House of Commons Hansard #272 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was victims.
Rosane Doré Lefebvre NDP Alfred-Pellan, QC
Mr. Speaker, lack of judgment is becoming the Conservatives' trademark. Mr. Zajdel, Ms. Wallin, Mr. Brazeau, Mr. Duffy, Mr. Porter and so on were all appointed by the Prime Minister. All these people are suspected or accused of committing fraud.
During his hiring interview at the Minister of Canadian Heritage's Office, did Saulie Zajdel ever mention that he had special ties to Montreal's municipal government?
James Moore ConservativeMinister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
Mr. Speaker, frankly, this is ridiculous. During this session of the House of Commons, the NDP has truly displayed its judgment: members who do not pay their taxes and a leader who shirks his responsibility to work with the Charbonneau commission. The leader of the NDP does not obey the rules, even here on the Hill, when he is in his car. It is the NDP that has no respect for the Hill, procedure or the laws of the land.
Rosane Doré Lefebvre NDP Alfred-Pellan, QC
Mr. Speaker, I know it is hard to keep track of all the criminal investigations into members of the Conservatives' entourage. I just want to make sure the minister is following.
I will stop talking about the arrest of the Minister of Canadian Heritage's former assistant and start talking about the RCMP investigation into Senator Nolin's former assistant.
Did the Minister of Public Works and Government Services ever have a discussion with Hubert Pichet about a $9 million contract for renovating the West Block tower?
Jacques Gourde ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, senior officials at Public Works and Government Services Canada have clearly stated that there was no political interference in the awarding of that contract. Anyone who is found guilty of wrongdoing will face the consequences. Public servants are responsible for managing the entire process, including the awarding of contracts.
Jean Crowder NDP Nanaimo—Cowichan, BC
Mr. Speaker, more questions about Conservatives being arrested for corruption, and no answers from these Conservatives. I will give the Conservatives one thing. They are very good about finding their friends good jobs.
Who recommended to Senator Nolin that he hire Hubert Pichet, and did any ministers recommend Mr. Pichet to the senator?
Jacques Gourde ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services
No, Mr. Speaker.
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Mr. Speaker, the problem is that it is not just the Prime Minister and key Conservative senators who are being investigated by the police right now. Yesterday, a key political adviser to the minister of heritage was arrested for corruption. Today we have a Conservative staffer who has also been arrested and charged on the issue of the West Block scandal.
My question is simple. Did any minister or any staff from the Prime Minister's Office ever discuss the West Block renovation project with Senator Nolin's staffer, Hubert Pichet?
Jacques Gourde ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, the answer is no.
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Mr. Speaker, they are pretty happy over there with the fact that more and more of them are being busted. Sooner or later, we are going to have to be doing question period in the Don Jail.
In any event, if they cannot give a straight answer on this Conservative staffer who was just arrested, maybe we could get a bit more of an understanding about this political adviser who was hired by the minister of heritage and is now under arrest.
Did Saulie Zajdel do any work for ministers, other than the minister of heritage?
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government has moved time allocation to shut down debate for the 49th time in this Parliament alone. MPs of all parties come to this place to bring forward their best ideas and the hopes of all Canadians, but the government clearly does not like to hear from them, especially those Canadians it happens to disagree with. They call them “radicals”. They call them “enemies of the state”.
Would the government House leader acknowledge that his record-breaking choking off of debate is the clearest indictment of the Conservatives' failure to work with Canadians?
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, our government took on this mandate with a commitment to Canadians to deliver on the number one priority for Canadians: jobs and economic growth.
As a result, we put forward an agenda in a series of budgets and other bills to do exactly that. The results are apparent. Canada is leading the world with over a million net new jobs. Our government is delivering on what really matters to Canadians, while they stand in the way.
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Mr. Speaker, 300,000 lost manufacturing jobs, highest unemployment rate, highest personal debt rate in Canadian history, that is the record of the Conservatives on the economy.
The secrecy and abuse of power is not only an attack just on the opposition and Parliament. Backbench revolts spiked by the PMO, legislative debates shut down by the government House leader, those are simple and clear questions about a massive scandal that goes right into the heart of the PMO: arrogant denials from Conservative ministers.
Canadians deserve better, a government that is not afraid of the truth and respects Parliament. In 2015 they will get a chance to vote for one.
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons
Mr. Speaker, the record is clear. We have over a million net new jobs. We are on track to balance the budget by 2015. We have the lowest debt and deficit of any of the major economies. We are the first of the major economies to recover the jobs lost in the economic downturn, and we have the strongest job creation performance of any of the major economies in the face of a global economic downturn that was stifling every economy in the world.
