Debates of Dec. 4th, 2013

National Defence

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, let me just say, I think that this applies to all members of the House of Commons, all of our thoughts and prayers are with all of the friends and families of those who have been touched by these recent suicides.

I think it is the responsibility of all of us to encourage those who need support, those who need help, to get that help. We should reach out to them and encourage them to do that. Those supports are available and we will make sure, of course, that they continue to be available to those people.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Prime Minister for his answer. These suicides are troubling. They are horrible. We are talking about soldiers who courageously served not only their country, but each and every one of us.

Can the Prime Minister tell us if he is prepared to reverse his decision to close nine regional offices that provided services to veterans?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, those services are available at Service Canada offices across the country. This government has invested far more in services for our veterans.

As I just said, our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends who have been touched by these events. It is the responsibility of all of us to encourage those who need support to get that support. We understand the difficulties that our military personnel have faced, and services are available to them.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last night Canadians heard more sad news. We are now up to four Canadian soldiers who have died in the past week.

Can the Prime Minister tell us what is being done to communicate with Canadian Forces members, specifically those who are suffering from post-traumatic stress, to ensure that they get all the help they need?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, a number of programs and services are available for our soldiers and veterans. They include the Canadian Armed Forces military assistance program, military family resource centres, the operational stress injury social support program, and the road to mental readiness program.

There are more, but the most important thing is that we understand that what our soldiers go through is not easy. The work they do is very hard, very dangerous and full of very difficult experiences. I think it is important for all of us to encourage soldiers who need help to get that help.

Ethics

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, everyone understands that it is wrong to offer money to a police officer, to a judge, or to a legislator, yet in direct violation of the Parliament of Canada Act, the Prime Minister's head of fundraising offered Conservative donor money to a sitting legislator.

Why does Senator Irving Gerstein still enjoy the complete confidence of the Prime Minister?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, of course the senator denies that. The fact of the matter is the following: Senator Duffy accepted payment from Mr. Wright that was not properly reported and, in fact, was misrepresented widely to myself and to the Canadian public. That is the reason action has been taken in this case against these two individuals and why they are under investigation and, of course, why we continue to assist with that investigation.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister continues to contend that Senator Gerstein is not a part of the RCMP investigation. Meanwhile, government senators are blocking his testimony, saying it would interfere with an ongoing investigation. The government cannot have it both ways, but the issue remains. Why does Senator Irving Gerstein still enjoy the full confidence of the Prime Minister?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Once again, Mr. Speaker, the RCMP itself has made very clear who is under investigation, and the Prime Minister's Office and the government continue to fully assist with that investigation. We shall continue to do so.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Conservative Senator Noel Kinsella and Liberal Senator Pierrette Ringuette pulled the exact same trick as Mike Duffy, the trick that on October 24 the Prime Minister said was the reason for getting rid of Mike Duffy.

Why are Noel Kinsella and Pierrette Ringuette still in the Senate?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, as you know, there is currently an audit under way by the Auditor General of Canada into all of the expenses of the Senate. That is something that we on this side of the House have been encouraging for some time.

We have made it very clear, of course, that the status quo in the Senate is not something that we would support. That is why we fought so hard to have these three senators suspended without pay from the Senate and that is why the minister of democratic reform has brought forward a number of proposals that are being considered at the Supreme Court.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Of course, it is the time of the year, Mr. Speaker, when we give our children and grandchildren advent Calandras, but we have real questions that are only for the Prime Minister.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. I will ask the Leader of the Opposition to refrain from using proper names. It sounded like it may not have been accidental, but I do not think it adds to the flow of question period today.

The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, who did the Prime Minister originally ask to give Perrin's emails to the RCMP? Only the Prime Minister knows the answer.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, just to be clear on the previous matter, Mr. Duffy was living at a long-time residence and claiming travel expenses. The two senators in question are long-time residents of the province of New Brunswick.

Of course, it is the bureaucracy that holds the records for departed employees. It had indicated it did not have such records. When officials discovered that was not correct, they immediately acted to make sure that information was made available to the RCMP, and that is the appropriate course of action.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, he reappears as magically as Perrin's emails.

It was the head of legal operations in the Privy Council Office, which is the Prime Minister's own ministry, who wrote to the RCMP to tell them that Ben Perrin's emails had miraculously been found, but if Mr. Perrin's emails were frozen due to “unrelated litigation”, as the Prime Minister claimed last Sunday, would the head of legal operations not have had those emails all along?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the official in question did indicate that there were no such records. It was later discovered that such was not the case. The official has been very forthcoming on this and has answered all questions at the parliamentary committee.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, did Ben Perrin's departure from the Prime Minister's Office have anything to do with the Mike Duffy affair?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, no. Mr. Perrin left the Prime Minister's Office in March and I learned of this affair in May.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Privy Council Office cc'd the law firm Bennett Jones on its letter to the RCMP saying it had found Ben Perrin's emails.

Coincidentally, Bennett Jones is the law firm representing and defending the Prime Minister's own staff whose emails are being investigated.

Why is the Prime Minister's own ministry warning potential suspects that their emails are being investigated by the RCMP?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, there are officials in the bureaucracy who are responsible for the retention of these records and, obviously, responsible for communicating this information to the RCMP. The official responsible has fully answered questions before the parliamentary committee and is, obviously, always willing to do so.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr.Speaker, there are officials who are responsible, but the Prime Minister never is. It is the Prime Minister's Office, it is the Prime Minister's party, it is the Prime Minister's ministry, but he is never responsible.

On May 28, the Prime Minister said there was no legal agreement between Duffy and Wright.

Does the Prime Minister want to change that story before he is contradicted again by the next round of RCMP documents?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, let me just once again correct the preamble to that question.

The records in question that the leader of the NDP refers to were not held in the Prime Minister's Office. All the information held in our office has been made available to the RCMP for some time. The RCMP itself has made that clear. They are certainly not held by the Conservative Party. They are retained by officials of the bureaucracy. When they were made available by a former employee, as the bureaucracy has said, it misinformed the Prime Minister's Office on those facts. When it discovered that error, it admitted to that error and properly conveyed that information to the RCMP, as we would expect it to do.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, does the Prime Minister really not know that he is the minister in charge of that bureaucracy?