Debates of Nov. 4th, 2005

Liberal Government

[Leon Benoit, Conservative, Vegreville—Wainwright, AB]

Mr. Speaker, here is the record of 12 years of Liberal government.

Government spending on programs of hard-earned tax dollars has increased by 44%, or $49 billion. Health care is worse with longer waiting lists. Taxes have increased. Red tape has worsened. Seniors are worse off. Farmers are worse off. There is the $2 billion gun registry.

In fact, who is better off? Only the Liberals' friends. The list of scandals is long with Shawinigate, strippergate, Earnscliffe, ad scam, Radwanski, Dingwall, Ouellet, Pelletier. It starts to sound like the old country song I've Been Everywhere by Hank Snow. It is all Liberal names.

All of this is from the illegitimate Liberal government elected on stolen taxpayers' money funnelled to the Liberal Party.

It is time for a Conservative government led by the current Leader of the Opposition. His first piece of legislation as prime minister would be the federal accountability act, which would ensure that Canadians never again would get corrupt government like we have had from the Liberal government for the past 12 years.

New Brunswick Businesses

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate two extraordinary entrepreneurs. Two weeks ago, Enterprise South East recognized Mike Breau, president of Ocean Pier Inc., located in Scoudouc, New Brunswick, for his significant contribution to our economy.

Founded in 1989, Ocean Pier is a leading manufacturer of prepared seafood products. It employs over 90 people year long.

The young entrepreneur prize was awarded to Eric LeBlanc of Shediac Bay Cruises. Eric operates this very successful tourism business from the Pointe-du-Chêne wharf. He offers thousands of tourists a dramatic and interactive Acadian cultural experience each year.

I have known both Mike and Eric for a number of years. I can attest to the great merit of these two outstanding award recipients.

I also want to congratulate Enterprise South East, its executive director, Serge Doucet, and the president, Léandre Cormier, for the outstanding work they do in our community.

Veterans Affairs

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Mr. Speaker, recently sod was turned for the Korean war memorial in a prominent place in Burnaby's Central Park. The memorial will commemorate the legacy of over 500 Canadian soldiers, 36 from B.C., who gave their lives in the Korean war.

This memorial will only be the second specific Korean war memorial in Canada. It will be a reminder of the contribution of over 30,000 Canadians who served in Korea. It will also be a bridge, a bridge between Canadian and Korean culture, a bridge between the generations that experienced the horrors of this war and those who only know the story, and a bridge between those memories and our hopes for a peaceful future.

This project is led by the Korean Veterans Association Western Canada Chapter and the Canadian Korean Veterans Association Pacific Region, and is supported by many others. The city of Burnaby and its Parks, Recreation and Culture Commission are key partners.

In this Year of the Veteran as we approach Remembrance Day, we pay tribute to the brave men and women who defended freedom and democracy. Their sacrifice shall not be forgotten.

Yitzhak Rabin

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today marks the 10th anniversary of one of the most tragic events in the history of the state of Israel. It was on November 4, 1994 that prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated after attending a peace rally. This came a year after Mr. Rabin had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Yitzhak Rabin was a champion of peace because he understood the cost of war. He had served in the Israeli military for 27 years, culminating as chief of staff.

It was under his command that the Israeli defence force defeated three belligerent armies during the six day war. It was under his political leadership that Israel conducted the brilliantly successful rescue of Air France passengers hijacked and held hostage at Entebbe airport.

To such a man skilled in the arts of war, the value of peace was painfully clear.

During his second term in office as prime minister, in 1993, Mr. Rabin signed the Oslo accords, which seemed to point the way to a historic peace with the Palestinians. It was for this effort that he was forced to pay the ultimate price.

His example of courage should never be forgotten.

Sponsorship Program

[France Bonsant, Bloc, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, after orchestrating one of the worst scandals in Canadian political history and after this scandal came to light following five years of repeated questions here in the House, the Liberal government has not learned a single thing.

The Prime Minister's admission that, in an attempt to buy Quebec, public funds were shamefully played with and his condemnation of those who transported the envelopes full of dirty money is a first step. However, it is just as important to know who used this dirty money.

