House of Commons Hansard #266 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was treaties.

Topics

Conservative Party of CanadaOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON

Mr. Speaker, the poor old guy over there; it looked as if his battery was running down on him.

Speaking of lowering the ethical bar, the Liberal leader spent the weekend defending the abuse of public trust in the Senate. He mollycoddled Mac Harb and then he said that Patrick Brazeau's actions were “an honest mistake”.

Not to be outdone, Conservative Senator Tkachuk was able to lower the bar even further. He favourably compared the Conservative Senate scandal to the Liberal sponsorship scandal saying, “Well, the Liberal Party survived. We will survive”.

Is this the new Conservative yardstick for measuring accountability: survival?

Conservative Party of CanadaOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam B.C.

Conservative

James Moore ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

Mr. Speaker, again, the Conservative yardstick for moving forward and going into the 2015 campaign is our demonstrated record of results for Canadians, including one million new jobs across this country.

Specifically on the issue of the Senate, Canadians do want action. They want a party that puts forward a serious plan. We have legislation before the House, but the NDP has no plan whatsoever that it has put before Parliament. It is all rhetoric and no action.

At the end the day, Canadians know there is only one party in this country that has consistently delivered good news and solid results for all Canadians, and it is the Conservative Party of Canada. Our record of one million new jobs and the lowest taxes in 50 years is getting it done.

Conservative Party of CanadaOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Mr. Speaker, we in the NDP have an action plan for the Senate. We will do away with it and get rid of the senators who are cheating the system. That is our action plan.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence said that it would not serve the public interest to produce the cheque Nigel Wright wrote to Mike Duffy.

Does the government agree with that statement, which confirms the Conservatives' desire to cover this up, or will it produce the cheque, which is in its possession?

Conservative Party of CanadaOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam B.C.

Conservative

James Moore ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

Mr. Speaker, my colleague knows very well that an investigation is already under way.

The Auditor General is looking into this matter, and so are the Ethics Commissioner and the RCMP. I am sure that all the information will be made available to the investigating authorities. There is a process in place. My hon. colleague should respect the process.

Conservative Party of CanadaOral Questions

2:30 p.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

Mr. Speaker, I see that the Conservatives are following the Liberals' how-to-survive-a-scandal guide to the letter. In the end, it is the same old story. Red scandals have simply been replaced by blue scandals.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence said:

I don't think..., we don't think it would serve the public interest very well....

The use of the pronoun “we” is very telling in many ways.

Who else, apart from him and Conservative colleagues, members and staff, believes that the $90,000 cheque should not be made public? Who else?

Conservative Party of CanadaOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam B.C.

Conservative

James Moore ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, there is a process in place and all the information will be made available to the investigating authorities.

The Ethics Commissioner and the Auditor General will look at all the information available on this matter. They will make their findings public and all of the information will come out.

Conservative Party of CanadaOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

NDP

Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe NDP Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives claim that the PMO's secret fund was not used to buy Mike Duffy's silence. However, was it used to reimburse whoever bought Mike Duffy's silence? That is still a mystery.

We know that the Prime Minister's Office had access to a million-dollar fund provided by the Conservative Party. This fund was managed by Nigel Wright.

Did he use this money to repay himself, yes or no?

Conservative Party of CanadaOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Nepean—Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, the Conservative Party has a separate fund to cover partisan expenditures.

The leader of the Conservative Party is also the Prime Minister. This is neither a mystery nor a secret.

The hon. member should focus on the economy and job creation. That is our priority, and we will continue to focus on those issues.

Conservative Party of CanadaOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

NDP

Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe NDP Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC

Mr. Speaker, that is quite amusing. Before, we were imagining things, but now it is more of a secret. There is no secret fund according to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, but there is one according to his Defence colleague. Come on, the other side is either making things up or just playing with words to try to mislead Canadians, which would be nothing new.

