House of Commons Hansard #159 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was transport.
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman's allegations are again flatly false. I do not think I need to take any lessons from a member of this House who believes that his patron saint is Conrad Black.
Jason Kenney Conservative Calgary Southeast, AB
Mr. Speaker, that would be the same Conrad Black who gave the Prime Minister a $50,000 leadership contribution, I guess.
The finance minister is responding in the same way the Liberals do at the beginning of every Liberal scandal: to deny. But how can the finance minister be so sure? Market activity tripled in certain stocks in the course of two hours before his announcement was made. Al Rosen, a leading forensic accountant, says “clearly there was a leak some time between...2 and 4”.
The question for the finance minister is, who knew what in his office? Has he made an enquiry in his own office? If not, how can he be so sure there was no leak?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, for the good of the nation, it is very good news that the hon. gentleman is not in charge of stock exchanges. In fact, there are the appropriate authorities that are in place for that purpose. They provide the supervision. They provide the investigation. They will do whatever they believe is necessary to be done.
Peter Van Loan Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Speaker, there once was a practice, long abandoned under the Liberal government, of the finance minister resigning if budget contents leaked, this on the principle that inside information should not allow those connected to government to profit. Now leaks are common, in part because budget-type announcements come almost weekly instead of yearly from a government that has abandoned normal prudent fiscal practice.
The Prime Minister has just proposed restoring traditional ministerial accountability as proof that he is going to clean up corruption. Will it apply in the case of the recent reports of insider trading on tax changes? Or was the Prime Minister just kidding when he announced the return of the ministerial accountability principle?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is there are no credible allegations. In fact, the opposition is trading in its usual pre-election process fluff. There is nothing to the suggestions that those members have put before this House.
Peter Van Loan Conservative York—Simcoe, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canadians will not be surprised if the Prime Minister's latest promises on cleaning up corruption have the life span of a fruit fly. After all, there is a lot rotten in the government.
The Minister of Finance created the uncertainty in the markets with ill-considered comments in the first place. Then, according to Al Rosen, who is among the most respected finance experts, there is evidence that some people had inside knowledge of the minister's new tax policy in advance of the public and profited.
Will the Minister of Finance take responsibility for this situation? Or is there still, in the words of Justice Gomery, a “refusal of ministers...to acknowledge their responsibility”?
Ralph Goodale LiberalMinister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to note that Judge Gomery said, in relation to my activities as Minister of Public Works, that in fact I set the “standard” that should have been applied in that particular file. I appreciate that comment from Judge Gomery.
Guy Côté Bloc Portneuf, QC
Mr. Speaker, the federal government wants to impose its conditions and choose Quebec's environmental projects while, from 1970 to 1999, Ottawa spent $66 billion on oil, gas and coal development and a measly $329 million on clean energy such as wind energy.
The agreement should be based on the model used for the municipal infrastructure program under which Quebec has the last word on the choice of projects.
How does this government have the nerve to tell Quebec what to do?
Lucienne Robillard LiberalPresident of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, we intend to work together with the provinces to combat global warming.
The environment is a shared jurisdiction. Intense negotiations are ongoing and we still hope to reach agreements with all the provinces.
Guy Côté Bloc Portneuf, QC
Mr. Speaker, we have learned that Ottawa wants to select from projects presented by the municipalities and towns of Quebec. It is this paternalistic attitude that has caused the public to lose confidence in this government.
Does the government intend to step back, drop its paternalistic approach and let Quebec call the shots on this agreement which comes under its jurisdiction and applies to its own territory?
Lucienne Robillard LiberalPresident of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, this is opportunism by the Bloc, which wants to trigger an election to prevent us from addressing issues of great importance to Quebeckers and other Canadians.
We are prepared to continue negotiating with all of the provinces to reach an agreement so that we can work together to tackle the major challenge of global warming.
Diane Bourgeois Bloc Terrebonne—Blainville, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister claims to have put a great deal of money into international aid. His friend Bono does not share that opinion.
When the Liberals took power in 1993, Canadian aid represented 0.44% of the gross domestic product. Despite all the PM's fine words, the figure has dropped to 0.30%. It is very difficult, under such circumstances, to trust this government.
Can the Prime Minister admit that this is a pretty substantial drop for someone who had promised to do far more and far better?
