Debates of June 4th, 2013

Samuel de Champlain

[Royal Galipeau, Conservative, Ottawa—Orléans, ON]

Mr. Speaker, 400 years ago today, the great French explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed up the Ottawa River and set foot on the shores of what would become the capital city of the best country in the world.

Five years ago in this House, I had the privilege of making a statement looking forward to this milestone anniversary. Given that Champlain's voyage was a historically significant event for our region, the government provided funding to the Société franco-ontarienne du patrimoine et de l'histoire d'Orléans, so that it could organize a special event to celebrate the anniversary.

This evening, I would like to invite all members to join the celebration at Petrie Island. There will be a birchbark canoe launch, a community supper, concerts by l’Écho d’un peuple and Les St-Pierre, and more.

For more information on the SFOPHO's activities to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain's voyage, visit sfopho.com.

Jane Purves

[Scott Brison, Liberal, Kings—Hants, NS]

Mr. Speaker, Jane Purves was a refreshingly forthright person, a smart straight shooter with a wicked sense of humour. She spent 25 years in the newspaper business, rising to managing editor of Nova Scotia's largest daily, The Chronicle Herald. She was a trailblazer and mentor for women. She served as president of the Canadian Managing Editors Conference and was on the board of the Canadian Press and the National Newspaper Awards. That career in journalism prepared her well for public office.

Elected as the MLA for Halifax Citadel in 1999, she served as minister of education and then as minister of health. The Nova Scotia Community College paid tribute to her work to increase opportunities for youth to enter skilled trades by awarding her an honorary diploma.

Jane was not a rabid partisan, but a politician dedicated to listening, to understanding and to doing the right thing. She had a deep love for her family, her profession and her province. Her passing last weekend at the still-young age of 63 is an enormous loss to Nova Scotia. We thank Jane. We will miss her smarts, her candour, her sense of humour and her commitment to the people of Nova Scotia.

The Senate

[Ted Opitz, Conservative, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, our government remains focused on Senate reform, including elections, term limits and tough new spending oversight. Last week, the Senate adopted our Conservative government's 11 tough new rules governing Senate travel and expenses proposed by Conservative senators, just as we promised we would do for Canadian taxpayers. Today, the Leader of the Government in the Senate will introduce a motion asking the Auditor General of Canada to conduct a comprehensive audit of Senate expenses.

While we are working very hard to make the Senate more accountable, the Liberal leader is defending the status quo in the Senate because it gives an advantage for Quebec. Recently, the Liberal leader said, “We have 24 Senators in Quebec and there are only 6 for Alberta and British Columbia. That benefits us. To want to abolish it, that's just demagoguery...”.

Time and again, the Liberal leader takes potshots at the west and then comes to the House and pretends he is defending its interests. Western Canadians and, in fact, all Canadians know better.

[John Rafferty, NDP, Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON]

Mr. Speaker, while the unaccountable Senate has been embroiled in ugly scandals, Conservatives and Liberals continue to defend the entitlements of their unelected caucus mates. The Prime Minister once called the Senate a “relic of the 19th century”. Indeed, it hearkens back to a time when lords watched over us commoners, when women could not vote, when penicillin was not around. While the rest of our society has evolved, the Senate has not.

For 150 years, Liberals and Conservatives failed to get Senate spending under control, and failed to bring in accountability. The time has come to turn off the taps to this vestigial organ. Tomorrow, this House will have an opportunity to do just that. Therefore, we urge the Conservatives and Liberals to stop defending perks for their partisan senators and join New Democrats in the 21st century. The time has come to roll up the red carpet on the unelected upper chamber, to end the gravy train and to abolish the Senate.

New Democratic Party of Canada

[Greg Rickford, Conservative, Kenora, ON]

Mr. Speaker, day after day, NDP members stand in this House with full knowledge that two tax evaders are in their midst—two NDP MPs who could not be bothered to pay their fair share, yet claim to represent the interests of Canadian taxpayers.

As Pink Floyd might sing, “If you don't pay your taxes, how can you have any benefits? And how can you have any benefits if you don't pay your taxes?”

Sadly, this kind of hypocrisy is not surprising from the NDP, and it gets better. NDP members admitted that they knew from the beginning that the member for Brossard—La Prairie owed thousands of dollars in back taxes. Despite this, well, they appointed him to be the NDP critic for revenue.

The NDP cannot claim to represent Canadian taxpayers when it will not stand up against tax evaders in its own caucus. It has been 10 days. It is clear that the NDP would rather protect NDP tax evaders than stand up for the interests of Canadian taxpayers.

New Member

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I have the honour to inform the House that the Clerk of the House has received from the Chief Electoral Officer a certificate of the election and return of Ms. Yvonne Jones, member for the electoral district of Labrador.

Ms. Yvonne Jones, member for the electoral district of Labrador, introduced by Mr. Justin Trudeau.

Ethics

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said that he did not find out about the payment from Nigel Wright to Mike Duffy until May 15.

However, yesterday his cabinet colleague, Marjory LeBreton, said, “On the 14th of May...the Prime Minister had dealt with it.”

Who is telling the truth?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I have been very clear. I learned of this matter on May 15, and of course I immediately made this information public.

