Debates of Oct. 29th, 2013

Capital Experience

[Barry Devolin, Conservative, Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there is an impressive group of students in Ottawa today. They are participating in a program I call a “capital experience”, whereby student leaders from each of the seven high schools in my riding come to Ottawa for three days each year to learn about career opportunities in public life.

This is the tenth year of this program. They have visited Parliament, the Belgium ambassador's residence, Amnesty International, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the press gallery, the University of Ottawa, and Summa Strategies.

I wish to thank those who shared their time with the students and thank the businesses and service clubs who sponsored them.

Today I welcome to Parliament Jillian Ribich and Landon Barnes from Brock, Carly Parks and Caroline Ford from Crestwood, Kory Gavin and Lyla Belsey from Fenelon Falls, Jillian Hawley and Riley Tait from Haliburton, Kate Fiddler and Kaylee Pietroski from I.E. Weldon, Katie Brown and Kyle Pugh from LCVI, Elissa O'Neill and Lindsey Dart from St. Thomas Aquinas, and Joe Tucker from Apsley.

I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing these young people all the best as they make decisions regarding their future careers.

Hon. Fred J. Mifflin

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a man who served this country with honour and distinction, Fred J. Mifflin, born and raised in Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador.

At the age of 16, he joined the navy, starting as a midshipman. He rose through the ranks, becoming commander and finally rear admiral. In that time he commanded a total of 10 destroyers.

He contributed countless hours and thoroughly enjoyed his time with the Navy League and the Sea Cadets. He then retired from the Canadian Forces but continued his public service.

He was first elected Liberal member of Parliament for Bonavista—Trinity—Conception in 1988 and was re-elected in 1993 and 1997. From 1996 to 1999, he was appointed Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Minister of Veterans Affairs, and Secretary of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

His greatest honour of all was being a loving husband to Gwenneth, a father, and an extremely proud and loving grandfather.

Fred Mifflin passed away peacefully on October 5, a tremendous testament to public service and above all to his family.

International Trade

[Bev Shipley, Conservative, Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON]

Mr. Speaker, years from now my great grandchildren will learn in school of a historic European trade agreement that helped benefit Canada and continued to do so.

Opportunities are endless across the nation, and in my riding of Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, local businesses see this as an important opportunity to strengthen their consumer base in the European Union, and for some, domestically. For example, Cedarline Greenhouses of Dresden will benefit by having more markets for the quality products they grow.

Our government understands agriculture like no other. We stand by many diverse commodities to ensure that each has fair market access and support.

We have a Prime Minister who stands up for Canada and will not back down. The result is CETA, the greatest trade agreement since NAFTA, and an achievement all Canadians can be proud of.

The Prime Minister

[Pierre Nantel, NDP, Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians across the country were stunned to find out that the Prime Minister hid the truth in the Senate scandal. Nigel Wright did not act alone. He may have resigned or been fired. Mike Duffy received one, two or possibly three cheques. Arthur Hamilton, the Conservative Party fixer, signed one, two or three cheques. The Prime Minister has told the truth about nothing, nyet, nada.

His flimsy story simply does not hold water. Every time he opens his mouth, he digs himself in even deeper. He is digging himself in deeper because he did not tell the truth. He painted himself into a corner the day he appointed those three wonderful senators. It is time for him to accept his responsibility.

At the time of the sponsorship scandal, he told Jean Chrétien to accept his responsibility. Now embroiled in his own scandals, he is behaving like a Liberal. The good old Reform days are over. The Prime Minister is nothing but a politician who has been worn out by Ottawa, worn out by the power that has corrupted his administration just as it did the one before.

Canadians deserve a good housecleaning here in Ottawa, not a Conservative scandal to take the place of the Liberal ones.

International Trade

[John Carmichael, Conservative, Don Valley West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Canada-Europe trade agreement is great for Canada and great for companies in my riding of Don Valley West and indeed in all of southern Ontario.

Global Automakers of Canada, the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, and the Forrest Green Group of Companies, all of whom are visiting Parliament Hill today, are but three examples of organizations that will benefit greatly from the Canada-Europe trade agreement.

This historic agreement will create 80,000 new jobs for Canadians and give Canadian business access to 500 million new customers. In fact, the benefits of this agreement are equivalent to increasing the average Canadian household income by $1,000.

I am pleased to join these many groups in celebrating the Canada-Europe trade agreement, an agreement that is truly an historic event.

Ethics

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I have just come back from Brandon. I met a lot of people there who are very disappointed in the Prime Minister. That includes a lot of people who voted Conservative in the last election who are very sorry that they did not get the clean, ethical government the Prime Minister promised them.

All across Canada, including in Brandon, people are all asking the same question: why does the Prime Minister keep changing his story?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there has been no change of story. On the contrary, the events are extremely well known.

Senators collected expenditures that they should not have collected, in our judgment, and of course a member of my staff facilitated an improper payment on that. That member has been removed, and those senators who have taken improper payment should be removed from the public payroll.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, after saying that he had every confidence in Nigel Wright, the Prime Minister also said, with his hand on his heart, that he had, with great regret, accepted the resignation of Nigel Wright.

