Debates of April 22nd, 2005

The Prime Minister

[Jim Prentice, Conservative, Calgary North Centre, AB]

Mr. Speaker, last evening Canadians witnessed a desperate and furtive Prime Minister admitting that he had not been vigilant when he was finance minister and pleading for permission to cling to power.

Canadians have heard the testimony at Gomery. They know about the Liberal fraud, the theft, the illegal lobbying, the false election returns, the money laundering, the dirty money, the questionable judicial appointments and the kickbacks. All of this happened under this Prime Minister's nose.

Could he clarify his plea today. Was he culpable or merely incompetent--

[The Speaker]

The hon. Minister of Finance.

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister made a very compelling argument last evening. He spoke directly to the concerns of Canadians about the crucial work of the Gomery commission and why 7 or 8 out of 10 Canadians believe it is vitally important to have that whole work completed. He spoke about political responsibility and accountability and about the calling of a national election quickly upon the publication of Judge Gomery's report.

I think Canadians will find the Prime Minister's case to be both reasonable and convincing based upon the complete unvarnished truth.

Public Works and Government Services

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the sanctimony of the Minister of Public Works is becoming just a little difficult to stomach.

It turns out that on September 28, 1998, he referred to the current Prime Minister as Genghis Khan. On February 3, 2003, he is quoted in the National Post as comparing the current Prime Minister to Osama bin Laden, saying that apparently he just released a tape from his cave.

How can the Minister of Public Works stand here with that kind of hypocrisy and sanctimony day after day?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker]

Order, please. We will have some order. The Minister of Public Works and Government Services is rising to answer the question asked by the hon. member for Calgary Southeast. He has the floor. How can we possibly hear him and how can the member for Calgary Southeast hear the response with all the noise?

The hon. Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

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

Mr. Speaker, a couple of months ago that member said that there were forms of just discrimination. I am proud to be part of a party that does not believe that discrimination is just, a party that believes in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

A rough day as a Liberal is better than a good day as a Conservative and a party that does not believe in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, not only is he a hypocrite but he has now come out against affirmative action apparently.

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Calgary Southeast I am sure is aware that calling another hon. member a hypocrite is not in order. Sometimes their answers are hypocritical but members are not hypocrites. The hon. member for Calgary Southeast I am sure is well aware of that and will want to withdraw that remark.

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Calgary Southeast, AB]

Mr. Speaker, a hypocrite says one thing and does another. That minister says one thing and then says another. On the one hand, he criticizes a comment from a political staffer that he himself made.

Would the minister care to retract comparing the current Prime Minister to Osama bin Laden and to Genghis Khan, or is he just going to stand there and talk out of both sides of his mouth like usual?

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

Mr. Speaker, let us be very clear. What they do on a daily basis is try to smear the reputation of the Prime Minister, a Prime Minister who they have been unsuccessful in trying to place blame on, a Prime Minister who stands above all the other federal leaders in the House at getting to the truth for Canadians.

They should be ashamed of themselves. Canadians know that they can trust the Prime Minister of Canada who has more integrity in his little finger than the leader of the Conservative Party does in his entire body.

The Prime Minister

[Dean Allison, Conservative, Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is becoming increasingly clear from sworn testimony in public accounts that the Prime Minister was not only aware of what was going on, but was treating contracts in the same way as Alfonso Gagliano, using Chuck Guité to funnel money not only to Liberal friendly firms but to the current Prime Minister's leadership campaign.

Is it true that he has hidden his own scandal from Gomery because he does not want Canadians to know the truth?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, what we are experiencing today in question period is a very good illustration of why the Gomery commission is important. We have a swirl of insinuations and allegations that have all been contrived to create the most negative impressions without the facts having been found and the truth being known.

I would quote distinguished Ottawa journalist Susan Riley who said recently in the Ottawa Citizen , “What is going on is hysteria, a lynch mob mentality, a potent mixture of genuine public outrage and political opportunism that threatens to derail”--

[The Speaker]

The hon. member for Glengarry--Prescott--Russell.

Official Languages

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for Official Languages in order, once again, to ask for his help.

Yesterday, for the second time in three days, the Conservatives refused to allow Bill S-3, to improve the lives of minorities in Canada, to move forward.