Canada has done well because of an economic record and leadership that has delivered on what matters to Canadians.
Marc Garneau Liberal Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the list of Conservatives under police investigation just keeps on growing. Now we have learned that Hubert Pichet, a former employee of Conservative Senator Nolin, is under investigation in relation to Parliament building renovations. However, two years ago, ministers opposite assured us that there had been no political interference in that file.
Why did they hide the truth for two years? Can they assure us that they will co-operate fully with the RCMP?
Jacques Gourde ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services
Mr. Speaker, senior officials at Public Works and Government Services Canada have clearly stated that there was no political interference in the awarding of that contract.
Anyone who is found guilty of wrongdoing will face the consequences.
Public servants are responsible for managing the entire process, including the awarding of contracts.
Gerry Byrne Liberal Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL
Mr. Speaker, ACOA and ECBC have become the targets of three separate investigations under the minister's watch.
When asked yesterday about the integrity commissioner's investigation, the minister replied as if I were asking about the public service commissioner's report.
Will the minister now confirm to the House that she has made herself aware of the third investigation of her portfolio by the integrity commissioner and that she will co-operate fully with the commissioner and provide whatever information is asked for concerning the involvement of the Minister of National Defence in inappropriate, partisan hiring at ECBC? Will she do that?
Gail Shea ConservativeMinister of National Revenue and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Mr. Speaker, I cannot speak to the details of any ongoing investigation, but I can assure the hon. member that although ECBC is an arm's-length crown corporation, I expect officials to co-operate with any investigation that is ongoing.
Gerry Byrne Liberal Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL
Mr. Speaker, the Public Service Commission report that was originally presented to the minister was not the same one that was tabled in the House.
Even though it was ACOA that was being investigated by the PSC, it was the Minister of National Defence's chief of staff who got involved and demanded that a section of the report, pointing to the Minister of National Defence's involvement in the illegal hires, be removed from the report.
Will the Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency promise the House that the report of the public sector integrity commissioner will not be altered, redacted or whitewashed in any way?
Gail Shea ConservativeMinister of National Revenue and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Mr. Speaker, I can assure the hon. member there was no whitewashing of any report.
The Public Service Commission found no evidence of any political interference, which not surprisingly is in stark contrast to a 2006 report on the Liberal phantom job scheme. Maybe the Liberals could talk about that.
Christine Moore NDP Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Mr. Speaker, Lockheed Martin has started signing contracts with Canadian companies for the manufacture of F-35 parts. The problem is that we still do not know if the F-35 is airworthy, able to fly through clouds, able to fuel in mid-air or able to land in the Arctic.
Is Lockheed Martin awarding contracts to Canadian companies because the Conservatives have already decided to purchase the F-35s? Or have they never seriously considered other options?
Kerry-Lynne Findlay ConservativeAssociate Minister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, our government is proud of the 80,000 Canadian aerospace workers across Canada, many of them in Quebec. Our participation in the MOU ensures that Canadian industry continues to have access to billions of dollars in contracts.
As we have said before, the government will not proceed with the replacement of the CF-18s until the seven-point plan is completed. Until a decision is made, we will continue to support Canadian workers in our world-class aerospace industry.
Matthew Kellway NDP Beaches—East York, ON
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, while the Associate Minister of National Defence was standing in the House claiming no decision had been made on replacing the CF-18s, Lockheed Martin was signing a deal for training systems support in Canada for the F-35.
Will the minister now tell Canadians what Lockheed Martin already knows?
Kerry-Lynne Findlay ConservativeAssociate Minister of National Defence
Mr. Speaker, my colleague is quite right. I stand by what I said yesterday. No money has been spent on the purchase of new fighter aircraft. We will not purchase a replacement aircraft until our seven-point plan is complete.
Approximately 70 of our world-leading aerospace companies have already won contracts for $438 million. Our remaining in the program means continued benefits for the Canadian industry and jobs.
When a decision is made, we will let Canadians know.
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are undermining our international reputation, yet again, when it comes to deadly weapons targeting civilians.
The International Committee of the Red Cross is voicing strong warnings about the huge gaps in the Conservatives' bill to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions. They are gaps that show that if this legislation goes forward, it would mean that Canadian Forces would be in joint operations using cluster munitions, if we can imagine that.
Why is the government proposing flawed legislation with huge loopholes, instead of honouring Canada's commitment to ban cluster munitions?