Debates of April 29th, 2008

Bloc Québécois

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lotbinière—Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to unmask the puppet show featuring the Bloc members so that the stage manager will put an end to his hypocrisy immediately.

The truth is that the players are not happy with how the Bloc leader is treating them, but he can no longer stop them from talking about how badly they are being treated.

Some have said that the Bloc leader bosses his troops around like a drill sergeant, and others have talked about an unhealthy environment where verbal violence reigns and lack of respect is an everyday reality. Some members of the Bloc have even been denied the right to ask questions for five years.

Given what we know about this little shop of horrors, it is clear that the Bloc has a double-standard approach to politics. Before trying to teach others a lesson, the Bloc leader should take a look behind him.

Immigration

[Olivia Chow, NDP, Trinity—Spadina, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is a global food crisis. Rice, wheat, gasoline and oil are too expensive for ordinary families, leaving many worried about their future.

Canada used to be a land of hope for those fleeing hunger, oppression and poverty.

In 1847 the Irish potato famine was at its worst. People starved and over a million died, and Canada opened its doors. Toronto welcomed over 40,000 Irish in those years. Many were sick and starving, but they helped build a great city, a great country, as did other waves of immigrants, over the years from every part of the globe, seeking a better life.

Under the proposed new immigration rules, the Irish would not have been welcomed in Canada. Nor would others fleeing famine and despair. The Conservatives would have branded them as losers, not winners.

Today we face the impact of climate change and a severe food crisis. We need to open our doors, not close them. We must not give the minister the key to lock families out. Let us open Canada--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. member for Davenport.

Israel

[Mario Silva, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Mr. Speaker, May 8 marks Israel's 60th anniversary of independence. Like Canada, Israel is a nation born of many people and backgrounds. It is bilingual and plays a pre-eminent role in international development.

Despite an ongoing onslaught by Israel's neighbours, Israel not only survived but flourished.

I am proud of Canada's record and of the record of the Liberal Party when it comes to supporting Israel.

Today, as it has in the past, Israel faces a number of threats, from despots and terrorists who aim for its destruction to boycotts that claim to support peace, but instead only encourage further mistrust and misunderstanding.

Israel and Israelis should know that Canadians stand by them through the tough times and during the celebrations.

I ask all members to join me in wishing Israel a happy 60th birthday and hope that the coming years bring the peace that Israelis have prayed for since Israel's birth.

Quebec Mining Week

[Marc Lemay, Bloc, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to use Quebec Mining Week as an opportunity to acknowledge the expertise that this industry has developed in my riding. Pardon the pun, but the miners are a gold mine for Abitibi—Témiscamingue and their expertise has acquired world renown.

Traditionally, the regional mining industry has been characterized by underground mining of precious and base metal deposits. Today, the Abitibi—Témiscamingue region has become a leader in technological development in exploration, mining and mine tailings management.

On behalf of my Bloc Québécois colleagues, I am pleased to commend those who are making mining a booming industry.

The Environment

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Mr. Speaker, 10 years ago today Canada officially signed the Kyoto protocol, the only international agreement that brings the world together to fight the greatest environmental threat of our generation. It is more than a simple agreement. It is an international effort to save our planet.

Unfortunately, here in Canada, we have been going backward for the past two years, two years that we have lost. The climate change crisis is getting worse every year. We must act even more quickly.

The Liberal Party believes what scientists are saying and recognizes that global warming is a reality.

We are committed to the Kyoto protocol and the international negotiations that are currently taking place to set mandatory limits on emissions for its second phase.

The Liberal Party calls upon the Conservative government to admit that its plan will simply not work, that no one supports it, no one believes it, and to get busy making up for lost and wasted time because that is what Canadians want, that is what Canadians deserve, and that is what the planet needs.

The Economy

[Rick Norlock, Conservative, Northumberland—Quinte West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, more and more Canadians are realizing that the Liberals are just too risky on the economy. While Canadians face increasing gas prices, the Liberal leader is promoting his plan for the economy, a new and massive increase in gasoline taxes.

This new tax, in addition to other Liberal promises, would mean that under a Liberal government the GST could increase to 12%, whereas our government reduced the GST from 7% to 6% to 5%. Only the party opposite would view giving Canadians their hard-earned money back as a bad thing. The Liberals' reckless spending promises would plunge Canada at least $62.5 billion deeper into debt.

Today taxes are at their lowest level in 50 years, unemployment is at the lowest level in 33 years, and Canada's debt burden is at the lowest level since the 1970s. The Liberal leader and his party would risk all of this success.

