Debates of March 8th, 2011

Citizenship and Immigration

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

Mr. Speaker, we are not going to stop shedding light on the irresponsibility of the Bloc Québécois' policies. If we had followed the Bloc's advice and not imposed visas on Mexicans, Quebec's taxpayers would have spent an additional $260 million. That would have been an irresponsible policy that goes against the interests of Quebec's taxpayers. As a minister, a member of Parliament and a Conservative, I am proud to shed light on the irresponsibility of the Bloc Québécois' policies.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, there is nothing administrative about breaking the rules and using parliamentary resources to raise funds.

This was not a small technical program. The immigration minister used the weight of his office to target people he is supposed to serve. The minister abused his power and used his office to exploit immigrant communities. Which organizations did the minister personally hit up for funds? How many more letters were sent?

When will the Conservatives step up, fess up and clean up their act?

[Jason Kenney, Conservative, Minister of Citizenship]

Mr. Speaker, I was very proud on Sunday night to stand up at an event in front of 800 almost entirely new Canadians from a diversity of cultural communities. Each one voluntarily and enthusiastically contributed $100 to the Conservative Party's outreach efforts because they are so pleased they finally have a government that reflects and respects their values, their aspirations, their belief in entrepreneurship and their respect for family. They want to give resources to the Conservative Party so that we can convey our message of respect for new Canadians.

Political Financing

[Carol Hughes, NDP, Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are defending themselves by accusing the other parties of doing the same thing.

Yet only the Conservatives have been charged. Only the Conservatives transferred national advertising expenses to the ridings. Only the Conservatives set up a scheme to get around election spending limits and only Conservative strategists are facing jail time.

Why were the other parties not prosecuted? Because only the Conservatives cheated.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I was very pleased to hear a question just seconds ago from the hon. member for Vancouver East. Now that I rise, I have a question for her.

On January 31, 2006, the national New Democratic Party transferred $7,003.64 to the local NDP riding association in Vancouver East. Then on March 1, 2006, just a short time later, the local NDP sent $7,003.64.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order please. The hon. member for Vancouver East.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, clearly the parliamentary secretary is trying to change the channel. We challenge the government to produce any documents--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order please. We will have some order.

The hon. member for Vancouver East has the floor. I cannot hear a word she is saying with all this racket.

[Libby Davies, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, let us challenge the government to produce any document or evidence that shows that any party systematically moved millions of dollars in and out of a riding in order to circumvent the rules. The only evidence it would find are Conservative documents. Only Conservatives schemed to break the law. Only Conservatives were raided by the RCMP. Only Conservatives are potentially facing jail time.

How can they pretend to be tough on crime when they have so clearly made a mockery of the rule of law?

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a document in my hand which shows the scheme that the NDP member for Edmonton—Strathcona is using out of her riding office. She is running the NDP re-election campaign right out of her NDP office with Erica Bullwinkle. She is using her parliamentary email and running the campaign out of the NDP constituency office. When will Erica Bullwinkle do the right thing and follow the high ethical standards of the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the in and out election fraud scheme was widespread. The 67 ridings involved included a dozen in British Columbia alone. The former government whip's riding funnelled $15,000 in and out. The President of the Treasury Board's riding did the same, laundering almost $10,000. Not only was it Canada-wide, it also reached deep into the Prime Minister's inner circle, including his current chief of staff. Nigel Wright was the secretary for Conservative fundraising during the 2006 election. What did he know about this scam?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, elections filing show that in the 2006 election, the Liberal Party transferred $1.7 million to local riding associations, who then transferred $1.3 million back.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

In one such example, in Oak Ridges—Markham the Liberal Party of Canada transferred $5,000 on July 21, 2004 and then on August 16, 2004, that same riding association transferred the same $5,000 right back. Five thousand dollars in; five thousand dollars out. In and out.

Let the hon. member explain.

[Bonnie Crombie, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is only one party that has been charged.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. The hon. member for Mississauga—Streetsville has the floor. We will have some order, please.

[Bonnie Crombie, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Mr. Speaker, during the 2006 election, Nigel Wright was working elbow to elbow with the scammers charged and the schemers accused of overspending their electoral limits.

It is impossible to believe that as the secretary and a director of the Conservative Fund Canada that Nigel Wright would not have been aware of this plot.

Was the Prime Minister's chief of staff involved in the scheme? Does his ethical wall include electoral fraud?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs]

On July 9, 2004, the Liberal Party transferred $5,000 to the Liberal riding association of Don Valley West. On July 15, 2004, one week later, the local Liberal riding association of Don Valley West transferred back $5,000. Five thousand dollars in; five thousand dollars out. In and out.

Where is Elections Canada?

Citizenship and Immigration

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, an immigration minister wields an enormous amount of power over new Canadians. He gets to decide if they get to stay and become Canadians or whether they will be reunited with their loved ones.

Yet this minister also operates as the Conservatives' recruiter-in-chief among cultural communities and gets to use confidential government data to target those very ethnic voters for partisan gains.

The irony is that many immigrants are fleeing regimes where these egregious conflicts of interest are far too common. Why can this minister not see that he is undermining the fairness of this great country?

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

Mr. Speaker, earlier today the Liberal member for Papineau put out a press release written in his parliamentary office.

When I went to the website, right above his press release about Elections Canada was an invitation to donate to the Liberal Party.

When will he do the right thing and stop fundraising out of his own office?

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh.

[The Speaker, Liberal, Peter Milliken]

Order, please. The hon. member for Papineau.