Debates of Feb. 13th, 2004

Government Contracts

[Stephen Owen, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, as I am sure the hon. member knows, contracts such as this are tendered competitively. Lockheed Martin has a Canadian subsidiary which bid competitively and won this contract.

The appropriate concern with respect to Canadian privacy and the taking of the census will be observed in this contract as it has in any previous census in the past.

Taxation

[Pat Martin, NDP, Winnipeg Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, all Canadians hope that these crooked Liberal advertising firms will be prosecuted and fined to the fullest extent of the law. However, happily for them, Canada is the only country in the free world that allows businesses to deduct their fines from their income tax. The Liberals have consistently refused to plug this outrageous tax loophole.

I ask the new Minister of Finance, will he change the Income Tax Act so that not another tax season goes by where breaking the law is tax deductible?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I believe a very credible case can be made on the basis of the common laws that presently stand that the type of behaviour that the hon. gentleman refers to is already non-deductible.

I know that he has a private member's bill before the House that is proposing a remedy with respect to this matter. I am looking at it very closely. I want to assure him I have it under active consideration.

Government Contracts

[Jay Hill, Canadian Alliance, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, we have heard what politicians think about this sponsorship scandal but let us listen to what Canadians out in the real world think about it.

In a letter to the editor published in yesterday's National Post , a Toronto resident, Neil Macdonald, wrote:

Today I wrote my first letter ever to my Member of Parliament. The message was simple: After years of waning support for the Liberal Party of Canada, my confidence has been unrepairably shattered by Auditor-General Sheila Fraser's report....

Why should Canadians trust the Prime Minister to run their country when he failed so miserably to protect their tax dollars when he was finance minister?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and all members of the government share the distress of Canadians, as the hon. gentleman has referred to. We are determined that this matter will be dealt with decisively. We have launched a series of processes now to make sure that the past is properly addressed and the future is safeguarded in such a way that this cannot occur.

[Jay Hill, Canadian Alliance, Prince George—Peace River, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister searching for those responsible for this scandal is like O.J. Simpson searching for the murderer.

The sponsorship scandal also prompted Roger Derenzis from Gloucester, Ontario to write to the Ottawa Citizen . He states:

What will be the end result of this probe? It will again prove that this Liberal government is a group of misfits and incompetents who are not entitled to run the affairs of this country.

I could not have said it better myself. Whether it is incompetence or complicity, when will the Prime Minister act like a real Prime Minister and take responsibility for his role in this?

[Stephen Owen, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, responsible government requires that governments, when they find something has gone wrong, act quickly and appropriately to deal with it. It is not by jumping to conclusions and firing people without the evidence, but by setting up processes, forensic audits, internal audits, references to the Auditor General, setting up public inquiries, referring matters to the public accounts committee and hiring special counsel to go after finances that have gone astray.

Equalization Payments

[Loyola Hearn, Progressive Conservative, St. John's West, NL]

Mr. Speaker, cases of Birks watches purchased by the then minister Gagliano have been found in storage. However the minister did not buy them directly from Birks. He had Groupaction buy them and he paid them a fee of $16,000.

It does not take a Birks watch to tell that time is running out on this government, but time is also running out on the equalization agreement.

Why does the Prime Minister not make a deal with the provinces now rather than postponing it until after the election, as he is doing with everything else?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we are taking two immediate steps with respect to equalization. First, there is legislation before the House right now to allow the existing equalization formula to continue if it physically cannot be renewed by March 31. We are also in active discussions with the provinces on the renewal process.

I will be meeting with all of the provinces at the end of next week to see if we can in fact finalize our renewal arrangements with respect to equalization.

[Loyola Hearn, Progressive Conservative, St. John's West, NL]

Mr. Speaker, we will watch that closely.

Seven years ago only two provinces were not accessible by the Trans-Canada Highway, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. Today only Newfoundland needs a ferry service, which should be treated as the extension of the Trans-Canada Highway.

