Debates of June 14th, 2006

Oral Questions

[Bill Graham, Liberal, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, during question period the hon. government House leader suggested that I had used the term “Italian salute” in my question.

In my question, I used the term “bras d'honneur”, as the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine also did.

If the hon. government House leader had been listening to the question as asked rather than the translation, which he depends upon, he would have known what terms were used by the Liberals in the official language of our country when we spoke it at the time. We at no time would ever disrespect our Italian colleagues. We have too many in the House and too many constituents who we respect and admire.

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, English and French translations have equal weight in the chamber, as you know. As a matter of fact, if you check what I said, you will see that I did not say that about the Leader of the Opposition. I thought I heard him say that because that did come through the translation, but I did not raise the matter. However, I then heard the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine. When I heard it the second time come through or something, that is when I took offence and raised it in the House.

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in oral question period, I asked two questions. Those two questions were asked in French. In French, the correct term for the gesture made by the hon. member for Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière is “bras d'honneur”. There is no exact translation in English, so when we refer to this gesture in English, we use the French term “bras d'honneur”.

First, I think that the translation should be changed to accurately reflect the expressions I have used.

Second, since I was born in Canada, I have Canadian citizenship. I have also been an Italian citizen since 1974. As an Italian citizen, I would have been furious to hear someone use, in English, the term used in the translation. I never used that term, either in French or in English. The correct term is “bras d'honneur”. That term has nothing to do with an ethnic group or a foreign country. “Bras d'honneur” is the correct term.

As for the hon. members on the other side of this chamber—especially those in the Conservative government—who do not understand the French official language, I would like to see them take a few courses. That way, when questions are asked in French in this House, they listen—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order!

Hon. members on both sides of the House have had a problem with the translation of certain questions asked by the hon. member and by the hon. leader of the official opposition. That is a pity.

We will try to ensure that such a problem does not happen again. The repetition of such an error is not necessary. I greatly appreciate the fact that the hon. members have raised this matter. Clarification has now been made. I do not believe it is necessary for the Chair to intervene. Apologies have now been made. The hon. Leader of the Government has explained that these remarks were caused by what he heard. The fault lies in the translation. That is now quite clear to everyone. It is a shame, but it is not the fault of the government House leader or the fault of the hon. members of the opposition who asked certain questions in which the French phrases were poorly translated.

In my opinion, the subject is closed. We may now proceed with tabling of documents.

The hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine.

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since the Speaker of the House has officially recognized, in this chamber, that the English translation of the term “bras d'honneur” was erroneous, I hope that Hansard will reproduce in English the proper English term, which is also “bras d'honneur”.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

I thank the hon. member. I am not a translation expert, nor am I an expert regarding the gesture she mentioned. Nevertheless, I appreciate her comments. Furthermore, the individuals who translate for us will no doubt carefully examine what she said. However, the translation of what is said here in the House is not my area of expertise. As I said, I regret that such an error was made. I hope that we will be able to correct it, either in Hansard, or tomorrow, if the same expression is used in the House.

The hon. member for Bourassa on another point of order.

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the old Latin phrase delegatus non potest delegare means one cannot do directly what one cannot do indirectly. The behaviour of the leader of the government in attempting to use a poor translation and his subsequent conduct require formal apologies. He disrupted oral question period and offended not only the opposition leader, but also the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine.

Now, I also heard—

[Marlene Jennings, Liberal, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine, QC]

The President of Treasury Board.

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

I heard the President of Treasury Board say—I hope this will be investigated—that the remarks of the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine were racist. She was accused of racism. So it is serious. This must be investigated.

There is something else. It is clear that, since last night, there is a problem with behaviour in this House. Some individuals made insincere apologies for having made rude gestures in this House. That is why we are talking about the French term “bras d'honneur”.

On behalf of all members, on behalf of all Canadians, I am asking that you investigate because the members for Nepean—Carleton and for Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière were not sincere when they apologized. When you look at the video, you can see that many Conservative members made the same gesture. I think this is disgraceful and, in addition, given that Canadians are watching us, you should investigate this matter.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

An error in the translation of an expression used by a member, either in English or in French, during questions or comments creates problems in the House. In my opinion, the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons explained that he based his remarks on the translation he heard. Therefore, it is not his fault if he misunderstood what was said. In my view, this matter is closed. We have heard explanations.

