Debates of June 13th, 2013

The Senate

[Jean Rousseau, NDP, Compton—Stanstead, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals can openly plan a welcome back party for Mac Harb, who will single-handedly allow the Minister of Finance to eliminate the deficit a year sooner than planned, and the Conservatives can keep beating around the bush by carefully avoiding answering the real questions on the shenanigans of Nigel Wright and Mike Duffy, but what makes the NDP hopping mad is seeing these greedy people get rich on the backs of Canadians. We share in their anger when we see the old parties racking up scandals, just like the senators are racking up secondary residences. To make matters worse, they defend their unelected, unaccountable senator friends and cut them cheques for $90,000.

Unlike the Conservatives, we will not leave our principles at home when we form the government. Instead of stacking the Senate with fundraisers, we will close its doors for good. Canadians deserve better. They deserve—

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please.

The hon. member for Peace River.

Canadian Vallues

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

Mr. Speaker, our government will not stop creating jobs for Canadians. We will not stop building a safer Canada. We will not stop promoting Canadian values around the world. We will not stop respecting law-abiding hunters and farmers. We will not stop standing up for Canada's north. We will not stop putting more money into the back pockets of hard-working Canadian families, but we will stop at stop signs.

Ethics

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the government claims—

[Some hon. members]

Tom, Tom, Tom.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. We are going to put this to a stop very quickly.

We do not have time for this. Parties will be losing questions if they do not come to order immediately.

The hon. member for Hamilton Centre has the floor.

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, thank you. I appreciate the green light.

The government claims it does not have the $90,000 cheque Nigel Wright gave to Senator Mike Duffy. They said it is not in the public interest to release it. They have also said they know this was a personal cheque. How do they know this was a personal cheque if they have not seen it?

After Nigel Wright told him about this payout, did the Prime Minister ask him for the cheque, and if not, why not?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I hate when the real NDP leader gets caught in traffic, but I guess that is the situation here today.

I would like to answer the NDP leader's real question from today. He asked the question, “Do you know who I am?” It turns out we do know who the leader of the NDP is. He ran through five stops signs today, as reported. He refused to pull over to the RCMP when they asked him to pull over. Then when he was finally confronted by an RCMP officer, he said to her, “Do you know who I am?”

From not paying their taxes to not pulling over for the RCMP, why is it that the New Democrats think they are above the law?

[David Christopherson, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said that what Nigel Wright did was wrong. Considering this incredible lack of judgment by Nigel Wright, why are the Conservatives simply taking his word that this was a personal cheque? Does anyone over there have any evidence, any document, any proof at all that shows this was a personal cheque?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate my colleague from Hamilton raising the question of bad judgment and breaking the law. The NDP have demonstrated day in and day out in this House that they do not have the policies to govern Canada. Today, yet again, the leader of the NDP has made it very clear that he does not have the temperament to be the Prime Minister of Canada. He does not have that temperament.

Again, the simple answer to the member opposite's question is that if the NDP believes in accountability and responsibility, the leader should show up in the House and explain himself and why he broke the law today.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I have one simple question.

The cheque is the centrepiece of this scandal—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. member for Halifax has the floor.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I have a very simple question.

The cheque is the centrepiece of this scandal. It is possible that the money was paid into a trust account. It is also possible that the cheque came with conditions attached. However, the Conservatives say they do not have a copy of the cheque.

We want answers. If Nigel Wright made a mistake and no one noticed, why are the Conservatives taking his word for it?

Why not ask him for a copy of the cheque?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, we have been wondering for a while why it is the NDP opposed our street racing bill. I guess we now have the answer.

On matters like this, it really would be appropriate for the leader of the NDP to show up and explain why he broke the law.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I would appreciate it if the Conservatives would take question period seriously.

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. member for Halifax has the floor.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Nigel Wright has accepted responsibility, but he never said he had acted alone. Since Nigel Wright seems to have gone behind their backs, how can the Conservatives take him at his word?

The Prime Minister has told the media that he does not want to answer any more questions on this issue. If he wants the questions to stop, why is he not doing everything he can to clear up this matter of the cheque?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, we take the questions asked by the NDP very seriously. That is why the Prime Minister answered those questions. However, what is really serious is the fact that the Leader of the Opposition does not obey the rules or the laws on Parliament Hill. That is very important.

Again, if the NDP believes that it is appropriate for the leader of the NDP to break the laws of Parliament Hill, to not pull over when an RCMP asks him to, and, when an RCMP gets in his face, to actually ask, “Do you know who I am?”, the leader of the NDP is making it crystal clear to Canadians why he should never be the prime minister of this country.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of breaking the law, Mary Dawson, the House Ethics Commissioner, has confirmed that she is suspending her investigation into the potentially illegal cheque written by the Prime Minister's adviser, Nigel Wright.

The government has refused to come clean about the nature of this deal, because it claims that both the Senate and the House ethics officers were investigating, but this is no longer the case. Now that we are dealing with a police investigation of the Prime Minister's Office, will they stop hiding? Will they show us the cheque and tell Canadians the terms of the secret deal and who in the Prime Minister's Office was involved in this deal?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows very well, the Ethics Commissioner operates independently and is following the rules and following the RCMP investigation into this matter, but what is equally important for the NDP members, if they want to be so self-righteous, as they are every day, about the importance of following the rules, respecting the law and demonstrating leadership by example, it would be great if the leader of the NDP would actually show up in Parliament.

We know he is on the Hill. He was in a real hurry to get here today--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister refuses to answer questions about the management of his office. He says that he has nothing more to say. Canadians have the right to know if they can still have confidence in him.

Can the government explain why the chief of staff cut a cheque to thwart an investigation?

[James Moore, Conservative, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages]

Mr. Speaker, an investigation is being conducted into this matter and we will certainly respect this process. As we said yesterday in the House of Commons, it was Mr. Wright's personal cheque and that is why we do not have access to that cheque.

However, we have a real question for the leader of the Liberal party concerning Senator Mac Harb. He wants to talk about the Senate, Senate reform and senators' accountability. Why is it all right for the leader of the Liberal Party to protect Mac Harb, who has to pay back $231,000 to taxpayers? The Leader said that if Senator Harb reimburses that money, he can return to the Liberal Party. What standards are we talking about here?