House of Commons Hansard #84 of the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was conservative.

Topics

Elections CanadaOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC

Mr. Speaker, in the kingdom of hypocrisy, the prime minister is king.

Elections CanadaOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Elections CanadaOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC

And that of censorship also.

Elections CanadaOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Elections CanadaOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Order, please. The hon. member has the floor and we must be able to hear the question.

Elections CanadaOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Bloc

Gilles Duceppe Bloc Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just told us that Ms. Dixon's statements are false and that she is lying. I would like him to say that outside the House.

Will he sue Ms. Dixon for libel, as he did the Leader of the Opposition? If he is not a hypocrite, he will.

Elections CanadaOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, it is not necessary to deny it because that is not what she said. The leader of the Bloc should be truthful.

The Bloc definitely transferred funds to its riding associations and candidates. Federal grants are the only source of funds for the Bloc Québécois. But in 2004, the Bloc transferred $1.5 million to its local candidates and invoiced its candidates over $900,000.

Elections CanadaOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Bloc

Michel Guimond Bloc Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the Prime Minister that only Conservative candidates are being investigated by Elections Canada and only the Conservative Party has been the object of an RCMP search.

Elections CanadaOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Elections CanadaOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Bloc

Michel Guimond Bloc Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC

During the January 2006 general election, the Quebec lieutenant of the Conservative Party was the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. Was that minister aware of the scheme of his party, the Conservative Party, to spend more than the allowable limit, contrary to the law, as Elections Canada alleges?

Elections CanadaOral Questions

2:25 p.m.

Nepean—Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board

Mr. Speaker, in the kingdom of transfers, the leader of the Bloc is truly king. Let me give an example.

The Bloc received a local reimbursement from Elections Canada for a national expenditure. In May of 2004, the Bloc submitted invoices for some $17,000 to the candidate, and now member, for Québec. A few weeks later, that member sent a cheque to the Bloc in payment of those same invoices. Then the Bloc reimbursed precisely that same amount to the member for Québec. This was an in and out transfer by the Bloc Québécois.

Elections CanadaOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Bloc

Michel Guimond Bloc Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord, QC

Mr. Speaker, we understand why the political lieutenant, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities is not rising. This is confirmation that he was perfectly aware of the scheme being used by the Conservatives. As proof, I refer to an email dated December 19, 2005 explaining the details of this scheme to him.

Is this not additional proof that the scheme was explicitly intended to get around the rules by using Conservative rules and by filing phony invoices in order to claim electoral fund reimbursement from Elections Canada out of the public purse?

Elections CanadaOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Nepean—Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board

Mr. Speaker, in May of 2004, the Bloc Québécois invoiced the candidate, now member, for Abitibi—Témiscamingue for approximately $30,000. A few months later, the Bloc wrote the member a cheque for approximately $30,000. And then, guess what, 10 days after that, the member wrote a cheque to the Bloc Québécois for $30,000.

By so doing, they got back more of the taxpayers' money from Elections Canada. That was in and out Bloc Québécois style.

Global EconomyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON

Mr. Speaker, today's families are concerned about the state of the economy. Their jobs are in danger, and they keep having to pay higher and higher prices at the pump. Rising gas prices drive food prices higher, and that is an increase people are currently feeling across America, Asia and Africa, where millions are suffering. The UN has called for very broad public mobilization.

When will the Prime Minister act to curb this rise in energy prices and fight this worldwide crisis?

Global EconomyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, rising food prices are a very significant concern all over the world. Canada is among the leading international donors for the UN program in that area.

I know that the minister is currently looking at the various options and I am confident that the government will be announcing the next steps shortly.

Global EconomyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Jack Layton NDP Toronto—Danforth, ON

Mr. Speaker, the World Bank says that food prices have gone up by 83% in three years alone, and we are seeing a steady rise in costs here for both fuel and staple foods. Meanwhile, Petro-Canada is racking up a billion dollars more in profit and the best the government can come up with is to cut its taxes.

Meanwhile, gas prices are going up and food prices are going up. The fact is that we cannot trust the government to respond to this crisis. Is the Prime Minister simply going to respond to this crisis the way he has to the loss of jobs, with denial, delay and half measures, or are we going to see real action by Canada on real problems right here at home and around the world?

Global EconomyOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Calgary Southwest Alberta

Conservative

Stephen Harper ConservativePrime Minister

Mr. Speaker, it is obviously absolutely correct to observe that the price of oil and gas is rising, but the best the NDP and all the opposition parties can come up with is to have higher gas taxes.

That is obviously not the right policy. That is why we have reduced the GST and why we are reducing taxes for Canadian households.

Automotive IndustryOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Liberal

John McCallum Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, General Motors announced that it was cutting 900 jobs at its Oshawa plant.

When the Minister of Finance was a provincial politician, he said that we needed a national automotive strategy. That is pretty clear, but now, all he does is blame Ontario. What hypocrisy. How can he face his electors who have just been laid off?

Automotive IndustryOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Calgary Centre-North Alberta

Conservative

Jim Prentice ConservativeMinister of Industry

Mr. Speaker, there is not a single person in this House who is pleased when a Canadian loses a job. That is the situation at GM. Our immediate concern is for the workers who have lost their employment and ensuring that they are properly treated and have other job opportunities.

I can advise the House that I have spoken to the senior executives at General Motors. They advised that the situation at GM relates to changing product preferences. Some 90% of the vehicles produced at this plant are exported to the United States. American consumers are simply not buying pickup trucks and large SUVs in the same quantities.

We will continue to work with the industry and it will be a Canadian success.

Automotive IndustryOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

John McCallum Liberal Markham—Unionville, ON

So the finance minister has nothing for laid-off workers in his riding, Mr. Speaker, and he cannot even bother to stand up, but when it comes to an illegal contract for his Conservative friend, now under investigation by the ethics commissioner, he gives like Oprah.

As for an uneconomic railway through his riding or money for an agency connected to his wife, what is a few million taxpayers' dollars among friends? Why all this pork for friends and relatives, but nothing at all for laid-off workers?

Automotive IndustryOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Whitby—Oshawa Ontario

Conservative

Jim Flaherty ConservativeMinister of Finance

Mr. Speaker, I thank members opposite for supporting our budgets, the budgets in which we provided $1 billion in direct tax relief for the auto sector and a 2% reduction in the GST.

I can tell members that Canadian auto sales are strong this year, in January, February and March, but they are not in the United States. That is a concern with respect to the production of pickup trucks and exporting them to the United States, as the Minister of Industry has already mentioned. I am sure even the member for Markham—Unionville could follow that.

Ontario EconomyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

Judy Sgro Liberal York West, ON

Mr. Speaker, just listen to the litany of problems facing Ontario today: in Oshawa, 900 jobs were lost, and in Ottawa, 1,100 jobs--

Ontario EconomyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

Ontario EconomyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

The Speaker Liberal Peter Milliken

Order. I think the litany is going to come from the member for York West. We do not need to hear it on both sides at the same time.

The hon. member for York West has the floor at the moment. A bit of order, please.

Ontario EconomyOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

Judy Sgro Liberal York West, ON

Mr. Speaker, jobs are being lost. At Stream in Belleville, 144 people just received layoff notices, and there are more layoffs in Kapuskasing and North Bay, all of this in only the last week.

Why is the do-nothing finance minister more concerned with finding jobs for his Conservative buddy Hugh MacPhie than he is with saving the jobs of Ontarians?