Did someone in the Prime Minister's Office discuss the possibility of using the Conservative Party fund, which was managed by the PMO, to pay Mike Duffy's expense claims or reimburse Nigel Wright, yes or no?

Conservative Party of CanadaOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Nepean—Carleton Ontario

Conservative

Pierre Poilievre ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport

Mr. Speaker, the answer is no.

EthicsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Mr. Speaker, now we have Conservative parliamentary secretaries directly contradicting each other about the secret Conservative hush fund. There are no answers on the secret Wright-Duffy payoff cheque, no answers on the Senate whitewash report and now no answers on widespread domestic snooping on law-abiding Canadians.

I know my Conservative friends are obviously a bit tired, but they should try to work a little harder on getting their stories straight. How many more scandals are Conservatives going to inflict on Canadians before they show a little contrition, apologize and fix this mess?

EthicsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam B.C.

Conservative

James Moore ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows very well, we have put forward all the information that will be put forward to the Ethics Commissioner and the Auditor General, who are looking into this matter. That is the way Canadians expect things to be dealt with in this regard.

In terms of the Senate, we have put forward 11 accountability measures to ensure that these things do not happen in the future. Better than that, of course, we have legislation before Parliament to have term limits for senators and elections for senators going forward. We have an actual plan, versus New Democrats who just yell concepts and yell words but do not actually have a plan to do anything whatsoever to address the concerns of Canadians with regard to proper reform of Canada's upper house.

We have a plan. They have noise. That is why Canadians elect Conservatives and not New Democrats.

EthicsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

Marc Garneau Liberal Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC

Mr. Speaker, it has been nearly a month since Nigel Wright wrote Mike Duffy a cheque for $90,000.

Since then, the government has been blocking attempts to get at the real story. They say that it was simply a private transaction between friends.

Canadians are not buying it. They know that it was a botched attempt to prevent a Senate expenses audit and put an end to a political crisis for the Prime Minister.

When will we see a copy of the $90,000 cheque?

EthicsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam B.C.

Conservative

James Moore ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

Mr. Speaker, the NDP has already asked the question, and I have already answered it.

What taxpayers really want to know is when Mac Harb will be writing a $50,000 cheque to repay the money he stole from Canadian taxpayers. That is the cheque people really want to see.

EthicsOral Questions

2:35 p.m.

Liberal

Marc Garneau Liberal Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC

Mr. Speaker, the government wants to show us that cheque today. Why is it not doing so?

Can the government tell us that it is doing everything in its power to ensure that no document will be destroyed, including Senator Duffy's February 20 email? When will the government turn over that information so that we can put an end to this scandal and give Canadians a chance to see all of the documents for themselves?

EthicsOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam B.C.

Conservative

James Moore ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, the Prime Minister said that we will turn over any information requested by the RCMP, the Auditor General or the Ethics Commissioner.

However, equally, Canadians also want to see the information on Senator Mac Harb taking $50,000 from taxpayers. We also want to see Senator Merchant and her $1.7-million fund that she has sheltered from paying taxes in Canada. We want to know about Liberals and the way in which they are abusing their responsibility to be up front and forthright with taxpayers when it comes to their responsibilities.

Liberals “do as I say, not as I do”, and it is typical of that party.

EthicsOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Liberal

Yvonne Jones Liberal Labrador, NL

Mr. Speaker, Conservative ethical breaches keep piling up. Peter Penashue's campaign finance problems; well, that was Reg Bowers' fault. Illegal use of the Conservative database in the last election; that was Pierre Poutine's fault. Mike Duffy's improper expense claims; a staffer gets thrown under the bus. Wright's $90,000 was not just to cover Duffy's expenses but to cover up for the government.

The Conservatives claim to stand for personal responsibility, but when will they start taking that responsibility?

EthicsOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Port Moody—Westwood—Port Coquitlam B.C.

