Debates of March 24th, 2011

Ethics

[Anita Neville, Liberal, Winnipeg South Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, this is about the Prime Minister's judgment.

How does a man like that get put in charge of drafting government legislation? How does a disbarred lawyer, who served time in jail and was being chased by Revenue Canada, get the highest security clearance? Why did all of those ministers or their officials meet with him when they knew Bruce Carson was banned from lobbying?

We now learn that his son, Craig Carson, was a senior ministerial adviser to Jim Prentice and even to the current House leader. Did he have any role in setting up these—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. The hon. government House leader.

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, it is more slander, more smear from the Liberal Party.

The Liberals are bankrupt of ideas. They have nothing to show Canadians on jobs, the economy and economic growth.

We have a low tax plan to help create jobs. We have a budget before the House that will support the most vulnerable seniors by increasing the guaranteed income supplement.

What we have is a Liberal Party that has contempt for the Canadian electorate. It wants to force an unnecessary election rather than do the right thing and help Canadian seniors.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Bill S-11 would give the Conservatives the power to impose their solution for drinking water on the first nations. Telling the first nations that they are not competent to make that decision for themselves is insulting enough. Through this scheme, Mr. Carson's fiancée allegedly pocketed $80 million in commissions for selling water filtration systems.

Are they not ashamed of profiting from the misfortune of the first nations?

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, not one single dollar went to that company, not a single dollar. If the Liberal Party has any evidence of that, I would encourage it to table it before the House.

The reality is the Liberal Party is making it up as it goes along. It will not be honest and transparent with Canadians about its plan for a coalition government with the Bloc Québécois and the NDP. This would be unstable and would cause great damage to our country.

There is a great Canadian tradition that the person with the most votes wins. That should apply to Canadian democracy. The Liberals should stop their contempt for the Canadian electorate.

[Raymonde Folco, Liberal, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we do not have to make it up. The facts are awful as they stand.

Mr. Speaker, Bruce Carson did it all: chief of staff for the Prime Minister, special advisor to environment minister Jim Prentice and special advisor to the last two ministers of natural resources, including the Prime Minister's Quebec lieutenant. Mr. Carson even drafted a bill that would have given him access to part of the $1.6 billion allocated to the first nations.

And the Prime Minister had no idea what was going on? How can Canadians believe that?

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, a former British prime minister said the following:

I always cheer up immensely if an attack is particularly wounding because I think, well, if they attack one personally, it means they have not a single political argument left.

That is the Liberal Party. When it comes to jobs, the economy and economic growth, the Liberals have absolutely no solutions to offer the Canadian people. Our government is focused on jobs. Our government is focused on helping the most vulnerable seniors in Canada.

The Budget

[Daniel Paillé, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives’ hypocrisy truly knows no bounds. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance knew very well that by refusing to meet the legitimate demands of Quebec, in particular the $2.2 billion in compensation, they ran the risk of provoking an election. The Prime Minister was guiding the Minister of Finance’s hand when he deliberately brought in a budget that does not meet Quebec’s demands.

Will the Minister of Finance admit that it is his intransigence and stubbornness that are responsible for a possible election?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, no. We have had good discussions with the Government of Quebec. They are going well and we have made progress. Unfortunately, the coalition wants to have an election, so things will be delayed.

[Daniel Paillé, Bloc, Hochelaga, QC]

Mr. Speaker, no one is better at derailing a train than he is. If the Conservatives did not want an election, they would not have organized a $26 million pre-election campaign at taxpayer expense, like the one last week. If the Minister of Finance did not want an election, he would have abandoned his infamous and predatory plan for a securities commission.

Will the Minister of Finance admit that he and his government will be responsible if an election is triggered?

[Jim Flaherty, Conservative, Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, we have presented the right budget for all of Canada. It is a plan praised across Canada from coast to coast, a plan that has the credibility of top economists, a plan that keeps taxes low, a low tax plan that helps low income seniors, families, small business, caregivers, manufacturers, workers, and many more.

That is what Canadians want, not an unnecessary election caused by a power seeking coalition.

Status of Women

[Nicole Demers, Bloc, Laval, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government’s budget proves that the Conservatives deny the existence of and challenges faced by over half of the population. There is nothing in the budget to improve women’s lives. In recent years, as well, the Conservatives have cut the budget of Status of Women Canada, cut funding for a number of women’s rights groups and allowed pay equity, a fundamental right, to become negotiable.