I hope that we will not have another such incident and that we will be able to change our translation method in order to prevent a recurrence. If there were another problem, I would get back to the House. For now, that is the end of the matter.

The hon. member for Brampton—Springdale on another point of order.

[Ruby Dhalla, Liberal, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I also wanted to clarify something that was stated by the House leader opposite during question period, when he stated that I owned shares for RD health consultants. Let me please remind the House leader that if had he done his research he would have realized that I have sold my shares in this consulting company.

I find it shameful, extremely disappointing and very meanspirited, in fact, that the member opposite has made these allegations. Last year I was not in cabinet. I was a member of Parliament on the side of the government and I did make all appropriate disclosures. Now, as the health critic, I do not have any holdings in any type of companies. I wish that he would advise his health minister to also sell his shares in Prudential.

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development

[Colin Mayes, Conservative, Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development regarding the United Nations draft declaration on the rights of aboriginal peoples.

Library of Parliament

[Peter Goldring, Conservative, Edmonton East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present the first report of the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament regarding its mandate and quorum.

If the House gives its consent, I intend to move concurrence in the first report later this day.

Criminal Code

[Massimo Pacetti, Liberal, Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel, QC]

asked for leave to introduce Bill C-323, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (use of hand-held cellular telephone while operating a motor vehicle).

He said: Mr. Speaker, this bill seeks to make it an offence to use a hand-held cellular telephone while operating a motor vehicle on a highway.

If passed, the bill will still allow drivers to use a cellphone while driving as long as it is connected to an earpiece and mouthpiece so that both hands can remain fixed on the wheel. It seems to me that if we can afford a car and a cellular phone, chances are that we can afford a headset as well. There is no reason to take this kind of unnecessary risk on the road and endanger innocent lives.

The bill carries no more than a $500 fine for a first offence and a maximum $2,000 fine or six months of jail time for second and subsequent offences. This bill sends a clear message that convenience and lifestyle habits cannot take priority over public safety.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Peter Goldring, Conservative, Edmonton East, AB]

Mr. Speaker, if the House gives its consent, I would move that the first report of the Standing Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament presented to the House earlier this day be concurred in.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Does the hon. member for Edmonton East have the unanimous consent of the House to propose this motion?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Wascana, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I have not had an opportunity to see this item yet. The opposition is not prepared to consent to something it has not seen.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

There is no consent.

Government Operations and Estimates

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to rise today in this House to state my position on this motion requesting that the second report of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, presented to the House on June 7, 2006, be concurred in.

This second report was presented by the committee chair. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee considered the matter of the acquisition of significant property by the Government of Canada.

A motion agreed to by the majority at that particular committee meeting states, and I quote:

That the committee reports to the House that it recommends that the acquisition by purchase or lease of any significant property, such as the former JDS Uniphase campus in Ottawa, by the Government of Canada for use by its departments and agencies be the result of a competitive public call for tender process.

Naturally, the rationale for this motion agreed to at committee was to draw attention to this question and to ensure that the House of Commons could make a decision regarding potential actions of the Conservative government. Let me explain.

We learned a few weeks ago that the Government of Canada, through the Department of Public Works and Government Services, was seriously considering leasing the former JDS Uniphase complex at 3000 Merivale Road in Ottawa on a long-term basis to use as the headquarters of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

We know that JDS Uniphase decided to sell this building a few years ago. The company had formerly been headquartered in Ottawa, but had decided to move its operations primarily to the United States. This property therefore became vacant. It was strongly recommended that JDS Uniphase sell this complex, and the market expected that it would. The company put the complex on the market for roughly $30 million.

We know that at the time, the Government of Canada was approached about purchasing the building without a public tendering process. It was even suggested that the building be used as the new headquarters of the Department of National Defence. However, the government at the time refused this transaction because it was unsolicited and a public tendering process had not been held.

