Mr. Speaker, I heard someone say that this has nothing to do with whistleblowers. It has everything to do with whistleblowers and the culture of that party. That is what I am talking about. The family that went public and brought the issue to the forefront was punished severely, unfairly and unjustly by the Liberal government.
The government dithered away for four years trying to resolve this matter and the government had the gall to charge them interest for all that time. It is unconscionable. Never mind the principle. Why? Because they went public to the media and criticized the government. That is how the government responded. They ended up paying the entire phantom tax bill when they never saw a penny of the income, and tens of thousands of dollars in interest because the government dithered for four years.
The member for Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca said to me and said it on public radio that they were going to pay pennies on the dollar, and then he denied saying it. The problem is he said it on an open line radio. There is an audiotape of it. The government's response was to chastise the families.
The Minister of National Revenue, fully aware of the file, was out in Victoria in the middle of September, only a few weeks ago. One of the families called in and spoke to him on air. He wanted no part of that, “Let me take your number off the air and I will get back to you”. Have they had a call yet? No. Does he care about these people? No. Is he a Liberal? Yes.
That is why, when we talk about whistleblower protection, maybe it is about time. That party has been in power for over 10 years. It is coming up on 12 years. We have witnessed one scandal after another scandal. Billions of dollars have been wasted. Money is being shoveled back to their Liberal Party friends. We have watched the whole sponsorship scandal where suitcases of cash have been sprinkled throughout ridings in Quebec. We need whistleblower protection, because how are they going to treat the people who dare to speak up?
This is all a matter of public record. It is all a matter of fact. Well I am sorry, it is a little too late to salvage those Liberals. What they have done to the Canadian people and the taxpayers, how they have treated their tax money with utter disdain, one scandal after another, and the corruption, and giving defeated Liberal cabinet ministers like Mr. Dingwall plump posts, it is outrageous.
Am I skeptical about this? Yes. Will we support the bill again at committee? Yes. However, no legislation can fix the way the Liberals have treated Canadians for the last 11 years. The Liberals need to be thrown out of office today.