The Prime Minister still refuses to tell us who received the $120,000 that Marc-Yvan Côté, Liberal Party of Canada organizer for eastern Quebec, got from Michel Béliveau.

After trying to make Quebeckers and Canadians believe that he knew nothing about this scandal, the Prime Minister is now hiding the identities of those who campaigned using dirty sponsorship money.

Iran

[Russ Powers, Liberal, Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, 65 years ago, statements similar in tone to those made last week by the President of Iran became a reality almost overnight.

The statements are distressing to my constituents, the residents of greater Hamilton and all of Canada.

The Iranian president's declaration that “Israel be wiped off the face of the earth” is not only deeply offensive, it is a major assault against the ongoing Middle East peace process, let alone what else it says about the mindset of the current Iranian administration.

Following this declaration the Iranian president summarily dismissed many senior members of the Iranian diplomatic corps, diplomats who obviously supported the pursuit of normal relations with western Europe and North America.

These events which are unfolding before our eyes in Iran are a very sad and disturbing development. They are producing new and awesome challenges for Iran's neighbours as they seek peace and security.

Without hesitation, qualification or reservation, I condemn these actions by the Iranian president. It is urgent that the international community find ways to engage in meaningful dialogue with moderate elements--

[The Speaker]

Oral questions, the hon. member for Central Nova.

Sponsorship Program

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Justice said, “The government has made the determination that this is what the party owes”. He feels that the Liberal government and the Liberal Party can agree that $1 million is an appropriate amount of repayment for what Liberals stole from Canadians.

Is the professor of justice now so far up the ivory tower and so far removed from basic tenets of law that he actually thinks the guilty party gets to determine its own sentence and decide what amount of restitution is repaid? When will the Liberal government sue the Liberal Party of Canada and recover the full amount of money that it stole from Canadian taxpayers?

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

Mr. Speaker, once again the Liberal Party of Canada has paid back any money received inappropriately to the Canadian taxpayer.

In fact the calculations were based on analysis of Justice Gomery's facts in his report. Justice Gomery reviewed 28 million pages of documents, heard from 172 witnesses and in fact did a thorough analysis of the facts. We based our analysis on his facts and every penny has been repaid.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I guess we should just take his word for it.

The culture of favouritism of this Liberal government has been demonstrated once again. The Minister of Justice has decided to set the amount his party has to pay back to the taxpayers.

In our justice system, sentences are not set by the guilty party. Justice Gomery has said that the Liberal Party was responsible.

When will proceedings be initiated against the Liberal Party to recover all the money stolen from Canadians?

[Jean Lapierre, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party of Canada—not the Minister of Justice—in conjunction with its lawyers and accountants, has gone over each page of this report. Every amount deemed to have been deposited incorrectly in the coffers of the Liberal Party has been paid back cent for cent, for a total of $1.143 million. The content of the report was the basis used by our accountants and lawyers to determine the amount.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, more nonsense from a founder of the Bloc.

The Liberal Party was found guilty by Judge Gomery of the worst theft of public money in modern Canadian history. Of the 28 lawsuits that the government has launched to recover the dirty ad scam money, there still is not a single one filed against the Liberal Party. It has made a down payment of $1.14 million, a paltry portion of the money that it stole, and less than the ad scammer Paul Coffin paid.

With $40 million still missing, why has a lawsuit not been launched by the government against the Liberal Party of Canada to recover the entire amount it stole from taxpayers?

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

Mr. Speaker, before a government or any other entity would launch a civil action against another entity, it would typically calculate, based on its analysis of the facts, the amount that would be appropriate to collect. If in fact the other entity offered voluntarily to pay that amount, there would be no need for a legal case.

I know the hon. member is a lawyer and perhaps he is trying to stir up all kinds of business for lawyers, but the fact is if two individuals can settle their differences and have full payment of what is appropriate, why do we need to bring lawyers and court cases into it?

Liberal Party of Canada

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister says he wants to ban 10 individuals from being members of the Liberal Party for life, yet many are wondering why the Prime Minister has selected these particular individuals and not others.

If the PM thinks it was wrong to handle illegal donations in the form of envelopes of cash, was it not also wrong for Liberal organizers and candidates to accept that cash and use it? When are they going to lose their memberships?

