Debates of June 3rd, 2013

Ethics

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the simple fact remains that a better way to do this would be to have a public inquiry, which would be able to call the Prime Minister, which would be able to call other members of the Prime Minister's staff, which would be able to call the relevant senators, which would be able to call Nigel Wright, which would have full powers with respect to compliance with the inquiry and which would be held in public, so in the light of day and in the light of sunshine everything would be clear. Why not do that?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this Parliament has spent a good number of months looking at strengthened legislation on ethics, giving new tools and new powers to parliamentary ethics watchdogs. We will fully co-operate with any of these reviews, as people would properly expect. These office holders have a significant amount of authority to conduct these investigations, and most importantly, they will report publicly on those investigations.

What we would like to see from the Liberal Party of Canada is for its members to come clean about the offshore tax havens with millions of dollars. Why will they not come clean with Canadians on that?

[Bob Rae, Liberal, Toronto Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it would be much simpler and much fairer if there were just one inquiry. There are two people and two inquiries—two different ways of doing things.

Why not have a single public inquiry that would have the authority to talk to the Prime Minister, Mr. Wright and Mr. Duffy all at the same time and as part of the same process? Why complicate things?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the first piece of legislation the Prime Minister brought forward was legislation to have a single parliamentary ethics watchdog, one person who would review both the House of Commons and the Senate. It was this House of Commons that passed that legislation and, only when it met the hands of the Liberal Senate at the time, the Liberal Senate blocked that proposal and would not pass it. Shame on the Liberal Party.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is amusing to see the Liberals and Conservatives going back. Both have been supporting a whitewash of the Senate for 140 years. I do not think much is going to change now.

Conservatives have confirmed that Mike Duffy spoke to the Prime Minister in February, but they refused to explain anything about that. Will they tell us what the Prime Minister discussed with him? Was it that Mike Duffy could not afford to pay or that Mike Duffy did not want to pay? What commitments then did the Prime Minister make to this senator?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said that for any member of Parliament or any senator who has expensed money that was improper, the money should be immediately refunded. That is exactly what he said at this time.

We would like to see the NDP follow the Prime Minister's lead, answer the questions and say why it took 17 long years for Canadians not to be able to learn about these frauds. How much bribery went on in those 17 long years? How much money has been wasted with the Charbonneau commission if the leader of the NDP had not stayed silent?

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

Mr. Speaker, here is the thing. The minister is telling us that the Prime Minister told Mike Duffy to immediately pay the money back, so then how did Nigel Wright get involved? Who told Nigel Wright to go and meet with Mike Duffy? That is what I would like to know, because who else in the Prime Minister's Office, if it was not the Prime Minister, gave Nigel Wright the authority to begin the negotiations with Mike Duffy, if that was the answer that had been given in February?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, Nigel Wright has taken sole responsibility. He has offered his resignation, and that resignation was immediately accepted by the Prime Minister. It is a tremendous honour and a tremendous privilege for Canadians to serve in the Parliament of Canada, and they should be here each and every day advancing the public interests and not advancing their own private interests.

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the question was not answered on what commitments Mike Duffy made to the Prime Minister when they met, so I ask again. What commitments did Mike Duffy make to the Prime Minister when they met?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was unaware of this deal until Wednesday, May 15. No commitments were made. What was said is that all members of Parliament are responsible to act ethically. All members of Parliament in both Houses are expected to act honourably and to expense only those expenses they incurred and are allowed to under the law. This was not done in this case. These people should pay back the money.

All members of the House of Commons and all members of the Senate should act responsibly. It is a tremendous privilege and honour. People should be advancing the public interests and not their own interests. That is the deal with this Prime Minister. That is the deal with this government.

[Craig Scott, NDP, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, in the last six months, has the Prime Minister spoken to Pamela Wallin about her expenses?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the Senator's expenses have been referred to the Board of Internal Economy in the other place. They are currently being reviewed. They are currently being reviewed by an outside auditing firm, and those reviews will both properly be made public.

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment said, “The Prime Minister himself has expressed deep regret for appointing Mike Duffy.”

Can the government confirm that this is indeed the Prime Minister's point of view?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, no one is more disappointed than the Prime Minister about this conduct. Canadians expect better, and the Prime Minister of Canada expects better.

What Canadians expect also is for the NDP to come clean and answer this question: Why did it take 17 long years for the leader of the NDP to admit being offered cash in an envelope by the then mayor of Laval?

[Alexandre Boulerice, NDP, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, question period should be renamed “deflection period”.

Since they refuse to confirm that appointing Mike Duffy was a mistake, can they tell us why they refuse to express sincere regret in that regard?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I answered the question as directly as I could. I said, yes, the Prime Minister is disappointed with their conduct in this regard. Canadians expect better. The Prime Minister expects better. That is why we are pleased that this has gone for review by a number of independent bodies. We will completely co-operate.

That is the type of co-operation the Charbonneau commission in Montreal needs when it is dealing with the corrupt behaviour the leader of the NDP met with some 17 years ago.

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, here is another simple question that remains unanswered.

The senators' inappropriate spending has been making headlines for months. Who in the Prime Minister's Office has been in charge of handling this issue from mid-February to now?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that every member of Parliament, every Senator, should not be expensing expenses that were not legitimately incurred. The Prime Minister has always been very clear that if anyone does that, they should repay that money. That is the standard Canadians expect, and that is the kind of leadership the Prime Minister has given.

[Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, NDP, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, let us try to go beyond the Conservatives' lip service.

Aside from the Prime Minister's former chief of staff, who else at the PMO was aware of the discussions between Nigel Wright and Mike Duffy? Who?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this question has been answered, and I will answer it again.

Mr. Wright has accepted sole responsibility for his personal action. The Prime Minister learned about this issue only after it became public. A few days after that, Mr. Wright offered his resignation, and the Prime Minister immediately accepted it.

[Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, NDP, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government still has not committed to releasing all the documents concerning the agreement between Nigel Wright and Mike Duffy.

Will it now commit to releasing these documents?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, we have said that we will co-operate with the relevant authorities that this House of Commons has tasked with reviewing these types of matters. We will fully co-operate with those reviews, as people would properly expect.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, did Nigel Wright resign, or was he fired? Will we find out what monetary compensation he receives, either as severance or as separation pay?

[John Baird, Conservative, Minister of Foreign Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. Mr. Wright has accepted full responsibility for his error in this matter. He offered his resignation. The resignation was accepted. Mr. Wright will receive only the minimum amount required by law.

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Westmount—Ville-Marie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, was a work contract drawn up when Nigel Wright was hired? Did that contract stipulate what would happen if he were fired? Will the government release all the documents concerning Nigel Wright's hiring, employment and firing?