The real question is why the leader of the NDP, on November 16, 2010, said that he knew nothing about the activities of the mayor of Laval, which are now before the Charbonneau commission, when in fact he had known for 14 years.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, on what exact date did the Prime Minister first speak with Mike Duffy about his expenses?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, that information was already made public on February 13, and I have been very clear about this. Mr. Duffy approached me after a caucus meeting to discuss this matter.

From the beginning, my position has been clear: any inappropriate expenses should be refunded to taxpayers by the senators concerned.

The real question is why the leader of the NDP told the public the complete opposite of what he knew about the mayor of Laval in 2010.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, can the Prime Minister confirm that he ordered his caucus to repay their illegal expenses that same day?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I have been very clear about all of these matters, very clear about the dates, and my position on this matter has been known from the beginning.

I believe that any inappropriate expenses should be refunded to taxpayers. My statements in private and in public have been consistent with that, unlike the leader of the NDP, who told the public he knew nothing about the goings-on of the mayor of Laval in 2010 when in fact he had known the contrary for 14 years.

Why did he misinform the public of his knowledge of what the mayor of Laval was doing?

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, were members of the Prime Minister's staff present when he ordered his caucus to repay their illegal expenses? Were members of his staff present, yes or no?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, from the outset, our caucus and my employees have been aware of my position. Senators should reimburse taxpayers for inappropriate expenses.

I go back: I have been very clear, very public, very consistent.

Why did the leader of the NDP, as a contrast, not think it important to tell the public in 2010 that he knew of questionable activity by the mayor of Laval? Why did he tell the public precisely the opposite when he knew that to be the case?

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, why then did the Prime Minister, last week, deny instructing any members of his personnel to settle the Mike Duffy matter when he gave that order with that personnel present in the room at a caucus meeting in February of this year?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, it was my view from the beginning that any inappropriate expenses by any senator should be repaid by the senator, not by somebody else. That was very clear.

Those are the facts obviously before us. As I say, my statements on this matter have been very clear and very consistent, which is totally different from the hon. member, who keeps refusing to answer questions as to why his knowledge of bribery attempts were not clearly and correctly conveyed to the public and the police over a period of 17 years.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it has been 21 days—three weeks—and the Prime Minister still has not answered some basic questions about the actions of his chief of staff. Canadians are asking why. Why did Nigel Wright pay a sitting senator $90,000?

The Prime Minister surely asked why, so what was the reason that Nigel Wright gave his boss for having written that $90,000 cheque to Mike Duffy?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I think I have said repeatedly, Mr. Wright said that he wanted to be sure that taxpayers were reimbursed. The fact of the matter is that taxpayers have been reimbursed. They obviously should have been reimbursed by the senator rather than by Mr. Wright, but Mr. Wright obviously will be accountable for those actions.

On the other hand, why has the Liberal Party resisted making Senate expenses transparent, why has it consistently resisted looking into these matters, and why is it today resisting having the Auditor General further look into these matters?

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are really wondering. One does not simply offer $90,000 cheques for no reason. The chief of staff must have told the Prime Minister why Mike Duffy was so special.

Can the Prime Minister confirm whether the $90,000 cheque had anything to do with Mike Duffy's role as one of the chief fundraisers for the Conservative Party of Canada?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Wright has been very clear that he thought the taxpayers should be reimbursed, and he will be accountable for those matters. We have been very clear that the taxpayers should be reimbursed, obviously a very different position from that of the Liberal Party, which even today continues to resist the fact that the Senate wants to have the Auditor General look at all these expenses.

I know how dedicated the Liberals are to the status quo in the Senate, but this is a positive move by the Senate and Liberal senators, and the Liberal Party should support it.

[Justin Trudeau, Liberal, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Speaker, one does not just write $90,000 cheques without a good reason. Surely the Prime Minister must have asked Nigel Wright why he did what he did.

Can the Prime Minister tell us whether the $90,000 cheque had anything to do with Mike Duffy's role as one of the chief fundraisers for the Conservative Party of Canada?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Wright's position is that taxpayers must be reimbursed for any inappropriate expenses. His position is clear. He is prepared to explain that position to the authorities.

The Leader of the Government in the Senate has asked the Auditor General to conduct an audit of all Senate expenses to ensure value for taxpayers. The Liberal senators are the ones who are resisting. It is time for the Liberal Party to support real change and real reforms in the Senate.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the scandal had been in the news for three months when the Prime Minister ordered the members of his caucus, including Mike Duffy, to reimburse their illegal expenses. Mike Duffy refused, but a week later he accepted. He changed his mind and said he was going to reimburse.

What did the Prime Minister's staff say to Mike Duffy to get him to change his mind and accept to reimburse?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, our position from the beginning has been very clear: any inappropriate expenses should be reimbursed. Obviously, in late February, Mr. Duffy said he would do that, and in the middle of April, he said he had done that. Of course, the facts of the matter are, as we learned later, not to that effect. When I learned those facts, I made them clear immediately.

We have been very clear on this, unlike the leader of the NDP, who continues to refuse. For 17 years, he has not been truthful with the Canadian people or the authorities on his knowledge of the affairs that are now before the Charbonneau commission.