The cost of getting to P.E.I. by the fixed link has gone up over the last five years by 11%. To get to Newfoundland by ferry costs an additional 30%.

In light of the money squandered through the sponsorship program by the Liberal government, how can it justify putting this extra burden on the shoulders of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador?

[Jim Karygiannis, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has clearly stated that a public inquiry will be held in everything that has happened; that we will hold those responsible to account to recover lost funds; that we will strengthen transfer accountability and management across the public sector; and that we will get answers to the remaining questions.

The hon. member has raised a good issue. We will take it under advisement and get back to him.

Employment Insurance

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette-Et-La Mitis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, each month, the media tell us about new cuts that are caused, among other factors, by the Asian competition, when it is not whole plants that are shutting down. For example, Drummondville lost 600 jobs, while in Contrecoeur 180 seamstresses will lose their livelihood.

Does the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development intend to create a special program for older workers who cannot necessarily retrain easily?

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, the employment insurance program seeks to provide temporary income support, promote greater participation in the employment market, and help families strike a balance between professional and family responsibilities.

I am pleased to announce that 88% of all the workers who are on the market qualify for benefits when—

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. member for Rimouski--Neigette-et-la Mitis.

[Suzanne Tremblay, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette-Et-La Mitis, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the pilot project initiative for older workers that was signed by Quebec and Ottawa on October 4, 2000, has resulted in the completion of 55 projects in 13 regions, between October 2000 and March 2004.

Is the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development prepared to extend this program for another year, as his Quebec counterpart is asking him to do?

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, I have yet to speak to my Quebec counterpart, but it is always a pleasure for me to point out how successful our department's programs are.

For example, we are spending $8 billion in regular benefits, almost $3 billion in benefits transferred to the provinces for these initiatives, and $2 billion in benefits for special cases. There is also $47 million for—

[The Deputy Speaker]

The hon. member for Vancouver Island North.

Organized Crime

[John Duncan, Canadian Alliance, Vancouver Island North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP in British Columbia have described the spread of organized crime as a cancer eating away at the moral fabric of British Columbia society. This was after January raids of the B.C. legislative offices of two of the Prime Minister's organizers.

The province has fired and suspended these two individuals. Why are they still working for the Prime Minister?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. gentleman knows, the police are very much at work on this file. If it turns out that someone, anyone, did anything that was either wrong or inappropriate, the proper consequences will follow.

[John Duncan, Canadian Alliance, Vancouver Island North, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is doing everything it can to distance itself from people who were directly connected with the federal Liberal Party in the province of British Columbia.

The culture of corruption the government created is designed to reward Liberal friends across the country. Why are these two individuals, who were removed from the B.C. provincial payroll, still working for the Prime Minister?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, to the best of my knowledge, neither of the individuals are on any staff of the Prime Minister.

Agriculture

[Gerald Keddy, Progressive Conservative, South Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, in all this scandal, one issue has floated to the top. The Prime Minister has put his personal ambition ahead of the public trust. It forever reminds me of a big bullfrog just jumping from one scandal ridden lily pad to the next as it sinks underneath it.

According to the same Prime Minister, there is no money out there to help farmers affected by BSE but he found $250 million to help his Liberal friends.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the hon. gentleman that over the last number of months the government has invested the better part of $500 million in initiatives to deal with BSE. Officials with the Department of Agriculture spent all day yesterday in consultations with the Canadian Cattlemen's Association to determine what further might be required.

[Gerald Keddy, Progressive Conservative, South Shore, NS]

Mr. Speaker, if the government were to convict everybody who was guilty in this scandal it would not have enough left for a four-handed game of 45.

I ask those members to just look at themselves. They are an embarrassment, an absolutely incredible embarrassment to the history of this nation.

It is incredible that the government feels that it is acceptable to launder $250 million toward Liberal lackeys while neglecting its duties to other Canadians.

The Minister of Finance is not too busy trying to ward off the Liberal sponsorship death--

[The Deputy Speaker]

Order, please. The hon. Minister of Finance.