Some time later, JDS Uniphase managed to sell this complex to Minto Developments for, we are told, about $30 million, the original asking price.

Minto Developments subsequently made a proposal to the Government of Canada, again unsolicited and without a public tendering process, that the complex be used by one of its departments or agencies.

This would have had to be a transaction without competitive bidding. It was not obviously a good transaction, financially healthy for the Government of Canada, especially because there was no public tendering. Other developers did not have an opportunity to submit competitive prices or propose other locations.

We have been hearing for a few weeks that the Conservative government was holding discussions with Minto Developments. A lobbyist with close Conservative ties was even said to have taken part in these discussions in one way or another, directly or indirectly.

After that, the Conservative government supposedly decided to seriously consider the transaction. Rumours are that the government is very interested in this transaction, even though there is no public tendering. It is quite difficult, therefore, for the House of Commons and the people of Canada to ensure that this transaction is a good one financially for Canadian taxpayers.

Rumours are that the transaction is worth more than $600,000, payable by the Government of Canada over 25 years. In other words, it is apparently a lease with an option to purchase upon expiry. The total cost for Canadian taxpayers is apparently over $600 million, even $625 million.

The reason why we asked the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates to look into this matter was precisely because no one so far, especially among the opposition parties, is convinced that this is a good deal for providing space for about 10,000 public servants.

The government seems to be clinging very stubbornly to this transaction. Members will recall the parliamentary secretary to the minister stating categorically in this House that there was no transaction and no agreement on the building.

At the same time, the minister was saying in the other house that there had been negotiations and even a letter of understanding signed by the Government of Canada and Minto Developments. It is not right for us to discover that there were negotiations—and apparently still are—the minister knows about them, while in this House the parliamentary secretary is telling us—playing on words and not necessarily using the exact terms in the letters of agreement—that there is no transaction, we can sleep in peace, there is nothing to fear, we can merrily dream on, and all is well, thank you very much. But that is not the reality.

This leads me in the debate to speak about the details of a government policy that has been in effect for several years. Under this policy, employment with the Government of Canada is supposed to be spread across the greater national capital region. In fact, 75% of the jobs should be in Ontario and 25% in Quebec.

This policy refers to jobs which are directly or indirectly related to the federal government. To give you an example of indirect jobs, the jobs at crown corporations such as the CBC or Canada Post are indirect Government of Canada jobs.

The Parliamentary Secretary was just recently given a candid and honest briefing by employees of the Department of Public Works. They presented him with statistics which clearly demonstrated that the current split was actually 77% or 78% on the Ontario side and 22% or 23% on the Quebec side. Those are not exactly the figures contained in this Government of Canada policy.

If all Government of Canada jobs, direct and indirect, were correctly compiled, I believe that the current split is around 82% on the Ontario side and 18% on the Quebec side.

If the JDS Uniphase Minto Development transaction were to go through, it appears that this complex would be assigned to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. That would mean that all kinds of space on the Ontario side, now occupied by the RCMP, would become vacant. So there is reason to believe that the Government of Canada would prefer to fill up this free space on the Ontario side before creating space on the Quebec side.

In that sort of situation, considering that the JDS Uniphase Minto Development complex could accommodate around 10,000 employees, the percentage or proportion becomes very different. For then, on the Quebec side, the number of jobs in the federal public service, in agencies and corporations related to the Government of Canada, would fall below 15%. So it would rise above 85% on the Ontario side. This is totally unacceptable and contrary to the Government of Canada policy which stipulates that the rates have to be 75% on the Ontario side and 25% on the Quebec side.

Long-time members of this House will surely recall a very similar situation which occurred mainly in the late 1980s and early 1990s. At that time, the Government of Canada had decided to install Transport Canada in a new complex, a new building. The Conservative government of the time issued a call for public tenders, and it was very clearly established that the three bids most favourable to the Government of Canada were for properties located on the Quebec side of the national capital region.