Under the leadership of this Prime Minister and Finance Minister, we are balancing the budget, reducing debt and lowering taxes for all Canadians.

Elections Canada

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, RCMP officers raided the Conservative Party headquarters. They did not raid our headquarters and they did not raid anybody else's headquarters. They raided one party alone. Why? Because only the Conservative Party broke the spending limits, only the Conservative Party refused to cooperate with Elections Canada.

I ask the Prime Minister this question. Did he authorize this scheme to defraud the Canadian taxpayer, and if he did not, who did?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party has followed all the laws. In fact, the Conservative Party has used practices, as has been demonstrated in this House, that have been used for years, allowed by Elections Canada, and used by every single party.

In fact, it is very interesting, some Liberals went to court recently against Elections Canada. They forced Elections Canada to allow the transfer of hundreds of thousands of dollars to their leadership candidates, of which the deputy leader was a beneficiary.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order. The hon. member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore has the floor.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, they did not raid my headquarters nor the headquarters of the member for Toronto Centre.

The election spending limits are in place for a good reason: to create a level playing field for all the parties and make sure elections are fair.

Why does the Prime Minister think he can ignore the rules? Why does he think the Conservative Party can spend a million dollars more than any other party? Does he think he is above the law?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

On the contrary, Mr. Speaker, we have obeyed the same laws as the other parties and followed the same practices and the same Elections Canada interpretations for a long time. The Liberals are being just a tad hypocritical, because as I said, some Liberals went to court against Elections Canada to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars for their party. That suit benefited the deputy leader of the Liberal Party.

[Michael Ignatieff, Liberal, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there were no raids on my headquarters, but there were raids on their headquarters.

When Elections Canada raided Conservative Party headquarters, it did so because 16 out of 18 Conservative Party operatives refused to answer any questions. That is why the raid was necessary in the first place.

Can the Prime Minister explain why his party has obstructed Elections Canada at every turn? Can he explain why his government and his party have so little confidence--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The right hon. Prime Minister.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Well, Mr. Speaker, if what the hon. member is saying is that it is strange that Elections Canada had one practice for the Conservative Party and one for other parties, we agree.

That is not correct. In fact, the Conservative Party of Canada has never refused any documentation to Elections Canada. In fact, by our own lawsuit we are required to provide that documentation and we believe as a consequence, that raid broke Elections Canada's own rules.

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, caught and cornered, the Conservatives are misleading the House to divert attention from the fact that it is the only party that participated in this electoral laundromat.

The parliamentary secretary attempted to distort a 1997 ruling on blackouts as somehow relevant to this scam. Elections Canada has never told any party to change the content of their ads. It is about fraud, not free speech.

Can the parliamentary secretary confirm his reference yesterday to the Somerville exception had nothing to do with spending limits and nothing to do with expenses?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, it had everything to do with both. So does the collective ad buy that the member participated in.

The member for Beauséjour and a group of New Brunswick Liberals joined in a regional media buy in the 2006 election organized by the national party and then paid for by the national party. In fact, the invoice was never even given to the local candidates. It was given to the national party and local candidates then paid to the party.

Interestingly, while it was seen as a local expense in the ad, he did not book it in his election expenses. Can he explain why not?

[Dominic LeBlanc, Liberal, Beauséjour, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the government insists on making up facts to mount a defence that does not hold water. The Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board has forgotten that the Federal Court refused to accept the examples he gave concerning other political parties because the Federal Court felt that those examples had nothing to do with the situation in which the Conservative Party now finds itself.

Why is the government making up facts to try to whitewash an untenable situation?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that my hon. colleague did not deny the facts, as I presented them. In fact, there is more. If he has the opportunity to rise again, I think he should admit that in the past three months, he had to modify the documents he sent to Elections Canada and admit that he himself participated in this collective advertising. Why did he change his position?

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we would have appreciated a reply from the Prime Minister to our questions yesterday, but he preferred to attend a photo shoot. I hope he will give us some answers today.

Ms. Dixon, of Retail Media, an advertising agency the Conservative Party dealt with, has stated that advertising invoices attributed to her company are forged or were falsified.

Is the Prime Minister denying Ms. Dixon's allegations and can he state, from his seat, that these invoices were not forged or falsified?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that is completely false. The only difference between the party's invoices and those of the advertising agency is the addition of the GST. Once again, it is interesting to note the Bloc Québécois' hypocrisy. During the 2006 elections, the Bloc transferred more than $700,000 to local candidates and invoiced them for more than $800,000.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, everything was done by the book. Elections Canada and—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. We have to be able to hear the hon. member's question.