House of Commons Hansard #9 of the 37th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was going.
Stephen Owen LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, I am sure the former minister of heritage was aware, as were members of cabinet generally, that there were problems with the sponsorship program. They were identified in the 2000 internal audit. They were later referred to the Auditor General. Then there was a change of ministers and--
Government ContractsOral Question Period
The Speaker
Order please, The hon. Minister of Public Works and Government Services has the floor and it is very difficult to hear the answer with all the noise.
Stephen Owen Liberal Vancouver Quadra, BC
Mr. Speaker, in a succession of processes a moratorium was placed on the sponsorship program. Then it was restored, but with very constrained circumstances. Eventually, as soon as the government took office, it was killed.
Rahim Jaffer Canadian Alliance Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's own colleagues do not believe him. The member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, the member for Bonaventure—Gaspé—Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Pabok and the former heritage minister have all said that this matter was discussed in 1999 and that the Prime Minister was well aware of it. Yet even as of a few minutes ago during his press conference, the Prime Minister was blaming everyone else.
Why will the Prime Minister not accept his responsibility for this scandal?
Reg Alcock LiberalPresident of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board
Oh, Mr. Speaker--
Government ContractsOral Question Period
The Speaker
Order please, We have to be able to hear the President of the Treasury Board. He has the floor.
If everyone else gives the answer, the poor member for Edmonton—Strathcona will be deprived. He asked the question and he is entitled to an answer from the person who is rising to answer, not from everyone else.
The hon. President of the Treasury Board has the floor.
Reg Alcock Liberal Winnipeg South, MB
Mr. Speaker, I am dying to give him an answer.
He has another name to put on that list and that is the Prime Minister himself today. He said yes, once it became known that there was a problem, it was discussed and remedies were brought to bear on this, but let me say this. The Prime Minister has also put in place a process that will get to the bottom of this and will do it openly. I would invite the hon. member, if he has facts to bring forward, to put them on the table.
Elsie Wayne Progressive Conservative Saint John, NB
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister can run, but he cannot hide.
One hundred million dollars in commissions were paid to friends of the Liberal Party on his watch as finance minister. That represents all the taxes paid by the hardworking people of Hanna, Alberta, or Sackville, New Brunswick, or Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, or Heart's Delight in Newfoundland.
The Prime Minister should be ashamed of himself. When will he come clean and admit that he knew about the sponsorship scandal?
Paul Martin LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is absolutely right. It is a terrible thing when that kind of money, taxpayers' money of very hardworking Canadians, is spent in this way. Everybody on this side of the House not only regrets it, but is visibly angry about it.
I agree with the hon. member and I agree with those Canadians who are angry about it. That is why it is so important that we get to the bottom of this, that we find out who is responsible for this. It is also why we have to put in place the structures so that it will never happen again. We are very, very angry about this.
Elsie Wayne Progressive Conservative Saint John, NB
Mr. Speaker, I am awfully glad the Prime Minister cares now because in 1999 when he knew about it, he did not care at all.
One hundred million dollars of taxpayers' money went from the government into the hands of Liberal Party supporters. The $100 million lost on the sponsorship program is equal to the tax money paid by 12,000 Canadians earning the average salary of roughly $25,000.
I know the Prime Minister is a millionaire and finds ways to avoid paying taxes. How can the Prime Minister justify squandering--
Paul Martin LiberalPrime Minister
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member as an experienced parliamentarian knows full well that there was an interim audit and it showed a series of administrative problems. The deputy minister testified that a management plan had been put in place to deal with those, and the people knew about it. He also went on to say that in fact there was no criminality involved.
It was later then, when the Groupaction material became public, that all of us realized to our horror that there was a fundamental problem. It was at that point that the new minister of public works, and then subsequently the present Minister of Finance, as minister of public works, froze the program, put in place a series of issues, matters--
Government ContractsOral Question Period
The Speaker
The hon. member for Burin—St. George's.
Bill Matthews Liberal Burin—St. George's, NL
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.
I would like the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to inform the House about the timely Marine Finfish Commercialization Forum that is currently being held in Newfoundland and Labrador.
This industry is very important to the people I represent on the south coast of Newfoundland. Could the minister inform the House about the future of this industry?
Geoff Regan LiberalMinister of Fisheries and Oceans
Mr. Speaker, the Marine Finfish Commercialization Forum is an opportunity for experts to explore the expansion of Canada's aquaculture industry. As Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, aquaculture is one of my priorities and I am committed to working closely with the provinces and territories to develop a framework to help the industry as it competes on the world stage.
I am confident that we can position Canada as a world leader in the development of a sustainable, competitive and diverse aquaculture sector.
Lorne Nystrom NDP Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food.
There has been one case of BSE in Canada, one cow out of some 15 million. As we know, the Americans closed its border to the import of live Canadian cattle. On the other hand, there has been one case of BSE in the United States and for some strange reason we continue to import American cattle into eastern Canada.
I know that not even a Liberal sponsorship program could help our farmers, but what I want to know is whether or not the minister will create a level playing field and tell the Americans that if they do not open their border for Canadians, we will close our border in terms of their beef imports and will start shipping western Canadian beef to eastern Canada. Will he do that?
Bob Speller LiberalMinister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Mr. Speaker, the approach taken by the Government of Canada was an approach that was first developed by sitting down and talking with the industry, talking with the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, talking with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and all the provinces. They told us that they want us to get out there to market Canadian beef around the world, to show consumers around the world that in fact Canadian beef is some of the safest beef in the world.
Wendy Lill NDP Dartmouth, NS
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the new Minister of Canadian Heritage.
The heritage committee just completed a two year study on broadcasting. It made strong recommendations to protect the cultural sovereignty of our broadcasting industry by maintaining the present foreign ownership restrictions.
With a former president of Rogers AT&T now in the PMO and scandal and corporate cronyism at an all-time high in the Liberal government, will the minister assure us that she will put the interests of Canadians above corporate profits and leave the present foreign ownership rules unchanged?
Hélène Scherrer LiberalMinister of Canadian Heritage
Mr. Speaker, I can assure you that all the standards will be followed closely and that the points raised by my hon. colleague will be taken into consideration.
Kevin Sorenson Canadian Alliance Crowfoot, AB
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just announced in his hastily called press conference that very few Quebec ministers knew the full extent of the scandal. He also said that anyone who knows anything about the scandal should come forward before they are summoned.
My question is for the Prime Minister. If he knows that there are cabinet ministers who are aware of this, will he stand in this House today and disclose who those ministers are?
Stephen Owen LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, the opposition is well aware through its requests over 60 times in this House for a public inquiry, that there is now one being established.
If people have allegations to make, if they have evidence to bring forward, they should come before the public inquiry and under oath, not within parliamentary immunity but under oath, bring that evidence or those allegations before the public inquiry, or make a statement to the RCMP which they will have to take personal responsibility for. If there is evidence, bring it forward. Let us hear it. Let us hear the facts.
Kevin Sorenson Canadian Alliance Crowfoot, AB
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said that anyone who knew anything and did nothing should resign. He also said that only a few Quebec ministers were aware of the scandal. They knew of the scandal.
Will he name who they are and if they are in his cabinet, will he stand here and ask them to resign?
Reg Alcock LiberalPresident of the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board
Mr. Speaker, the reality is that what the member can do if he has a concern is bring it forward, put it on the table, let people look at it. The problem is he wants us to render the judgment before we have the evidence.