You will recall that the Conservative government did not want Transport Canada to move to the Quebec side. The Prime Minister of the time, the Right Hon. Brian Mulroney, and his government therefore bypassed the bids that were made and the whole tendering system in place. I know of what I speak because I received confirmation of it: certain promoters and contractors spent over a million dollars to prepare those tenders.

Those were the winning bids, right? Wrong! The Conservative government of the day decided that it should not go to the Quebec side, but should stay in downtown Ottawa. So the government signed agreements to renovate Mr. Campeau's building, Place de Ville.

Mr. Speaker, I see you are smiling. No doubt you remember because you were here at the time.

The Government of Canada ended up spending more money retrofitting Place de Ville to bring it up to the federal government's standards than it would have spent to get a brand new complex on the Quebec side. The Conservative government of the day decided to keep it in downtown Ottawa. This time, the government did not issue a public tender. It did not invite developers and entrepreneurs in the region—neither in Quebec nor in Ontario, the entire national capital region—to submit bids. It took a shortcut. It is now in the process of deciding about buying Minto Developments' old JDS Uniphase campus. This is unacceptable.

With respect to distributing jobs on the Ontario and Quebec sides of the river, the minister and his parliamentary secretary—a tip of the hat to them—have acknowledged that the 75:25 policy exists and that at some as-yet-undetermined point in the future, the government will do its best to comply with it. The minister stated that reaching that goal would be costly because the government would have to lease or buy new buildings in Gatineau for new employees. I strongly believe that a strategy should be implemented immediately to fill this gap. It should come as no surprise to the members that I think this precludes buying or leasing the old JDS Uniphase building or campus from Minto Developments.

My hon. colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services, who is listening, will be tempted to say that the previous government, my government, did not manage to achieve the 75:25 ratio. He is right. However, our government made a very laudable effort. New buildings were leased on our side of the river, the Quebec side, in the former city of Gatineau, on boulevard de la Cité, and what used to be called Hull, at Crémazie and Montcalm streets. However, in recent years, jobs seem to have been moving to the Ontario side. The first example that comes to mind is Canada Revenue Agency, formerly located in the Fontaine building, in Gatineau, in the old Hull sector. More than 600 employees were moved from the Quebec side to the Ontario side, to Ottawa. Those people who live on the Quebec side of the National Capital Region—you are familiar with the city, Mr. Speaker, having lived here long enough—must now commute to Billings Bridge in Ottawa, or worse, to the west end.

Furthermore, the Conservative government is not considering the intentions of the City of Ottawa, which seems to believe that there should be a greater balance between the east end and the west end of the city. Currently, the west end is favoured.

Since I am being signalled that my time is nearly up, in conclusion, I would ask this House to approve the report tabled by the Chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. The report clearly tells the government that it must use the public tender process before it enters into any purchase or lease contracts for major spaces.

[Paul Szabo, Liberal, Mississauga South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for providing the background to this report that concurrence has been moved.

As a former parliamentary secretary to the minister of public works and government services, I spent quite a bit of time looking at the realty issues. In one of the meetings I recall that Public Works and Government Services would often buy buildings on spec because they have come onto the marketplace.

Anyone who knows about the volatility of the departmental requirements, they may require an inventory of unoccupied space to be configured as changes occur. This is an example of where the issue of a competitive bid basis is not significantly applicable. The principle has always been in that particular department, the realty division of Public Works and Government Services, to look at all of the opportunities in the best interests of all Canadians. Certainly, the public bid basis is the international standard of openness and transparency.

I wonder if the hon. member would care to advise the House about the experience and range of these kinds of investments that Public Works and Government Services must review and when public tenders normally have been exercised.

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for the good points in his question.

We cannot ignore the economic and social importance of public service jobs in a region, whether in the national capital region or other urban areas such as Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Hamilton, London, Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton. You know what I mean.

Locating and consolidating federal government jobs in the Outaouais, respecting the distribution of jobs on both sides of the river, is a major factor in our development. The hon. member for Mississauga South did not fail to mention that, for us, the economy of the Outaouais region is largely based on the presence of the Government of Canada.

Obviously there are other government jobs at the provincial and municipal levels. Furthermore, for the past number of years, we have been enjoying the contributions of the high-tech industry. Another very significant domain for us is tourism.

