House of Commons Hansard #77 of the 38th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was students.

Topics

The BudgetOral Question Period

April 6th, 2005 / 2:25 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativeLeader of the Opposition

Mr. Speaker, what the Gomery commission will show is that the best friend of the separatist cause in Quebec is the Liberal Party of Canada.

Yesterday the Prime Minister refused to split the Atlantic accords from the budget bill. He told the House, falsely he will have to admit, that the health accord was part of the budget bill. It is not. It is Bill C-39. The Conservative Party will agree today to pass this bill through all stages this afternoon.

If the Prime Minister is serious about passing the bill, will he agree to this proposal?

The BudgetOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

LaSalle—Émard Québec

Liberal

Paul Martin LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, this is absolute nonsense. The Leader of the Opposition, the Conservative Party, and the NDP had absolutely nothing to do with the successful signings of the Atlantic accord for Newfoundland and Labrador and for Nova Scotia.

I want to say that it was the members of the Newfoundland and Labrador caucus and the members of the Nova Scotia caucus who pushed for it. The opposition members were 100% absent from the file. They did not support the government. They were not there and it is ridiculous for them to stand up now and try to take any credit.

The BudgetOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Conservative

Loyola Hearn Conservative St. John's South, NL

Mr. Speaker, what a pile of unadulterated bull and the Prime Minister knows it.

The Prime Minister also knows that it would take 15 minutes on a word processor to prepare a new bill that would cause revenues to flow to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia immediately.

He is using the longest possible route to approval. Last year's budget implementation bill is still with the Liberal controlled Senate. If the Prime Minister can split Bill C-43 for Kyoto, why can you not do it for Atlantic Canadians?

The BudgetOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

The Speaker

The hon. member knows that I am not in the business of splitting bills.

The right hon. Prime Minister has the floor and the hon. member for St. John's South—Mount Pearl will address the Chair.

The BudgetOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

LaSalle—Émard Québec

Liberal

Paul Martin LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, not only did the official opposition have nothing to do with the successful signing of the Atlantic accords, but let me say that in the case of Nova Scotia, the Leader of the Opposition during the election campaign, and confirmed in the Conservative Party's recent convention, brought forth a suggestion that would have deprived Nova Scotia not only of the Atlantic accord, but would have reduced its equalization. The member for Central Nova once again got suckered by the Leader of the Opposition.

The BudgetOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Conservative

Norman Doyle Conservative St. John's North, NL

Mr. Speaker, when is the Prime Minister going to stop playing games with the Atlantic accord and stop playing games with the lives of people in Newfoundland and Labrador and the people in Nova Scotia?

The government has already agreed to change the implementation bill by agreeing to take out Kyoto. In view of the fact that Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador are losing $1 million a day, why is the government delaying implementation of its commitment to these provinces by preventing the quick passage of this deal under stand-alone legislation?

The BudgetOral Question Period

2:25 p.m.

Hamilton East—Stoney Creek Ontario

Liberal

Tony Valeri LiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition said that he will support this government's Atlantic accord in this House. We just heard it. He also said that he will not defeat the government over the budget.

The Atlantic accord is contained in the budget implementation bill. I am prepared to move at all stages that bill, if he will support it and keep his word to Canadians not to defeat the government over the budget implementation bill and give Atlantic Canadians the Atlantic accord.

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier, QC

Mr. Speaker, on February 12, 2004, the Prime Minister referred to political direction behind the sponsorship scandal. On Monday, he added to this by stating that “a few individuals” controlled everything—a parallel group. He has always refused to say who was behind the political direction.

Could he tell the public today who those Liberals are who were pulling the strings of the sponsorship scandal? Who are these individuals? Who makes up that parallel group?

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

LaSalle—Émard Québec

Liberal

Paul Martin LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, I have already answered that. Moreover, one of the Bloc members has already submitted all kinds of names.

I would, however, like to ask the leader of the Bloc a question. Since he is seriously interested in becoming the leader of the Parti Québécois, I would like to know whether he intends to call for an inquiry into the $100,000 the Parti Québécois received from Groupaction.

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier, QC

Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister is so anxious to ask questions, he will soon have an opportunity to do so, when he is in the opposition.

The Liberals—

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

The Speaker

Order. Perhaps we should begin again, but without that sentence.

The hon. member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie.

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals—

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

The Speaker

Order. We are making very slow progress in question period today. There are going to be a lot of disappointed members at the end of this.

The hon. member for Laurier—Sainte-Marie now has the floor. We must have a bit of order. If people want to have other discussions, there are plenty of places they can do so.

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are panicking. They ought to calm down and listen to what Justice Gomery said on Monday “To date, no one has alleged or in any way suggested that money from the sponsorship program went to the Bloc Québécois in any way.”

Let us move on to something more serious, and hear no more from Ali Baba's noisy band.

The Liberals have some nerve to talk about a “parallel group”. Does the Prime Minister, with all his connections—

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

The Speaker

I am sorry to interrupt the hon. member, but the Right Hon. Prime Minister has the floor.

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

LaSalle—Émard Québec

Liberal

Paul Martin LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I cannot think of a better example--

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

The Speaker

Order, please. The time for the question is up. There are lots of other opportunities for discussions of this type. The Right Hon. Prime Minister.

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Liberal

Paul Martin Liberal LaSalle—Émard, QC

Mr. Speaker, I hope Canadians had a chance to see that picture. The Leader of the Opposition talks about the separatist threat and then there they were, all standing hand in hand, the separatists and the Conservatives. That is where they are coming from. That is what it is all about.

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have some nerve to talk about a parallel group.

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier, QC

That's enough from Ali Baba's band.

Can the Prime Minister, with his insider knowledge of the Liberal Party, tell us whether Chrétien, Pelletier, Carle, Gagliano, Bard, Corbeil, Morseli, Corriveau, Pichette, Ouellet and Lefrançois were part of this “parallel group”, magically integrated into the Liberal structure, some members of which are panicking and yelling to prevent others from speaking? They are like Ali Baba's band.

Sponsorship ProgramOral Question Period

2:35 p.m.

LaSalle—Émard Québec

Liberal

Paul Martin LiberalPrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, since the potential leader of the Parti Québécois likes to answer questions, perhaps I could ask him a second one. Can he confirm to the House that all the Groupaction gifts to PQ members were in accordance with the electoral laws of Quebec?