Debates of May 19th, 2005

War Brides

[Bradley Trost, Conservative, Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK]

Mr. Speaker, the next time you go to the post office, take a minute to look at the commemorative envelopes on display. Look for the envelope that has a wartime photo of a glowing bride and her happy groom.

Lloyd Cochrane served with the RCAF. His war bride, the lovely Olive, worked for the British war department.

The story of Canada's war brides is the story of passion in the midst of tragedy. It is a tale of leaving one's homeland, a tale of hope, of following one's heart.

They experienced culture shock and homesickness in post-war Canada. But, like many immigrants before and after, Canada's war brides toiled quietly to build a better country.

Like other war brides and their servicemen husbands, Olive and Lloyd Cochrane also left a living legacy through their children and grandchildren, a legacy that endures, a legacy that will not be forgotten.

Let us remember Canada's war brides, a special group of immigrants.

Migratory Birds Convention Act

[Bryon Wilfert, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to inform the House that Bill C-15, an act to amend the Migratory Birds Convention Act and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, has been passed by the Senate and will receive royal assent today.

The passing of Bill C-15 represents significant and necessary improvements to existing federal legislation that deals with marine pollution and illegal dumping of bilge oil in our oceans.

Off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador alone, over 300,000 seabirds die annually as a result of this pollution. We have a responsibility to protect our environment, both for Canadians and internationally.

Bill C-15 strengthens Canada's ability to enforce its environmental laws effectively and immediately, particularly in the exclusive economic zone.

The passing of the bill allows Canada to better protect our marine environment and send a clear message to polluters.

Bill C-15 represents the government's commitment to the protection of our environment and natural heritage now and into the future.

House of Commons

[Joe Comartin, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, over the last few days I spent a great deal of time with both veterans and retirees. They all expressed their shock at the conduct of members in this chamber and the lack of ethics on the part of the government and members of the official opposition, conduct they see verging on the criminal.

We need enforceable rules in the House and a binding code of conduct to include the following: stopping all heckling in the House; stopping personal attacks by one member on another; and expanding the categories of unparliamentary language. We need to prohibit any member from profiting in any fashion by the method in which they cast his or her vote. We need to prohibit any person from inducing a member to cast his or her vote in a particular fashion which would result in profit to that member.

If these measures were implemented, they would restore faith in members of Parliament and in our public institutions.

Wellington--Halton Hills

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in February of this year, Wellington--Halton Hills constituent, Peter Buchanan-Smith, won the Grammy Award for best recording package at the 47th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

Peter and Dan Nadel received this coveted award for their work on Wilco's album titled A Ghost is Born .

I ask all members to join me in congratulating Peter and his parents, Jock and Virginia Buchanan-Smith, for this tremendous achievement.

As a founder and a director of the Dominion Institute, it gives me great pride that a $250,000 gift was donated in the name of Her Majesty the Queen to the Memory Project, an initiative of the institute.

In praising the institute, Her Majesty said:

The "Memory Project" has most successfully brought together veterans and young Canadians throughout the country. In the process it has safeguarded not only many remarkable stories of the veterans, but also a unique chapter of this country's history.

I ask all members in this 38th Parliament to join me in congratulating the Dominion Institute for its contribution to the civic and historical discourse in Canada.

Softwood Lumber

[Pierre Paquette, Bloc, Joliette, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it will be three years this Sunday that the softwood lumber dispute has been going on. The industry's situation in Quebec and Canada is deteriorating quickly. On top of the $4.5 billion in illegal duties levied by the American, legal fees are piling up.

On April 14, the minister finally announced financial assistance for the associations in support of the industry's legal proceedings, with costs now exceeding $350 million.

In early May, in a meeting with government negotiators, the representatives of the softwood lumber industry were stunned, to put it mildly, to learn that this assistance will not actually be provided until the end of 2005.

But now is when the industry needs this money to resist the American industry's legal harassment. By delaying this assistance, the minister is weakening our industry's position and playing into the hands of the American industry. What a shame.

Kidney Donations

[Helena Guergis, Conservative, Simcoe—Grey, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to a father of five in my community who has put his life on the line to save the life of another person.