Let us come back to Government of Canada jobs. I should point out that this has been done. I introduced a motion during the 38th Parliament asking the Government of Canada to take the necessary steps to distribute federal jobs in the national capital region more equitably, as I was explaining earlier.

This job distribution strategy must cover all federal departments and include all federal corporations. If you allow me to go into detail, I will let you do the math as to what this represents in terms of departments, agencies and jobs. The strategy must include all the federal public agencies identified in the Bank of Canada Act, the Broadcasting Act—the CBC and the Société Radio-Canada—the Canada Council Act, the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development Act, the International Development Research Centre Act, the National Defence Act, the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act and the Telefilm Canada Act. It must also include the institutions that are identified in a schedule to the Financial Administration Act or come under that act. I am thinking of Canada Post and even the House of Commons and the Senate. I am not saying that jobs should be moved to that side, but they should be included in the calculation.

I hope this answers my colleague's question. I expect other questions.

[Richard Nadeau, Bloc, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my first reaction is one of surprise. But after thinking about it, perhaps I am not surprised. This distribution of 25% and 75% was decided on in 1984 by a Liberal government. My colleague for Hull—Aylmer, who just spoke, was elected on November 15, 1999, and it was not until November 10, 2005, with things heating up and the elections coming, that he decided to start defending the Outaouais.

Why did it take him six years to realize that there was a problem? This is an extremely important factor in opening up the Outaouais, and ensuring that the Outaouais may be recognized as an integral part of Quebec. In Quebec we have always paid our taxes; we are entitled to our share of income, our share of jobs in the region.

I am stunned. He has not clearly shown that the objective of his efforts was to defend the Outaouais. The elections are behind his efforts because the Bloc Québécois is monitoring him closely. We will work on this issue. How can the member make such comments?

[Marcel Proulx, Liberal, Hull—Aylmer, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am familiar with the parliamentary system, and I know that questions, like answers, must go through yourself. In this case, out of respect, I will address my answer to you, although I understood that the question did not come from you.

I find it surprising that my colleague, the member for Gatineau, who represents the Bloc Québécois, would launch into a personal attack that contains as many falsehoods as can be spoken in 45 seconds. I will explain.

In 1993, I agreed to work and collaborate with the team working for a minister from the Outaouais, the former member for Hull-Aylmer, the hon. Marcel Massé. Starting on November 4, 1993, the date when Mr. Massé was sworn in, our priority was to get jobs to come to the Outaouais, and to bring jobs there ourselves. It was an honour for me, and a privilege, to work with Mr. Massé in the government of that time.

In 1999, when Mr. Massé retired, people from my riding persuaded me to stand for election to replace him.

Since November 15, 1999, I have been elected, re-elected, re-elected and re-elected once again, because in six years and two months I have run in four elections. The big priority has been jobs in the Outaouais.

The member must have been distracted when I spoke earlier about the progress we have made in recent years in bringing new buildings to the Boulevard de la Cité in the riding of Gatineau. I am surprised that he is not aware of this, because it is his riding. So I have to wonder how well he knows his riding. We have also brought new buildings to the riding of Hull-Aylmer, on Crémazie Street and on Montcalm Boulevard.

I am surprised that a Bloc Québécois member would attack one of his colleagues who is trying to bring economic growth and jobs to the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. What he is doing, for his part, is trying to break up the country, to separate Quebec from Canada. That would stir things up on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River.

Perhaps the member should understand that once Quebec separated, if that were to happen, I do not believe that the Government of Canada would be preserving jobs in another country. To Canada, Quebec would be another country. In Quebec, the capital is not the Outaouais, but in fact Quebec City or, potentially, the city of Montreal.

I think that the member for Gatineau should wake up and get his aim straight.

[James Moore, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics]

Mr. Speaker, before beginning my speech, I wanted to comment on what my hon. colleague from Hull—Aylmer had to say.