Has the minister finally succeeded in convincing the Conservatives to put an end to the real hypocrisy we are witnessing here in Parliament?

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative official languages critic issued a press release in which he quotes his own words, which I will now also quote, “Conservatives will work hard in committee to make S-3 acceptable to all parties”. This is an excellent example of saying one thing and doing the opposite.

I think that the members of the official opposition who voted for that party should talk to their official languages critic so he stops saying one thing and doing the other. Otherwise, they might all end up ashamed of their own behaviour.

Infrastructure

[Alexa McDonough, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of State for Infrastructure and Communities.

Before gutting infrastructure funding, the federal government contributed customarily one-third of water and sewer infrastructure costs.

Today, Herring Cove residents in my riding face prohibitive costs for long-awaited services because the federal government has reduced its contribution to less than one-sixth of the cost.

Will the minister agree to get beyond the rhetoric and ensure concretely that Herring Cove residents will finally get their service and water at a cost they can afford?

[John Godfrey, Liberal, Minister of State (Infrastructure and Communities)]

Mr. Speaker, I would be pleased to look at the situation in Herring Cove, a community I actually know reasonably well.

I can state that the policy of our existing infrastructure program is one-third, one-third, one-third and the good news is that the policy for our new gas tax programs, having launched the first one in British Columbia last Friday, is 100% federal money.

However I will certainly look into the question raised by the hon. member for Halifax.

Commercial Bankruptcies

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, when Liberals had the opportunity to ban the immoral practice of using scabs, they sided with the Conservatives to defeat the bill. When asked to intervene in Wal-Mart's unprecedented attack on workers, Liberals stood silent.

Now we hear that the Minister of Labour and the Liberal House leader will oppose the workers first bill, legislation that would protect workers' pensions.

The NDP is here to make the minority government work for people. The all party steel caucus supports sending this bill to committee. Why will the government not keep its promise to protect workers' pensions?

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

Mr. Speaker, this government will always defend Canadian workers and will continue to do so. The fact is we consider all proposed legislation through the perspective and from the goal of doing our best to ensure that Canadian workers' rights are protected and at the same time we encourage a dynamic and competitive economic environment. We have done that and we will continue to do that.

The Prime Minister

[James Bezan, Conservative, Selkirk—Interlake, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister shamefully begged Canadians last night to allow him to stay in power until Justice Gomery reports later this year. That is like asking a fox to guard a hen house.

The Prime Minister admitted that he was negligent and ultimately responsible for ad scam, and well he should. He was the minister of finance at the time, the second highest ranking Quebec minister and Jean Chrétien's right-hand man.

Is the Prime Minister negligent, incompetent or has he been misleading Canadians?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, the Prime Minister has been aggressively pursuing this matter. He cancelled the sponsorship program on his first day in office. He launched the Gomery inquiry. Instantly upon receiving the Auditor General's report he terminated the agency that administered the program. He released an unprecedented amount of internal confidences of the Privy Council in order to assist all of the investigators. He has launched lawsuits to recover any money that may have been misspent. He has ordered an independent forensic examination of the financial records of the Liberal Party. On and on the list goes.

Government Contracts

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

Mr. Speaker, last night the Prime Minister told Canadians, “I'm sorry I wasn't more vigilant”. Why is he not paying attention as one of his own cabinet ministers ducks straight questions about evidence he acted as a lobbyist without registering as required by law?

Let us test the government's commitment to truth telling. Did the transport minister ever arrange a meeting for François Duffar or any member of Cossette Communication with a current or former member of this House, yes or no?

[Jean Lapierre, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the member read the Globe and Mail yesterday. Campbell Clark wrote in an article that Michel Lemay says that he also emphasized that Mr. Lapierre is an old friend of Mr. Duffar, and that he was not paid for having organized the meeting with Mr. Gagliano.

It is extremely clear. I was not paid for setting up this meeting—not this meeting or any other.

[Joe Preston, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, here are the facts. It is a violation of the law to lobby without registering as a lobbyist. The law defines lobbying as “organizing a meeting with a public official”.

The Minister of Transport organized a meeting between a client, François Duffar of Cossette Communication, and former minister Alfonso Gagliano. The Minister of Transport was paid by Cossette Communication and therefore the Minister of Transport violated the law.

Does the Minister of Transport deny any of those facts?