Debates of April 18th, 2005

Sponsorship Program

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, before the Gomery commission, the Prime Minister said that the president of Groupe Everest, Claude Boulay, was merely an acquaintance, whom he met from time to time. However, in his April 26, 2001 letter addressed “Dear Claude”, the Prime Minister did not hold back, referring even to the beauty of Mr. Boulay's wife, Diane Deslauriers, the queen of Liberal Party ticket sellers.

In contrast to what he said under oath, will the Prime Minister admit that his April 2001 letter is a clear indication of his close link with Claude Boulay, the president of Groupe Everest?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been clear. Last week he answered the question in relation to his relationship with Mr. Boulay. What the Prime Minister said was that he did not have lunch with Mr. Boulay, or anyone else as far as that goes, to direct a contract to any individual firm.

I really do not understand why we are making so much of this letter. It is the kind of letter I should think many of us write to acquaintances, casual acquaintances and others, in terms of acknowledging a special birthday. What is the big deal?

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I did not ask whether the Prime Minister had dinner with Claude Boulay. I am simply asking whether it is usual practice to write something like the following to a constituent, “I still believe that the years wash over Diane with such grace and beauty that she remains youthful. Claude, you should follow her example!” Are there many members in the House who would write such a thing to people they do not know?

We want to know whom the Prime Minister dined with? Claude Boulay or his wife?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said before, as far as I am concerned, all of us in the House understand that we all write letters to acquaintances to celebrate special events. Honestly, I suppose the only thing the Prime Minister could be criticized for in this context is being kind and gracious.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, among those working close to the Prime Minister, Terrie O'Leary, his former chief of staff, intervened in the selection of advertising agencies, as did Ms. Castelli, his riding assistant, who intervened with the office of Alfonso Gagliano on behalf of Serge Savard and the Internationaux du Sport de Montréal to have a negative decision overturned.

How can the Prime Minister say that he does not engage in this kind of politics, when two of his very close assistants have intervened directly in matters?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, it is very clear that the Prime Minister when he was minister of finance argued for open competitions. That was what he and his staff, including Madame O'Leary, argued for, in fact, often in opposition to officials within the Department of Finance, arguing that these competitions should be open to the widest range of qualified firms possible.

[Michel Gauthier, Bloc, Roberval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, will the Deputy Prime Minister acknowledge that the Prime Minister can say to all and sundry he does not engage in this type of politics because he gets other members of his entourage to do so? This amounts to the same thing.

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, again, let me be absolutely clear. It was the Prime Minister when he was minister of finance who argued for open competitive processes so that all qualified firms with an interest in bidding had the opportunity to do so.

I do not think the record could be any clearer than that.

Foreign Affairs

[Jack Layton, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister, who today was making promises to immigrants without bothering to mention the years of broken promises to immigrants who have been trying to get their families together and as a result of the Liberal government's policy have been unable to do so.

Let us talk about the next announcement that is to come tomorrow on foreign and defence policy, where we will be hearing about going down the road to deeper integration with George Bush on defence policy.

Will the Prime Minister tell us, how many times has he discussed deeper integration with George Bush over the last year?

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I will be very pleased to table in the House tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock our new international policy statement. My colleagues and I will be meeting with the press.

I am sure the leader of the New Democratic Party will want to join this side of the House for a very bold foreign policy that will make sure that Canada can make a difference in the world.

[Jack Layton, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the problem with the Prime Minister is he is going to be the man with the wire brush. He is going to clean with a wire brush any connection between what he says and what he does. All we have to do is look at Kyoto. There have been years of promises to deliver on Kyoto and now we have a plan that will not meet the targets, according to Greenpeace, the David Suzuki Foundation and even the Globe and Mail .

When it comes to foreign policy, there have been 12 years of promises to increase foreign aid broken and it will be broken again in that paper.

The problem with all these promises, is it not, Mr. Prime Minister, is that they are Liberal promises? Can you explain that?

[The Speaker]

I think the member for Toronto--Danforth may have meant to say “Mr. Speaker” but said “Mr. Prime Minister” instead. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, however, is rising to answer the question

[Pierre Pettigrew, Liberal, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are very proud of the foreign policy Canada has developed over decades of work.

We live in the 21st century. New challenges and new situations are evolving. On the development front, we are committed to doubling our assistance in development aid from 2001 to 2009. We want to make a difference in development, in defence, in trade, and in foreign policy.

The government will build on a solid foundation but in a creative way to adapt to the new situations of the 21st century.

