Mr. Speaker, on page 63 of the 22nd edition of Erskine May, it states:
...it is of paramount importance that ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament, correcting any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity.
Yesterday, during question period, the hon. President of the Treasury Board said, and I quote from page 757 of Hansard , “the member for Calgary Southest”, and that would be myself, “received $115,000 from the sponsorship program”.
Following question period, when, on a point of order, I challenged the veracity of his statement, the minister corrected himself and said:
There was $115,000 given to the organization in the hon. member's riding...I said in his riding. It was given two years in a row.
That appears on page 760 of Hansard .
He was challenged by members of the opposition to table the document from which he was evidently citing. Finally, at the end of the day he returned to the House and did that, at page 784 of Hansard .
However, having tabled the document, we had an opportunity to review it. It turns out that no such grant existed, that neither myself nor my riding, nor any organization in my riding received a $115,000 grant from the sponsorship fund or any kind of grant.
Earlier today the hon. President of the Treasury Board said “It's despicable when members bring into this House false information”. I concur.
I would therefore like to provide the President of the Treasury Board with the opportunity, which Erskine May suggests he ought to take up at the earliest occasion, to correct what I am sure was a completely inadvertent error by impugning wrongly myself and my constituency.