Does the Prime Minister realize that his government’s indifference to the needs of women in Quebec may provoke an election?

[Rona Ambrose, Conservative, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women]

Mr. Speaker, the member knows full well that that is absolutely false. In fact, it is this government that has raised the budget of Status of Women funding to its highest level ever in the history of this country.

We are now funding every province of this country and every territory, including Quebec. I ask the member to work with us to improve the lives of women from coast to coast.

Housing

[Christian Ouellet, Bloc, Brome—Missisquoi, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government is still refusing to assume its responsibilities when it comes to the right to housing. The Conservative budget has no new money for affordable social housing. According FRAPRU figures, Quebec will lose $57 million a year for the construction of social housing and $78 million for the renovation of existing public housing.

Does the Prime Minister realize it is his government’s indifference to Quebeckers who do not have a decent place to live that could trigger an election?

[Diane Finley, Conservative, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development]

Mr. Speaker, it was our government that invested nearly $2 billion in affordable housing and much more under our economic action plan for the renovation and construction of nearly 12,000 units all across Canada. If it were left to the Bloc, no one would have had any improvements in housing because the Bloc members would have voted against it, just as they will vote against the budget tabled this week to help Canadians. What they want is a coalition, which Canadians oppose.

Ethics

[Gerard Kennedy, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Bruce Carson was given privileged access by the Prime Minister to inside information about Canada's energy and environment policy. He was not alone.

The Conservatives gave $15 million for a new program while Mr. Carson was advising the Prime Minister on energy and environment. He was then made the executive director of the same program, but it now turns out that the deputy director, Mr. Adamson, is a former Conservative policy adviser to the Minister of Industry, who had funded the program in the first place. To top it off, the program's current chair, Mr. Heidecker, is the former vice-president of the Alberta Conservative Party.

The question is no longer whether the Prime Minister is giving—

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order. The hon. government House leader.

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I did not hear a question there. He was cut off.

[Gerard Kennedy, Liberal, Parkdale—High Park, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we know why the member opposite is avoiding the question. The Prime Minister arranged for $15 million in taxpayer dollars to employ his former senior staff. What did Canadians get for this $15 million?

On the organization's website, Canada School of Energy and Environment, is a presentation Mr. Carson gave in 2010 to the Manning conference entitled “Managing a Conservative Political Agenda in a Minority Situation”. It is full of advice on how to manipulate the media, question period and members of Parliament.

Will the Prime Minister now admit he is just a defrocked televangelist of accountability--

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

The hon. government House leader.

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, I do not think I got the hon. member's question. We can have another try from the member for Parkdale—High Park.

I remember when Peggy Nash was here. She was always fighting for the cause of senior citizens. If Peggy Nash were in the House today, she would be voting for the guaranteed income supplement increase because it is in the best interests of Canadians, and they deserve it.

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Bruce Carson is being investigated by the RCMP for influence-peddling.

In his official biography, Carson says the Minister of Natural Resources gave him various duties.

What duties has Bruce Carson performed for the Quebec lieutenant?

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, more scandalous talk from the Liberal Party. The real scandal before Canadians is the Liberal-led coalition which wants to push aside the results of the next election campaign and assume power in a risky coalition government with the Bloc Québécois and the NDP. That is in the worst interests of Canadian taxpayers.

Worse yet, the Liberals will not be open and transparent about their attempts to push aside the results of the next election campaign. Canadians deserve better and our seniors need the help from the guaranteed income supplement. They need that support.

Instead of spending $400 million on an election, let us put that money to work for Canadian seniors.

[Denis Coderre, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, if he continues to play the clown, the hon. member could get a job with the Cirque du Soleil.

Bruce Carson was appointed to head the Canada School of Energy and Environment. Its $15 million budget is 100% funded by Ottawa. A budget like that was given to man who had been disbarred and imprisoned for defrauding clients. He is what is called a white collar criminal.

This Carson fellow escorts his minister pals, substitutes for them with full authority, and says he has received direct assignments. This school is starting to look like a front, and a Conservative cover for Carson.

Why was this person given so many privileges?

[John Baird, Conservative, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, this from a man who sat around the cabinet table when Alfonso Gagliano was named ambassador to Denmark. It is just a little rich.