Jerry Ducharme of Angus, Ontario recently donated one of his kidneys to give new life to a man from nearby Orillia. The recipient says that he now enjoys a level of energy unheard of since first developing kidney disease more than three years ago.

According to the Kidney Foundation of Canada, living donations are usually only performed between relatives or people with close emotional ties. Mr. Ducharme, in a very unselfish act, responded to a plea made in the local paper.

It is an honour to have Mr. Ducharme as one of my constituents. He is a new hero in our community.

Atlantic Accord

[Michael John Savage, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Mr. Speaker, recently, during the first budget vote, the three Conservative members of Parliament from Nova Scotia chose not to support the budget and the Atlantic accord, an accord that will result in $830 million upfront for Nova Scotia, a commitment on the part of the Prime Minister going well beyond his original proposal of last June. It would provide much needed relief from the crushing debt built up in Nova Scotia by the Conservatives in the 1980s under John Buchanan and Greg Kerr.

The Conservative members now want to play optical illusions with their constituents and vote for one budget bill while just minutes later standing and voting to bring down the government, knowing full well they will kill the Atlantic accord.

Recently, the students union at Dalhousie University sent a letter on behalf of 16,000 students appealing to the three Nova Scotia Conservative MPs to support the budget and the accord. These students and all Nova Scotians are asking MPs to ensure the passage of the Atlantic accord and to stand up for Nova Scotia.

Toronto Port Authority

[Bev Desjarlais, NDP, Churchill, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the transport minister has announced that the Toronto Island airport bridge issue has finally been resolved, but there is still one last action that needs to be taken. It is time to dissolve the Toronto Port Authority and turn over its assets and liabilities to the City of Toronto.

The Liberal government's sell-off of other ports and wharves has seen communities lose out and certain individuals profit.

The Toronto Port Authority does not even meet any of the criteria for a port of national significance, which are specified in the Marine Act. It should never have come under the jurisdiction of a port authority.

There is no point in continuing to support this money losing operation. There is no point in continuing to withhold control of the port from the citizens of Toronto. This matter must be resolved once and for all. Dissolve the port authority and return control of the waterfront to the city.

Sponsorship Program

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the government is once again trying to mislead Canadians. Yesterday it claimed to have created a $750,000 trust to pay back dirty sponsorship money; however, the trust is actually empty. Not one dollar of stolen money has been deposited.

Given that we could go into an election tomorrow, will the Prime Minister commit to putting money in that account today?

[The Speaker]

I have great reservations about the question asked by the Leader of the Opposition, which appears to deal with internal party matters. Clearly, the hon. member is entitled to ask questions concerning the administration of the Government of Canada, but asking questions about internal party matters is not something that is permitted in question period, and I am sure he knows that.

In the circumstances, I would invite him to move to his next question.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I would have thought the government would love to answer a question like that about its truthfulness and determination to pay back this money. The Liberal Party received stolen public money, promised to pay it back, yet used it in three election campaigns.

Let me rephrase the question. Will the government today require the Liberal Party to pay the money back?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there is no need for the government to make such a requirement, given the fact that the Prime Minister, who is also the leader of the party, has said unequivocally it will return every single penny. It wants no part of any money inappropriately received.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the problem is no one any longer cares what the Prime Minister says. They only watch what he does.

A month ago, the Liberal government denied that there was any dirty money, and now it admits there is. What is more, it has created a fake trust, and not one cent will be deposited into it before the election.

Is this not proof that the Prime Minister plans to run a fourth election campaign using money stolen from the taxpayers?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition's question is not valid. I have said this many times and I will say it again. If the Liberal Party received the money inappropriately, it will be repaid. It cannot be clearer. I said it last week, the week before that and the week before that, and I will continue to say it.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the government's mistrust fund for repayment of dirty sponsorship money is yet another duplicitous trick on the eve of an election. Just a month ago the Liberal Party voted against a motion to set up the same type of trust.

The promise to deposit money into a trust for repayment to the Government of Canada should it be judged to have been received inappropriately is laughable. Clearly money was stolen, and like the account itself, the promise is empty. What all this really means is not one red cent will be set aside in all likelihood until after another Liberal election campaign has been run with dirty money.

