Mr. Speaker, Larry Smith's appointment to the Senate of Canada after announcing he would run to become a Conservative MP makes a mockery of the Prime Minister's pledge to eliminate Senate patronage and only appoint elected senators.
At the same time the Prime Minister is threatening to eliminate the level playing field for political parties, the Prime Minister is using Canadian tax dollars to pay for the office, telephone and staff of a candidate for the Progressive Conservative Party. This is the most egregious example yet of the government's hypocrisy and abuse of taxpayer dollars.
If Mr. Smith has any idea of fair play or any respect for the taxpayers of Canada, he will choose between the Senate or running for MP in the next federal election, but not both. He must either give up his seat in the Senate or give up on his campaign in Quebec.
The core Canadian value is fairness and what Canadians expect is for Mr. Smith to play fair.