Aileen Carroll LiberalMinister of International Cooperation
Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to note that this government increased the development budget by 8% last year and 8% this year. In fact, in the end it has given more than that. This will mean that our aid budget will have doubled by the year 2010. I also have spoken in the House about the effectiveness of our aid. I also am absolutely appalled by the criticism that comes from a party that voted against Bill C-48, which hugely increased our aid budget.
Diane Bourgeois Bloc Terrebonne—Blainville, QC
Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister and the minister are really serious, can they commit to Canada's attaining the target figure set by the UN because at the rate things are going, that will not happen until 2035?
Aileen Carroll LiberalMinister of International Cooperation
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has made it eminently clear that he will reach the 0.7%. He has said that publicly and he intends to do so, but like all other ways in which he approaches issues like this, he is fiscally very prudent. He has made it clear that when he can reach it and when he has a plan to get there, he will make that a very public matter.
I think we must be mindful of the fact that Canada's reputation for disbursing that which it pledges is sterling. There are sometimes questions about other countries that set dates and make pledges that are not always met.
James Moore Conservative Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Works and Government Services wants to convince us that the Liberal Party of Canada has paid back to the taxpayers every red cent that was illegally received. According to Justice Gomery, however, $40 million is still missing, and no one knows where it is.
The election is approaching. A Conservative government will doggedly pursue the Liberal Party in order to recover the millions of dollars that have disappeared from the public purse. Why does this Liberal government not manifest that same desire?
Jean Lapierre LiberalMinister of Transport
Mr. Speaker, I do not know if there is some sort of sickness going the rounds of the Conservative Party, but they are making up a lot of stories these days. Its leader invented the fact that Justice Gomery had made reference to organized crime, and now this member is trying to invent the fact that Justice Gomery said there was $40 million missing. Both are lying, and both have created these stories out of whole cloth.
James Moore Conservative Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam, BC
Mr. Speaker, what we have said is that the Liberal approach to cleaning up the sponsorship mess has been more talk than action. The Liberals talked about paying back the stolen money. Justice Gomery said that $40 million was stolen. The Liberals say they have paid back $1 million. Only the most blind Liberal partisan can believe that Liberal math.
The Liberals said that they were going to go after the people who got the stolen money, but the Prime Minister has not held accountable any one of the eighteen Liberal candidates who in 1997 got illegal, stolen sponsorship cash. Why has the Liberal approach to the sponsorship program been so much talk and so little action? Do taxpayers not deserve better?
Scott Brison LiberalMinister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the Liberal Party of Canada has paid back every penny received inappropriately as a result of these activities. Furthermore, the analysis was conducted based on Justice Gomery's facts.
The Conservatives can work with the separatists and pull figures out of the air to try to besmirch the reputation of good people who are involved in political life, but the fact is that our analysis is based on Justice Gomery. We trust Justice Gomery, not the separatists and the Conservatives.
John Cummins Conservative Delta—Richmond East, BC
Mr. Speaker, for years the Conservative Party has been working for a just redress of the injustice done to Chinese Canadians by the infamous head tax.
Last week, as part of its flurry of bogus pre-election promises, the government announced a $2.5 million payment to one group, angering many others who felt excluded, including the coalition of head tax payers, and leaving out surviving head tax payers themselves.
Why did the government rush this announcement that has ended up causing divisions in the Chinese community rather than working to create a consensus?
Raymond Chan LiberalMinister of State (Multiculturalism)
Mr. Speaker, there are so many non-factual issues in the hon. member's question. First of all, it is the opposition party's proposal in the draft legislation that asks to talk to one group only. In the agreement we have signed, we have the support of SUCCESS in Vancouver and the cultural centre in Toronto. We have the support of the Montreal cultural centre and many, many other groups across the country in the Chinese community, so we did not deal with just one group.
Tom Lukiwski Conservative Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK
Mr. Speaker, Canadians of Ukrainian ancestry are protesting the recent nomination of Liberal candidate Mr. Michael Ignatieff. Mr. Ignatieff refers to Ukrainians as little Russians and talks about the disdain he has for Ukrainians--
Tom Lukiwski Conservative Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK
I will get to the point. Mr. Ignatieff said that “Ukrainian independence conjures up images of peasant embroidered shirts, the nasal whine of ethnic instruments”.
Canada is a country that is tolerant and multicultural. Will the minister join with me in condemning the remarks of Michael Ignatieff?