House of Commons Hansard #33 of the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was harbour.
Carol Skelton ConservativeMinister of National Revenue and Minister of Western Economic Diversification
Mr. Speaker, I am troubled by some of the incorrect media reports surrounding the facts of this case. I am bound not only by the confidentiality conventions found in tax law, but also by parliamentary conventions regarding matters before the court.
Monique Guay Bloc Rivière-du-Nord, QC
Mr. Speaker, it is easy to understand. The case of Vincent Lacroix' personal taxes is no longer before the court. Quebec relinquished the taxes to benefit those who were defrauded.
Why will Ottawa not do the same immediately?
Carol Skelton ConservativeMinister of National Revenue and Minister of Western Economic Diversification
Mr. Speaker, we are looking into the situation. It would be inappropriate for me or any member of the government to respond or comment on these issues any further.
Ujjal Dosanjh Liberal Vancouver South, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence has publicly spoken of his procurement wish list of six major capital projects, where the total cost of the projects, including life cycle costs, adds up to close to $20 billion. As a former lobbyist, he represented at least four major companies involved in these potential purchases.
Will he come to grips with reality and recuse himself from those procurements where he was previously involved as a lobbyist?
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is locked in Groundhog Day. The member keeps asking the same question and he gets the same answer. The same answer is, I have followed the rules in the past, I will follow the rules now and I will follow the rules in the future.
Talk about that member, the member voted against the military. He does not care about the military and he does not know anything about the military.
Ujjal Dosanjh Liberal Vancouver South, BC
Mr. Speaker, it appears that the minister's brain is still locked up in the military lock-up. The minister, not recognizing his obvious conflict of interest, could open the door for losing bidders to go before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal.
Will the Minister of Public Works, responsible for the procurement process, request from his department a legal opinion on the liability of the government on any procurement where the Minister of National Defence, being in conflict, was previously involved as a lobbyist?
Gordon O'Connor ConservativeMinister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, not only is the member locked in Groundhog Day, but he seems to be the Forrest Gump of critics because he keeps asking the same question over and over and he keeps getting the same answer.
I would remind people that the member does not care about the military. All he cares about is petty politics.
Denis Coderre Liberal Bourassa, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec took part with great pomp and ceremony in the announcement last May 15 of an association to defend the interests of the Montreal aeronautical industry. He remembers, people were happy, it had already been approved.
So will the minister do his work and oppose any acquisition of military aircraft for which there are no economic benefits, no jobs for our workers, and no technology transfers? Will he stand up for Canada and work for his regions?
Jean-Pierre Blackburn ConservativeMinister of Labour and Minister of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec
Mr. Speaker, this is not really a question for the minister responsible for the regional economic development of Quebec but for the minister of national defence.
Denis Coderre Liberal Bourassa, QC
Mr. Speaker, apparently there is no longer a minister of economic benefits in Quebec. He was there for the photo op and to cut the ribbon, but when the time comes to defend Quebec’s interests, he disappears.
I repeat my question. If a decision is made in cabinet to write a cheque for $4.5 billion solely for our neighbours to the south, does the minister solemnly promise to say no to this purchase and work for the interests of Quebec?
Colin Carrie ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, I would like the member to know that the proposed strategic airlift procurement would offer significant opportunities for Canadian industry through the application of the industrial and regional benefits, IRB policy.
The IRB policy is administered by Industry Canada. Industry Canada is working to develop an IRB strategy which will ensure the winning bidder on this potential procurement delivers maximum high quality IRBs to Canadians.
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Mr. Speaker, after the arrest of suspected terrorists over the weekend, a mosque in Toronto was attacked. Windows were smashed, causing an estimated $15,000 in damage. This act of violence goes against the values for which Canada stands.
Will the Minister of Public Safety tell us the government's position on the attack on the Muslim mosque in Toronto?
Stockwell Day ConservativeMinister of Public Safety
Mr. Speaker, again, as the Prime Minister has already indicated, we can assure our friends in the Muslim community that Canadians from coast to coast, from all walks of life, from every creed, from every community, stand with them in denouncing these acts of hatred. We do not just stand with them in denouncing them, our security forces will seek out, pursue and prosecute to the full extent of the law people who perpetrate these deeds.
We do not put up with that as Canadians. We stand with one another and we will in this case.
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, just like the Liberals, the Conservatives are putting their friends ahead of working families. They promised to be different from Liberals and end the backroom deals brokered by lobbyists who have close ties to government.
This morning we learned that the Minister of Public Works has been lobbied by the former chief of staff to Brian Mulroney to grease the wheels for the bad office deal with Minto Developments. Canadians are already outraged by a deal that will cost them 20 times more than it should.
Will the minister explain how having lobbyists pushing for bad deals with phantom ministers is being accountable to Canadian taxpayers?
Public Works and Government ServicesOral Questions
Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam B.C.
Conservative
James Moore ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics
Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the member on having an unbroken record of questions with wrong information. In fact, neither the Minister of Public Works nor myself have ever met with Mr. Doucet on this file.
The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken
Order, please. The House has to be able to hear the question from the hon. member for Ottawa Centre. I cannot hear a thing and I do not know how the poor parliamentary secretary will be able to answer if he cannot hear the questions. We will have a little order so we can hear the hon. member for Ottawa Centre.
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am delighted about the interest from the government. It continues to tell us there is no deal. However, there seems to be enough of a deal that lobbyists are involved and enough of a deal that journalists can report on details leaking from the back rooms.
Will the Prime Minister agree to live up to his lofty rhetoric on transparency and table before the House all documents pertaining to this increasingly shady deal?
Public Works and Government ServicesOral Questions
Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam B.C.
Conservative
James Moore ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics
Mr. Speaker, the conspiracy theories continue. There is an agreement in principle, but no deal has yet been finalized. When it has, it will be public and the government will be proud to announce it.
Navdeep Bains Liberal Mississauga—Brampton South, ON
Mr. Speaker, not only does the government ignore the military when it tells it what kind of equipment it needs, but even worse, the government plans to export $3 billion in high-tech Canadian jobs to the United States of America.
Will the Minister of Industry tell us why he thinks the Canadian aerospace industry is unfit to maintain our military aircraft?
Colin Carrie ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, as I said in the answer to the last question, we will not be interfering with these processes. We are looking forward to getting much of that procurement and we will be working to get much of that procurement in Canada.
Navdeep Bains Liberal Mississauga—Brampton South, ON
Mr. Speaker, I do not think the parliamentary secretary or his minister gets it. The Conservative government is shifting high-tech Canadian jobs to the United States.
Will the Minister of Industry, his parliamentary secretary or any other minister on that side of the House show a bit of confidence in the Canadian aerospace industry, stop this ridiculous sole-sourced plan and keep jobs in Canada?
Colin Carrie ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry
Mr. Speaker, we have the utmost confidence in the Canadian aerospace industry. We have worked with the Canadian industry in the past and we will continue to work with the Canadian aerospace industry in the future.
Marcel Proulx Liberal Hull—Aylmer, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is preparing to complete a transaction to lease the former JDS Uniphase campus. Minto Developments purchased this property for $30 million, and thanks to “Mr. Airbus”, Fred Doucet, the Conservative government is now going to pay $600 million to lease it from Minto.
I would like to know how Mr. Karl-Heinz Schreiber is involved in this transaction and who gets a commission from him this time.