Conservative

James Moore ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages

Mr. Speaker, indeed we have answered that question very well. As I said to her colleague from Montreal, all the information will be provided to the Ethics Commissioner and the Auditor General as they are examining this matter. Again, if the Liberals want to demonstrate the forthrightness they claim to represent here in the House of Commons, we would like to see a cheque for $50,000 from Mac Harb back to the taxpayers for the money he ripped off for being the Senator for Ottawa Centre and yet claiming a living allowance for Ottawa Centre. It would be great if the Liberals would indeed walk their talk.

Aerospace IndustryOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

NDP

Hélène LeBlanc NDP LaSalle—Émard, QC

Mr. Speaker, Canadians were tremendously proud of and inspired by Chris Hadfield's time as commander of the International Space Station.

Unfortunately, for the past year here on earth, the Conservatives have continued to cut jobs at the Canadian Space Agency, scientists' jobs in particular.

Were cuts at the Canadian Space Agency and the resulting brain drain brought up when the Prime Minister met with Commander Hadfield?

Aerospace IndustryOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Mégantic—L'Érable Québec

Conservative

Christian Paradis ConservativeMinister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)

Mr. Speaker, our government has a strong record regarding support for the Canadian space sector. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Commander Chris Hadfield for his exemplary service, which is a source of Canadian pride.

Commander Hadfield made an impressive contribution to the space mission, and he renewed appreciation for Canada's expertise. His efforts put Canadian ingenuity back in the spotlight and piqued the world's interest.

This is Canada's 50th year in space, and our government remains committed to keeping Canada at the forefront of the space industry.

Aerospace IndustryOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

NDP

Dan Harris NDP Scarborough Southwest, ON

Mr. Speaker, the minister has it wrong. We have yet again another example of Conservatives dismantling scientific research. New Democrats are proud to welcome Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield back to Canada. Unfortunately, Conservatives are welcoming him home by gutting research capacity at the Canadian Space Agency. Thirty highly qualified researchers lost their jobs just in the past year.

How do shortsighted Conservative cuts to vital research capacity improve Canada's space program?

Aerospace IndustryOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

Mégantic—L'Érable Québec

Conservative

Christian Paradis ConservativeMinister of Industry and Minister of State (Agriculture)

Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, Canada has a strong record of support for Canada's space sector. It is an honour for me to be standing up in this House to thank Commander Hadfield for his exemplary service, of which all Canadians can be proud.

Beyond that, there were key files on which we took leadership. I can speak about the participation of the country on the International Space Station and the RADARSAT Constellation mission too. I hope we will have the support of the opposition. These are real tangible benefits, and this is what would allow us to remain a leader in the space sector.

Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceOral Questions

2:40 p.m.

NDP

Randall Garrison NDP Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have misplaced priorities when it comes to RCMP reform as well.

Last week the minister refused to distance himself from Commissioner Paulson's inappropriate comments about sexual harassment in the force.

Now the minister is flatly rejecting the idea of civilian governance for the RCMP. This was a key recommendation of the Brown task force for improving RCMP accountability.

Why does the minister insist on undermining rather than rebuilding public trust in the RCMP?

Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

Provencher Manitoba

Conservative

Vic Toews ConservativeMinister of Public Safety

Mr. Speaker, our government has taken strong action to restore pride in Canada's national police force.

Harassment in the RCMP, especially harassment of a sexual nature, is a problem. The commissioner, like all Canadians, finds it totally unacceptable and our government agrees.

What I do not understand is that when we had the debate to see what legislation was needed by the RCMP, who stood up to vote against it? That member and his party.

Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceOral Questions

2:45 p.m.

NDP

Rosane Doré Lefebvre NDP Alfred-Pellan, QC

Mr. Speaker, the minister is once again showing that he is living beyond his means, intellectually speaking.

He knows full well that Bill C-42 does not go far enough. The RCMP needs a change in culture, from the bottom straight up to the top. The band-aid solutions proposed by the minister are not enough to restore the public trust.

Why are the Conservatives opposing the idea that the commissioner no longer be accountable to the minister? Why categorically oppose the principle of civil governance at the RCMP?