When will the Prime Minister stand and apologize to all the honest candidates who ran in the last election, who stuck to the rules but did not have a chance against a corrupt political machine? When are they going to get their--

[The Speaker]

I have grave reservations about the admissibility of that question. It appears to deal exclusively with membership in a political party which, as the hon. member for Niagara Falls is well aware, does not involve the administrative responsibilities of the government. Perhaps he could move on to the next question and tie it in to the administrative responsibilities of the government, which question period concerns.

Sponsorship Program

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we will get the answer to that eventually.

For many years the Prime Minister was in the private sector. I think it is a fair question to ask what he would do if he had a chief financial officer whose company was found guilty of kickbacks, submitting false receipts, fraud, having out of control employees and absolutely no accountability. I bet he would ask for the resignation of the CFO.

I have a suggestion for the Prime Minister. Why does he not take a close look in the mirror and see who that CFO is and I bet he will want to do the right thing and pack it in, will he not?

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

Mr. Speaker, all last winter opposition members were attacking the Prime Minister and accusing him of being directly involved and responsible for malfeasance. The fact is Justice Gomery, in his report, has said absolutely that the Prime Minister is exonerated from blame in this affair.

They do not support Justice Gomery. They do not believe in his report because it does not fit into their narrow partisan goals. Canadians, who deserve the truth and want the answers, believe in Justice Gomery but they do not believe in the Conservative rhetoric on this issue.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in the aftermath of the Gomery report, the Prime Minister announced a number of measures. He has, however, refused to disclose the identities of the Liberal candidates who received dirty money from Marc-Yvan Côté. Yet those candidates profited from the kickback system denounced by Justice Gomery. It is even possible that some of those candidates are sitting in this House or are working within the government.

Why does the Prime Minister refuse to disclose their identity? Why is he covering up for people who profited from the dirty money,when he has banned from the party the people who distributed that money ?

[Jean Lapierre, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Bloc Québécois is starting up again on an attempted character assassination operation affecting certain people who might be sitting here or other public figures.

If the leader of the Bloc Québécois has accusations to make concerning anyone whatsoever, let him rise and name names.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we are asking for names. It was they who expelled people, including Marc-Yvan Côté. During the 1997 election campaign, Marc-Yvan Côté was responsible for 21 ridings in eastern Quebec. Eighteen of them received funds and some ten got cash from Marc-Yvan Côté.

By not revealing the names of the candidates, does the Prime Minister realize he is fuelling the suspicions currently swirling around all the Liberal candidates in the 1997 election?

[Jean Lapierre, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, if there is one person doing his level best to fuel suspicion, to try to damage reputations, it is once again the leader of the Bloc Québécois, who has no proof of what he is contending. If he wants to accuse somebody, he should have the courage to make the accusations in the House and outside it. Otherwise, he should be quiet.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this is not hard to understand. The Gomery report states that Marc-Yvan Côté oversaw 21 ridings and distributed money to 18.

This is our question for the government. So far the government has been against naming names. Why will it not release the names of the people at the end of the line who received money from Marc-Yvan Côté, who was suspended for doing so? Those who took the money must be just as guilty as he who handed it out.

[Jean Lapierre, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois House leader is on another fishing expedition in an attempt to tarnish reputations. The reality is that the government does not have to comment on anything that is not in the Gomery report. We trust in Justice Gomery's findings and he blamed certain individuals.

I do not have any additional information and I have no names to disclose. If the Bloc Québécois has such information, then it should make it known and name names rather than try to tarnish the reputations of all—

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, something is not right here. The Gomery report we are quoting states that the money was handed out to 18 Liberals. These Liberals might be anywhere, they were not identified. They might be here or in ministers' offices. We do not know.

What we are asking the government is this. It said it wants to clean things up. Cleaning up does not mean sweeping things under the rug.

Name names so that we know who is involved.

[Jean Lapierre, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, this is a real witch hunt. The Bloc Québécois House leader is once again flinging accusations at all the hon. members on this side of the House without any evidence, without any names, and without any specific charges. This is nothing more than a smear campaign.