On a Halifax radio station yesterday, the Prime Minister had another version of the story, in which he dismissed Mr. Wright. There cannot be two stories. One of them must be false.

Which is the real story?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the facts are very clear.

Mr. Wright acted inappropriately, and for that reason, I very clearly explained to him that he no longer worked for me.

Mr. Wright is no longer on the public payroll. That was the appropriate action.

We continue to have senators who took tens of thousands—in sum total, hundreds of thousands—of dollars of inappropriate expenditures. They should be removed from the public payroll by the Senate of Canada.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday Senator Duffy said that there were “at least two cheques” involved in his deal with the Prime Minister's Office.

How many cheques were there?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Duffy makes reference to the fact that the party reimbursed him for some legal expenses. That is a regular practice. The party regularly reimburses—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The right hon. Prime Minister now has the floor.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Calgary Southwest, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the party regularly reimburses members of its caucus for valid legal expenses, as do other parties.

What was shocking and unacceptable in this case was that Mr. Duffy had collected inappropriate money from the taxpayers of Canada. He had been told by everybody he should pay it back. He had said he would pay it back. He had said he did pay it back, and that all turned to be untrue, which is why Mr. Duffy should be removed from the Senate.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, who knew about the second cheque?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that was a payment from the Conservative fund to Mr. Duffy for his legal expenses. I repeat, it is not uncommon for the party to pay the legal expenses of members of its caucus on occasion, and the other parties do the same.

However, taking money from taxpayers to make inappropriate payments is another matter altogether. Mr. Duffy failed to pay that money back, and he should be punished by the Senate.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, on May 28 the Prime Minister said that there was “no legal agreement” in the Duffy affair.

How many lawyers does it take to negotiate no legal agreement?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Once again, Mr. Speaker, I have no idea what the member is referring to. What I do know are the facts in this case.

Mr. Duffy took $90,000 of expense money that he did not actually incur. He was told to pay it back; he committed to paying it back; he in fact said publicly that he had paid it back. That turned out to be a story told by Mr. Duffy and Mr. Wright. As a consequence, Mr. Wright no longer works on the public payroll, and Mr. Duffy should not be on the public payroll either.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister repeatedly told the House that only his chief of staff knew about the arrangement with Mike Duffy and that no Conservative Party funds were used in this affair. Neither of these statements were true.

Not only did at least 13 people know, but Mike Duffy's legal bills for the cover-up were paid by Conservative donors. Will the Prime Minister clear the air and agree to testify under oath about this scandal and its cover-up?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the entire premise of that question is incorrect. It is not true that all of these people knew. It is on the contrary.

The case here is, as we have said repeatedly, that Mr. Duffy took $90,000 of money from the taxpayers that he should not have taken. It was for expenses that had never in fact been incurred. He should have repaid those expenses. He was told to repay those expenses. He said that he would. He did not. For that reason, Mr. Duffy should be punished and should be taken off the payroll by the Senate of Canada.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, for five days after this scandal broke, the Prime Minister said that Nigel Wright had his full confidence and could keep his job. Then the Prime Minister said that he accepted Nigel Wright's resignation. Five months later, the Prime Minister tells us that Nigel Wright was fired.

Canadians find it hard to believe the Prime Minister's story because he keeps changing it.

For the fifth time since last May, will the Prime Minister clear the air by testifying under oath about this scandal and its cover-up?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I think we have all been very clear on this. Mr. Wright was told that his actions were inappropriate and he no longer works for me. Mr. Wright has also accepted, himself, that his actions were inappropriate. He is no longer on the public payroll. He has accepted his responsibilities.

On the other hand, the reality is that Mr. Duffy still has not paid a cent back to the taxpayers of Canada. He should be paying that money back. The fact that he has not, the fact that he shows absolutely no regret for his actions and the fact that he has told untruths about his actions means he should be removed from the public payroll.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, whether it is the number of people involved or Nigel Wright's actions, the Prime Minister's story changes every day.

This Prime Minister is being deceitful. He has deceived not only his own party's members and donors, but all Canadians, regardless of allegiance, who expect better from their prime minister.

For the sixth time in the House since the month of May, I am asking the Prime Minister to testify under oath about this sordid affair.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the real issue is that Mr. Duffy accepted reimbursements for expenses he never incurred.

Regardless of his statements, he has not yet paid back these expenses. For that reason and because of the scheme he and Mr. Wright came up with, Mr. Wright is no longer on the public payroll and that should be the case for Mr. Duffy.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Duly noted, Mr. Speaker. He shows no regret, has told untruths and should not be on the public payroll.

Who in the Prime Minister's Office gave Senator Duffy the media lines indicating that he had taken out a loan from the Royal Bank to repay his expenses? Who in the Prime Minister's Office came up with those lines, made up that story, for Mike Duffy? It came from the PMO.