Debates of Nov. 24th, 2005

Canada Revenue Agency

[Brian Pallister, Conservative, Portage—Lisgar, MB]

Mr. Speaker, what is beneath contempt is the conduct of the government and it is time it was thrown out.

More Canadians than ever are cheating on their taxes and no wonder. Take a look at the legacy of waste: gun registry, boondoggle, André Ouellet, Dingwall's entitlements, sponsorship scandal, kickbacks, and now vote-buying in record numbers. To top it off, Canadians see a multimillionaire Prime Minister using offshore tax havens to dodge paying his own taxes.

Is the finance minister the last Canadian who does not understand why taxpayers are saying, “Liberals do not pay their taxes. Why should I pay mine?”

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, what a crock of unmitigated horse feathers.

Let us look at the record. From its peak at 68% of GDP when the Conservatives were in office, Canada's debt ratio today stands at just 38%. It is on its way to 25% and then 20% within 15 years. Our debt load when those people across the way were in office was the second worst in the G-7. Today it is the very best. The proportion of our debt that was in foreign hands when they were in office, 43%. Today it is just 15%.

That party drove this country into the ground.

Ethics

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, an unprecedented number of the Prime Minister's friends have benefited from the Liberal culture of entitlement. He ushered his Liberal pals into the Senate, including Art Eggleton, whose ethics apparently were not good enough even for Jean Chrétien. He is negotiating severance with Liberal David Dingwall. He appointed defeated Liberal candidate Glen Murray to a plum patronage job against the wishes of the House.

Will the Prime Minister finally admit what Canadians know well? The Liberal culture of entitlement thrives in his government.

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Minister of Public Works and Government Services]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is Justice Gomery said that under the previous Conservative government it was impossible for firms that were not Conservative related to get any advertising contracts.

Further, this government and the Prime Minister have done more to end this kind of activity, to ensure that Canadians have open, transparent and accountable government than any prime minister in the history of Canada.

I am proud, we are proud to sit with the Prime Minister defending the interests of Canadians and not throwing mud on everyone involved in the political process like that party is doing.

[Jeff Watson, Conservative, Essex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal crony and patronage deserves the same electoral defeat that the Conservatives got in 1993.

The Prime Minister's ethical deficit reaches a new low every day. Liberal hack David Herle received an untendered contract to write the Liberal election platform. A Liberal pollster received a verbal contract for taxpayer dollars. Liberal David Dingwall will receive a golden handshake on top of his $350,000 illegal lobbying commission.

Will the Prime Minister finally admit that patronage, cronyism and a culture of entitlement are alive and well in his Liberal government?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman's allegations are simply untrue. We can go through the points that he raised in his preamble and refute them one by one. On one for example, he referred to a particular contract that was let fully within the rules and it was fully published on the Internet before those folks across the way had even read the morning newspaper.

Canada Elections Act

[Mark Holland, Liberal, Ajax—Pickering, ON]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in the House the deputy leader of the government tabled legislation that would limit contributions for election advertising by third parties.

Could the minister update the House as to whether progress has been made to seek unanimous consent from the opposition to pass this important legislation?

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Minister for Internal Trade]

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the opposition has refused to let the House deal with this legislation immediately. While disappointing, it is not surprising given that the Leader of the Opposition has spent a good chunk of his career trying to allow unlimited spending by third parties. In essence, the opposition refused to shut the door to U.S.-style political action committees.

Given that the bill will not become law, will the leader of the official opposition rescind his commitment to allow anyone to spend unlimited amounts of money to unduly influence the electoral process?

International Cooperation

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals wonder why Canadians call them morally bankrupt and democratically deficient. In a unanimous vote in June, Parliament called on the Prime Minister to deliver on our 0.7% obligation for international development assistance. Despite their $20 billion spending binge, there is not one red cent for international development assistance.

Could the government explain why?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is that in the budget in February we increased our foreign aid commitment by $3.4 billion which was the largest increase ever. That was later increased in the summer by another $500 million. We are investing $342 million in a variety of programs to assist in health improvements in Africa; $500 million to focus on peace and security; and we are also investing in the work at Doha to try to get a trade result in the international trade talks that will be friendly to the lesser developed countries of this world.

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, that is just plain garbage.

