Debates of May 21st, 2013

Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada

[Rob Anders, Conservative, Calgary West, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the NDP has known about corruption in Quebec politics since 1994, yet he chose to keep it secret for 17 years. In 2010, he even denied to the media and to Canadians ever having been offered a bribe by the mayor of Laval. The leader of the NDP kept his first-hand knowledge of corruption from the public and was only forced to speak up and backtrack on his denial after corruption investigations began in Quebec.

The leader of the NDP should be investigated by the RCMP for concealing his knowledge of corruption. As parliamentarians we must uphold a culture of accountability. The NDP owes Canadians an explanation for its leader's 17-year cover-up on corruption in Quebec.

Conservative Party of Canada

[Dan Harris, NDP, Scarborough Southwest, ON]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians have had a difficult time following the Conservatives' twisted train of logic on their latest scandal. From the start of the great Senate cover-up, Conservatives have flip-flopped with great conviction. There is the parliamentary secretary for transport who boldly defended this unethical behaviour declaring, “Nigel Wright did an exceptionally honourable thing. He reached into his own resources, wrote a personal cheque...”.

The member for Calgary Centre claimed the resignation of the Prime Minister's chief of staff and others is proof of “...the highest ethical standards”. Then there was this morning's Oscar-worthy performance of a Prime Minister trying to sweep it all under the rug before he heads out the back door and jets off to Peru.

My constituents want the corruption to end. They want the guilty parties to be punished and they want some genuine accountability here in Ottawa. It is too bad Canadians have to wait until 2015 to move beyond the old line parties and get the honest change that they deserve.

Doug Finley

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, a great Canadian has passed.

Doug Finley was born overseas and never lost his magnificent Scottish accent, but he loved this country from the top of his head to the tips of his gillie brogues. He was a gifted political organizer. He was discreet, loyal, a wise counsellor to the mighty and a wise guide to the young and idealistic. He was an idealist himself who believed profoundly in democracy and who devoted the last decade of his life to pursuing this ideal. He was my friend and I miss him deeply.

Above all, Doug Finley was a family man. His love for his wife Diane was legendary. His daughter and his grandchildren were his life's joy.

His accomplishments took place in the theatre of partisan and electoral politics, but Doug had the respect of members on both sides of both Houses of the Parliament of Canada. I ask everyone here today to join me in paying tribute to a great Canadian patriot, Doug Finley.

Ethics

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, when the going gets tough, the tough get going, to Peru apparently.

The Prime Minister's chief of staff gave Mike Duffy a $90,000 cheque. In exchange Duffy paid--

[Some hon. members]

Oh! Oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. Leader of the Opposition has the floor.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's chief of staff gave Mike Duffy a $90,000 cheque. In exchange, Duffy paid off illegal expenses, stopped co-operating with auditors, and the PMO said in writing that they would go easy on him. In his own words Senator Duffy “stayed silent on the orders of the Prime Minister's Office”. A secret cash payment from the Prime Minister's chief of staff negotiated by the Prime Minister's own lawyer.

Will the Prime Minister call in the RCMP and release all documents related to this secret backroom deal?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been very clear that he was not aware of the payment until last week after it had been reported publicly in the media. The Prime Minister spoke very loudly and very clearly this morning. Furthermore, this matter has been referred to two independent bodies for review. We look forward to the results of these reviews.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, many questions remain unanswered about the secret deal made by the Prime Minister's Office, the report that was doctored to clear a senator and the so-called gift of $90,000.

When did the Prime Minister find out about the negotiations between his chief of staff, Nigel Wright, and Senator Duffy? Was the new chief of staff, Ray Novak, aware of this scheme?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was not aware of the payment until last week after it was reported in the media and neither was his current chief of staff.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, Mike Duffy agreed to “stay silent on the orders of the PMO”. In exchange, the Prime Minister's Office agreed to cover the cost of the senator's fraudulent expenses.

Why were taxpayer-funded lawyers used to negotiate this secret backroom deal between the Prime Minister's chief of staff and Senator Duffy? Was taxpayers' money used to bankroll Senate-gate, yes or no?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, it will come as no surprise to the Leader of the Opposition that I reject much of the premise of his question. I have been very clear and the government has been very clear that the Prime Minister was not aware of this payment until media reports surfaced last week. Let me be very clear on that point.