In regard to the point he just made, our government, like the Liberal government before it, recognizes the 75%:25% principle. When the federal government shows leadership, it shows Quebeckers that they should remain part of our country. When we share federal government responsibilities on both sides of the river, we will show Quebeckers in the hon. member’s riding of Gatineau that Quebec really has a place in our government and in our country.

We want to show through buildings and responsibilities that Quebec has a place within our federal government. Through a 75%:25% sharing of the square footage and employees on the two sides of the river, we will show that we agree with this principle and that our government has embraced it. It is really a Canadian principle.

My colleague from Hull—Aylmer raised three points which I would like to address. First, he discussed the issue of the JDS Uniphase building and its future. Second, he mentioned the 75%:25% issue on both sides of the river in usage of office space. Third, was the specific language of the motion and where we go from here.

With regard to the JDS Uniphase agreement in principle that has been signed, as I have said a number of times in the House and as the Minister of Public Works has said a number of times, both in the Senate and in public, the deal has not been finalized. It has not received Treasury Board approval and has not been given the go ahead as of yet. Should it receive that status, we will have an opportunity to have a full and open debate on that project.

On the issue of the 75%:25%, we are completely in favour of that as a principle of this government in sharing federal government responsibilities in the national capital region, 75% on the Ottawa side and 25% on the Quebec side. With regard to real estate going forward, there are real opportunities to re-balance this number. I believe the number currently is 78% on the Ottawa side, so we are pretty close to the 75% number. However, to actually get precisely to a 75%:25% Ottawa-Quebec ratio, it would require moving tens of thousands of jobs to the Quebec side. That is something that can be done in the future. It is not something to rush into and it is not something we would do just to say we have achieved the 75%:25% principle.

Canadians, Quebeckers and Ontarians want us to achieve that ratio but they also want us to do it in a way that is fiscally responsible and prudent going forward. We believe in the principle. We take that into consideration with any potential leases or purchases of federal government office space going forward. We will adhere to that principle going forward but we will do so in a way that is fiscally responsible.

The third and final aspect the member for Hull—Aylmer addressed in his comments was with regard to the specific line of the motion itself. In case anyone has forgotten what we are actually debating, we are debating a motion that came from the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates that reads as follows:

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), your Committee has considered the matter of the acquisition of significant property by the Government of Canada. Your Committee recommends that acquisition, by purchase or lease, of any significant property, such as the former JDS Uniphase campus in Ottawa by the Government of Canada for use by its departments and agencies, be the result of a competitive public call for tenders process.

As a Conservative, I believe in competition, in free markets and in fair prices. The Speaker may roll his eyes at that but I certainly do believe in that, as does this government.

On the surface, the motion makes a lot of sense. This is an approach the government should take.

However, with regard to the JDS Uniphase building and a number of other transactions that the federal government has taken over the years, if we were to limit ourselves to the public tendering process it potentially could hurt taxpayers and the federal government's options. This could result in some real missed opportunities for taxpayers and for the federal government.

Again with regard to the JDS Uniphase proposal, this was an unsolicited proposal the government received from JDS Uniphase and the Minto group which is now investing in that property. The government, in this circumstance or any others, has an opportunity to look at the proposal, to consider it and to negotiate the best value for taxpayer dollars. If the proposal is good, then the process moves forward. If it is not, then the government can walk away.

With regard to the JDS Uniphase building itself, as I have said a number of times, no deal has been finalized but we will do all of our due diligence to ensure taxpayer dollars are well spent, are appropriately allocated and that we are getting the best value for taxpayer dollars.

To support the motion would be a real mistake. In fact, it would go against what the Liberals did a number of times while they were in government. The former Liberal government considered and used unsolicited proposals all the time. In fact, the Department of Foreign Affairs has offices in office space that was through an unsolicited proposal. The Food Inspection Agency is in office space that was obtained through an unsolicited proposal, in the same way as the proposed JDS Uniphase building. That was done in a way that actually received good value for taxpayer dollars.

Therefore, to remove options from the table in terms of real estate and asset allocation on behalf of the federal government would limit our opportunities, limit the choices for government and therefore for taxpayers and is not the best way to go forward.

This motion, which we did not support at committee stage, is a real mistake and we certainly would not support it again.