Sponsorship Program

[Diane Ablonczy, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Mr. Speaker, this is truly a sad day for Canada. The Prime Minister of our country gave sworn testimony that has seriously been called into question.

He told Gomery he barely knew Claude Boulay of Groupe Everest, but letters entered into evidence speak of a very warm, close, personal relationship with Boulay and his wife Diane.

Is it not true that the Prime Minister is desperate to deny these friends because otherwise it shows him right smack in the middle of the ad scam mess?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been absolutely clear on this issue. The fact is that the Prime Minister is the most trusted political leader in this country for a reason. It is clear that Canadians believe the Prime Minister and they believe his testimony.

With questions like that, it is little wonder that Canadians trust the Prime Minister and not the leaders of the other parties on these and other issues.

[Diane Ablonczy, Conservative, Calgary Nose Hill, AB]

Here is what the Prime Minister testified, Mr. Speaker: “Mr. Boulay and his wife I would describe as acquaintances. I don't know them well”. He also stated, “I did make Boulay's acquaintance in 1990, but it didn't last for long”. Yet in 2001 he wrote very personal birthday congratulations with a handwritten note.

The Prime Minister is caught in a very big discrepancy. How can he expect Canadians to believe him?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Do you know what, Mr. Speaker? I think the problem here is that Canadians do believe the Prime Minister and who they do not believe is the official opposition.

[Monte Solberg, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants us to believe that he only had this casual acquaintance with sponsorship kingpin Claude Boulay, but when I look at that letter, I just draw other conclusions. He wrote, “Diane is still so graceful and beautiful. Claude, you should take her as a model”. That is pretty familiar language for someone who is just a casual acquaintance.

When will the Prime Minister admit that he was much more than a casual acquaintance of Claude Boulay, or is he having trouble remembering?

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

Mr. Speaker, if the best that the opposition can come up with after months and months of Gomery work, after 12 million pages of documents provided to Justice Gomery, after $72 million invested in the Gomery commission to get to the truth, if the only thing that the opposition can come up with is a 50th birthday letter from the Prime Minister to an acquaintance, I think the Prime Minister ought to rest quite comfortably with the fact that that is a desperate opposition trying to tarnish the reputation of a great Prime Minister.

[Monte Solberg, Conservative, Medicine Hat, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I would say it is time to break out the ginkgo biloba for the Prime Minister and his buddies. They all seem to be pretty forgetful these days.

It took the Prime Minister two days to remember that he did not have gastronomic relations with Claude Boulay. Now we have this warm, personal letter to Claude Boulay and his wife. Apparently they were pretty chummy after all.

When will the Prime Minister admit that sponsorship king Claude Boulay is a lot more than a casual acquaintance?

[Anne McLellan, Liberal, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I really think this is a ridiculous line of questioning. What we have here is a letter, the kind of letter everyone in the House writes to constituents and others on special occasions like 50th birthdays, unless of course those people over there do not have any friends.

Let me again reiterate that the Prime Minister has been absolutely clear that in fact he did not have lunch with Mr. Boulay or anyone else to direct any contracts to any individual firm.

The Environment

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, negotiations regarding the Ottawa-Quebec agreement on Kyoto have reached an impasse.

Will the Minister of the Environment admit that negotiations have stalled, since Quebec wants a more detailed and better defined agreement and Ottawa refuses to go beyond a general agreement with vague terms?

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would not admit that. In fact, negotiations are continuing.

I notice that the hon. member attacks the government over the climate change plan. Unfortunately, his party has decided not to support it even though it is the one suggesting that we should make a deal with Quebec, which we intend to do, and with other provinces. I suggest the most constructive thing the member could do is to support the government and the budget, which has the fiscal instruments to move forward on climate change.

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my party does not support Ottawa's plan because it goes easy on polluters. Such is the reality.

The federal government's current approach can be summed up as follows. The more you pollute, the easier it is to reduce your emissions and the more Ottawa will support you in that endeavour.

Will the minister admit that Quebec is right to want some guarantee that its plans will be accepted and not just put on a long list with the plans of the oil producing provinces, which, it seems, will get the lion's share of the available budgets?

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, as the minister and I have said on numerous occasions, this is a balanced approach to climate change. The fact is consultations have gone on in Quebec, Alberta and across the country. I realize the hon. member is unhappy with the public reaction to the plan. I realize he is unhappy with the fact that we have had support from the German environment minister, the Sierra Club and others for this particular plan.

It sounds as if the member is spending too much time with that party, which is not sure whether it is for or against Kyoto. In fact, it is like nailing Jell-O to the wall.