restigouche and today he is finally admitting that he was wrong. Why was it okay then to accept the gift and today it is wrong?
David Anderson LiberalMinister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, at the time in question, which the hon. member has raised, I believed I was in full compliance with the code and there was no reason at that time for disclosure.
However I now realize that I should have disclosed and I apologize to him and to the House for not disclosing at that time. The reason I felt that it was not necessary to disclose was, first, because the invitation was from a long time friend; and second, it was related to my duties with respect to Atlantic salmon.
James Moore Canadian Alliance Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, day in and day out, week in and week out, cabinet minister after cabinet minister, corruption allegation after corruption allegation, how many times do Liberal cabinet ministers have to get their hands caught in the cookie jar until they clean up their behaviour and behave in a way that is due to the Canadian taxpayer?
In order to save the ethics counsellor time, would any other cabinet minister please stand up and admit to what he or she has done in accepting gifts that are inappropriate to taxpayers?
EthicsOral Question Period
The Speaker
I do not think that question is in order. It apparently was not directed to a minister and accordingly we will have to move on to the next question.
The hon. member for Vancouver Centre.
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Mr. Speaker, this summer Canadians watched with despair as fires devastated the North Thompson and Kelowna regions in B.C. This winter we saw again the tragic toll as B.C. was rocked by floods. This year, B.C. has been hit by one disaster after another.
The Minister of National Defence was there at each crisis. Does he have any good news to bring to the people of B.C.?
John McCallum LiberalMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, I was in Kelowna that night when so many British Columbians lost their homes and I witnessed this tragedy of the forest fires personally.
It has always been my priority to get the federal moneys to the province in question as fast as possible, which is why I was very pleased to be in Vancouver this weekend with the premier to announce a down payment of $100 million as the federal contribution to this forest fire problem. I was very pleased as well when the premier noted that his emergency officials said that it was the fastest delivery on record.
Inky Mark Canadian Alliance Dauphin—Swan River, MB
Mr. Speaker, in 2001, post-September 11, the Solicitor General said that there was no need for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to broaden its mandate to include foreign intelligence in its operations. More recently we learned that CSIS has begun to operate abroad.
Why have the House's members not been informed of the expanding role of CSIS and its foreign operations?
Wayne Easter LiberalSolicitor General of Canada
Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the hon. member has been but this information has been readily available for as much as two years. The fact is that CSIS is operating under the mandate of the act passed by a previous Parliament.
Inky Mark Canadian Alliance Dauphin—Swan River, MB
Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time the House has been kept in the dark. As we will remember, the Auditor General said that Parliament has been kept in the dark many times.
The House has never been apprised of any changes to the mandate of CSIS. I can say this with surety because of the committee work. Why has the Solicitor General kept Parliament in the dark when it comes to the broadened role of CSIS?