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning's press conference left us with many unanswered questions. We still do not know if the Prime Minister knew about his chief of staff's sudden generosity or if he had anything to do with the whitewashing of the Senate audit. His role has yet to become clear.

I have a very simple question. What did the Prime Minister know and when did he know it?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, one has to be able to roll during question period.

The government has provided a very clear answer. I cannot be more clear. I cannot be more specific. I did indicate to the Leader of the Opposition that the Prime Minister was not aware of this payment until after it surfaced in the media last week. I cannot be any more clear to the House and I cannot be any more clear to the member opposite.

[Françoise Boivin, NDP, Gatineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are always going to have a problem with credibility. They have no credibility whatsoever. They always wait until the last second to act. Then, they take us for fools.

The Conservatives have still not provided a shred of evidence to support their claims on this issue.

The Prime Minister is known for micromanaging his government. Yet, the Conservatives now expect us to believe that he knew nothing about the schemes concocted by his chief of staff and his lawyer, Benjamin Perrin. Come on.

Are the Conservatives really saying that this complex scheme was carried out without the Prime Minister knowing anything about it?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I have stood in this place and I have answered the question categorically as to when the Prime Minister was made aware of this issue. I could not be any clearer.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear now that the Conservative government under the Prime Minister has lost its moral compass. The Prime Minister's right-hand man secretly paid a parliamentarian $90,000 to obstruct an audit. Canadians deserve better. They deserve actual transparency and accountability.

What precisely was the secret deal that the Prime Minister's Office made with Senator Duffy? Show us the documents.

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I have said it before and I will say it again. The Prime Minister was not aware of the payment until last week when reports surfaced in the media.

Our understanding is there is no document. Again, I am very happy to have responded to both questions the member asked.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is in it up to his neck and the members opposite know it.

It is now clear that the government has lost its moral compass under this Prime Minister. The Prime Minister's right-hand man made a secret $90,000 deal with a parliamentarian in order to obstruct an audit. Canadians are demanding real transparency.

I am going to repeat my question: what precisely was the secret deal that the Prime Minister's Office made with Senator Duffy?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister obviously not having known of the payment could not know about any alleged agreement to which the leader of the third party refers.

This matter has been referred to two independent bodies that will review it. We look forward to hearing their comments following.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians work hard and play by the rules. They pay their own debts. Apparently, when the Conservatives break the rules, they get their debts secretly paid off by their friends in high places. It boggles the mind. Nobody over there even thinks anybody did anything wrong except get caught.

When will the Conservatives release this secret document, allow for a full investigation and, while they are at it, apologize to Canadians?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to a legal agreement to which the member opposite refers, our understanding is there is no such agreement.

This issue has been referred to two independent authorities that will look into the matter. We look forward to them reporting back to Parliament and to Canadians.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we now learn that the Prime Minister's key legal adviser Benjamin Perrin helped Nigel Wright with this secret deal that included a $90,000 payout and a promise to have Conservative senators “go easy” on Mike Duffy's rip-off of the taxpayer.

The Prime Minister has praised Mike Duffy for leadership, he has praised Wright for being honourable, but he has not come clean with the Canadian people.

Who else was involved in this plan to obstruct the audit? Does the Prime Minister think that it is okay for taxpayer-funded lawyers to obstruct investigations into taxpayer rip-offs? Does the Prime Minister have a problem with that?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. No taxpayer money was involved with respect to this reimbursement.

It is clear from the committee's report over in the other place that these expenses should not have been claimed. The government and no one in this caucus is disputing that fundamental fact.

On Sunday, Mr. Wright took the responsible decision and tendered his resignation and that resignation was immediately accepted.

[Charlie Angus, NDP, Timmins—James Bay, ON]

Mr. Speaker, with answers like that, it is like the Conservatives are taking their crisis management courses from Rob Ford. We are talking about abuse of the public trust here.

Today, the Prime Minister blew off the Nigel Wright scandal as a mere distraction, but he failed to tell Canadians whether he thought it was wrong or illegal, wrong to make secret payouts, wrong to obstruct an investigation.

The Prime Minister called in the cops on Helena Guergis and Bruce Carson. Given the seriousness of these allegations, will he call in the cops against Nigel Wright and Mike Duffy?