Will the Prime Minister come clean and confirm that to date, no money has been put in a trust account to reimburse the Canadian taxpayer?

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

Mr. Speaker, once again the Prime Minister has been clear and the party has been clear from the beginning that if any funds have been received inappropriately, they will be returned to the Canadian taxpayer.

The establishment of the $750,000 trust fund is a goodwill measure that will establish to Canadians a step in that direction, but the final transaction to the Canadian taxpayer cannot occur until we have all of the facts. That is why it is important that Justice Gomery complete his work and work with party auditors to ensure that we have all the facts. I can assure the hon. member and all Canadians that the Liberal Party will be doing the right thing in returning every penny inappropriately received.

[Peter MacKay, Conservative, Central Nova, NS]

It is pretty hard, Mr. Speaker, to take that member or any other Liberals seriously when they talk about trust funds of any kind.

If the Prime Minister wants to assure Canadians that money was really set aside to repay the taxpayer for the kickback cash used by his party in at least two elections, he has a chance to do so. He could demonstrate a grain of integrity and some semblance of a higher level of civility to enhance the public trust instead of his continual unethical behaviour and desperate partisan tactics to be reckless with people's lives and their money.

Will he simply agree to have the Auditor General today audit this account and assure Canadians that the money is actually there?

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

Mr. Speaker, once again, Canadians know that this Prime Minister keeps his promises, because he is doing the right thing to get to the bottom of this issue. Canadians know that this is a Prime Minister who has put country above party, he has put principle ahead of partisan strategy, and he has done the right thing to get to the truth, which Canadians deserve.

That hon. member ought to clean up his own house and his own party because they owe money to David Orchard. David Orchard is still looking for the money that that party owes him and he is not getting any response.

Our party is doing the right thing in fixing the problem. They are ignoring the problem.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on 41 occasions, the Bloc Québécois has called upon the Liberal Party to set up a trust for its dirty money. Having answered 41 times that this was not necessary, the Liberals have finally promised to deposit $750,000 into a trust account, but that is far from enough. We have done a cautious calculation and, based on what we have heard so far in the Gomery inquiry, the amount that ought to be put in trust is at least $5.3 million.

To stop the Liberals from using one red cent of dirty money to run another election campaign, money taken from the public purse, will the Prime Minister compel the Liberal Party—

[The Speaker]

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, if there is one reason why we need to wait for Justice Gomery's report, it is because he is the one who will provide the answers and we will not need to put up with far-fetched allegations like that one.

I repeat, if any money was received inappropriately, all of it, without exception, will be paid back by the Liberal Party.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I will take the Prime Minister's words literally. If he is putting $750,000 in trust, that is also based on allegations. His allegations are the ones that are far-fetched, because the amount that has been identified is $5.3 million. The figure of $750,000 represents just 15% of the misappropriated money. The figures speak for themselves.

My question for the Prime Minister is this: since these are public funds, will he compel the Liberal Party to put all the dirty money in trust, rather than keeping the lion's share of it to run another election on taxpayers' money?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the reason the Bloc leader wants an election is very clear. He is afraid of Justice Gomery's findings. He knows very well that, when the Gomery report is released, he will no longer be able to make the sort of far-fetched allegations he has just been making.

[Michel Guimond, Bloc, Charlevoix—Montmorency, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport said yesterday that, in his opinion, $750,000 was a substantial amount, a preliminary sum for reimbursement of the dirty sponsorship money, which, I would point out, comes from the taxpayers.

As it took us time and dozens of questions to convince the Minister of Transport that he had no choice but to create this dirty money trust, will it take as much time to convince him that $750,000 is at best 15% of the dirty money and that for him to be credible he has to deposit at least $5.3 million in a trust fund?

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

Mr. Speaker, once again, the party has been clear. If the party received inappropriate money, it will reimburse taxpayers.

The establishment of a trust fund by the party is a strong statement of goodwill in that direction. We cannot complete that transaction to the Canadian taxpayer until we have all the facts.

There are allegations in today's Montreal Gazette that the separatists in Quebec were involved in a conspiracy to obstruct and reject valid no votes in the 1995 sovereignty referendum. Maybe the separatists should demonstrate the courage that this Prime Minister has had and clean up their own house.