In a $20 billion spending binge, not one cent is going to meet our 0.7% ODA commitment. Not a single pill is flowing from the government's legislation to supposedly deliver antiretroviral drugs to Africa. Six thousand people are dying a day as a result of not getting those pills. We said the legislation was flawed.

What explanation does the government have for turning its back on the desperate and dying?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, in the earlier answer I referred to the very significant dollars, billions of dollars, that this government has committed to increase foreign aid. What I did not refer to were the other billions of dollars, between $3 billion and $4 billion, that we have contributed to eliminate third world debt, the debts owed by the poorest countries of this world to the rich countries of this world. Canada is a leader in that crusade. When this campaign is concluded in about six years not one poor country on the face of the earth will owe $1 to Canada. The debt will be gone.

Citizenship and Immigration

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, last year the Prime Minister and immigration minister both proclaimed that the stripper program was cancelled. The minister said, “No way, it is not going to be done under my watch”. Then behind Canadians' backs they secretly started it up again. The Liberals are still aiding those who traffic in women and they are still exposing vulnerable women to exploitation and abuse.

Why is it that Liberal promises simply cannot be trusted?

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, what was said a few months ago still stands.

What we do not appreciate is the fact that the Conservative Party is engaged in an ethic of distortion of the facts. If she can produce elements that will bear that out, then let her come forward with it. Otherwise, stop lying.

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration knows words like that are unparliamentary and are not to be used. We will deal with that after.

The hon. member for Brandon--Souris.

[Merv Tweed, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, once again it becomes obvious that the minister graduated from the Liberal school of entitlement.

This year the minister spent more Canadian taxpayer money on entertainment expenses than it takes to feed a family for a whole year. Sadly, he thinks he is entitled to this. Excessive spending on meals, trips and questionable expenses plague his department and he continues to wallow at the trough.

Does the minister believe he is entitled to force hard-working taxpayers to fund his excessive, frivolous and unnecessary spending?

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, again distortion. Everything that I have done is above board and for the government.

Let me give the House some facts. My spending on travel was $56,000. My critic opposite, for example, spent $106,000 over that same period. I wonder, when he gets on a plane does he take a champagne shower and ask for caviar? Another member opposite spent $138,000 on travel, and to boot, the Leader of the Opposition allowed four of his members, Rona, Helena, James and Rahim--

[The Speaker]

Order. The hon. member for Edmonton--Strathcona.

[Rahim Jaffer, Conservative, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it seems like all that expensive pizza is getting to his head.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs says that rapper 50 Cent should not perform in Canada. With his hits like Hustler's Ambition , Slow Dough and Power of the Dolla , the rap star is known for glorifying theft, breaking the law and gangsterism. It sounds like he got his lyrics from the Gomery report.

Does the parliamentary secretary not see any hypocrisy in condemning 50 Cent when he merely glorifies standard practice in the Liberal government?

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration]

Mr. Speaker, that is so typical, I do not know whether it is the real Rahim or not.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker]

Order. I do not need to remind hon. members that referring to one another by other than their titles is out of order. This seems to be a habit that is catching. If the minister has a response to make without reference to members' names, then perhaps he could give it. I think he might refrain from referring to members by name.

[Joe Volpe, Liberal, Eglinton—Lawrence, ON]

Mr. Speaker, of course I would not have referred to the member by name if I could identify him. We are trying to find out who it is who sits on the other side.

We need to be able to deal with some of the questions that the parliamentary secretary, to whom he has referred, deals with seriously. This kind of sleaze on the other side does not help us to deal with the issues in a realistic and positive fashion. We have a program in place. We will deal with it.

Of course we abhor violence. Of course we denigrate this kind of--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Palliser.

Political Party Fundraising

[Dave Batters, Conservative, Palliser, SK]

Mr. Speaker, it seems like another example of rules for Liberals and other rules for Canadians who want to play by the rules.

While Canadians have been ignored by the Prime Minister, $5,000 buys privileged access for a few. He has been desperately raising money for his corrupt Liberal Party, most recently at a $5,000 per ticket cocktail party. These funds will apparently be used to pay back a fraction of the money stolen from taxpayers. Yet because tax receipts are issued, all taxpayers will be subsidizing these donations.

Why does the Prime Minister think he is entitled to have hard-working taxpayers subsidize the repayment of money that was stolen from them in the first place?