Mr. Speaker, first I would like to warmly and sincerely congratulate my two Bloc colleagues, the hon. member for Repentigny and the hon. member for Rivière-du-Nord. Both did a tremendous job in committee. They spent many hours on it.
Unfortunately, as a result of the complicity of the New Democratic member for Winnipeg Centre, who literally voted almost automatically with the Conservative members, among other things, all the witnesses that we wanted on this bill could not be heard at the preparation and scrutiny stage.
It was clearly established from the outset that we did not intend to systematically obstruct or filibuster. In view of the scope of this legislation, which modified an incredible number of laws currently in effect, the Bloc Québécois felt that more witnesses should have been heard.
At this stage, we can only deplore the attitude of the hon. member for Winnipeg Centre. I am sure that he must be reconsidering his political future and thinking of joining the Conservative ranks. The people of Winnipeg Centre will have to judge the hon. member on the basis of his conduct.
As was said previously, the Bloc Québécois is in favour of this bill. However, we must look again at some aspects that may not be directly related to the bill but touch upon its philosophy and approach.
Ethics were at the heart of the last election campaign. On January 23, a clear judgment was passed on a corrupt party, the Liberal Party, by the people of Quebec and the people of Canada. The Liberal Party no longer had the moral authority to govern—something we had been saying for a long time—and last January 23, the Liberals got their political punishment for the sponsorship scandal.
The current Conservative government made ethics its battle cry during the last election campaign. Now there is a desire to ask them some tough questions. Just yesterday, in the wake of the sentencing of Charles Guité, who got three and a half years in prison, we saw certain recommendations that followed from the Gomery report going unanswered. During the election campaign, the Conservatives said that, if elected, they would not hesitate to take civil action against the people responsible for the sponsorship scandal.
When the hon. member for Outremont was transport minister in the last Parliament, he said that if any dirty money had been paid, it would be paid back. So I ask again: what is happening now with this dirty money? How is the much anticipated civil action proceeding against the Liberal Party, which allegedly received illegal funds?
What is happening to certain participants in the sponsorship scandal, who have gone unpunished and still stroll freely along the sidewalks of Sparks or Wellington streets here in Ottawa or continue to live in their castles in north Montreal or elsewhere? Take Jacques Corriveau for example. He was portrayed by Gomery as the man who instituted the bribery system, the bid system and all the tricks with exaggerated quotations.
How are the criminal or civil cases going against Jacques Corriveau? Yes, Charles Guité got a prison sentence. Yes, Jean Breault got a prison sentence. But the symphony is still unfinished.
There are still people at large who remain unpunished and that is not acceptable. When we speak of the Gomery commission, Quebeckers and Canadians tell us that they hope the guilty parties will be prosecuted and punished. This money was not taken from the pockets of the Liberal Party or of any one of us here, it was taken from the pockets of taxpayers who believe that they pay too much tax. Therefore we are still waiting. What happened to the agency owners who profited from overbilling, the new millionaires who never bought a lottery ticket? They won the lottery.
I remember as though it were yesterday. When I was on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Gilles-André Gosselin told us, and he candidly repeated it to Judge Gomery, that he had invoiced 10 to 12 hours of work per day, 365 days per year, including Christmas and New Years. Gilles-André Gosselin remains unpunished. We are waiting for concrete action from the Conservative government.
The Bloc Québécois is pleased to note that the Conservative government has adopted one of the longstanding demands of the Bloc Québécois—dating back to 1993—to the effect that henceforth appointments of returning officers are no longer to be patronage appointments. Roughly the same principle applies to senators. When the government leader appoints a good Liberal organizer as a returning officer—not necessarily on the basis of ability but rather because of past contributions— it is known as returning the favour. I am not implying that all 308 returning officers are incompetent. Far from it. However, when the basic criterion is past participation in Liberal election organizations, this can result in the appointment of some incompetent people. We are pleased to see that the Conservatives have agreed to copy the system that has been in place in Quebec for several years.
Now, with Bill C-2, returning officers will be appointed following an open and transparent competition. In Quebec, the electoral officer, Mr. Blanchet, has put an ad in the papers to find a returning officer for the provincial electoral district of Montmorency. Any person who feels qualified may apply. We do not rely on party memberships or on a party election organization. It is not patronage in disguise. The process is open and transparent.
If we wanted to be mean and unwilling to recognize the merits of Bill C-2, we would probably say that things could have been done differently in the bill. I do not do this with laxness or flattery, but we, in the Bloc Québécois, are pleased to see that in Bill C-2 the Conservative Party has agreed with one of the recommendations that had become traditional for the Bloc, that is, that returning officers will now be appointed following an open and transparent competition. The best qualified person will then be able to fill the position. If the person is not able to do so, there will be removal procedures. If there is a power of appointment, there is a power of removal. Any staffing principle has its corollary.
I almost felt like asking for the unanimous consent of the House to speak until midnight, since Parliament is allowed to sit until that time. However, as I want to give other colleagues the opportunity to speak, I will stop here.