Debates of June 6th, 2013

Ethics

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Duffy promised Canadians he would repay his expenses. He stated publicly that he personally paid back his expenses.

Now he must face the consequences of his actions.

Once again, the facts in this matter are very clear. I do not pretend they are good. Mr. Wright wrote a cheque on his own personal account and gave it to Mr. Duffy so he could repay his expenses. He told me about it on May 15.

He obviously regrets that action. He has said it was an error in judgment and he will face the consequences as a consequence.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Prime Minister again because he still has not answered, and Canadians deserve a clear answer to a clear question.

On February 13, the Prime Minister told his caucus that he wanted the Senate scandal dealt with. Within a few days, the Prime Minister's chief of staff had given $90,000 to a sitting senator, Mike Duffy.

Is the Prime Minister really trying to convince Canadians that it was just a coincidence?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is this: I expected that if any member of the caucus, any senator, had expenses that were inappropriate, the member would repay those expenses.

I was also informed, as all Canadians were, that in fact that was what had transpired. We now learn much later that it was not the case. As soon as I learned that was not the case, I made that information public, the very same day.

I did not wait 17 years. The leader of the NDP knew of bribe attempts by the mayor of Laval. We did not wait 17 years for an entire culture of corruption in Quebec contracting to finally tell the truth.

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, the former Conservative caucus member, the member for Edmonton—St. Albert, said earlier today that the Prime Minister's Office “...doesn't seem to be accountable to anyone, not even the Prime Minister”.

Is this why the Prime Minister contends that he knew nothing about the Nigel Wright-Mike Duffy situation?

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

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been very clear on this matter, and my hon. colleague knows that there are independent authorities looking into this matter.

That is very different from what the Liberal Party is doing with its own Liberal senators. We know of Senator Merchant, who has $1.7 million in an offshore account, avoiding paying taxes.

Why is it that the Liberals are protecting the status quo and protecting their own millionaire senators from having to pay their taxes?

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, for three weeks now the Prime Minister's story about how he felt about Mr. Wright has sort of evolved.

First he wanted Canadians to believe that Mr. Wright was a good Samaritan and did not have to resign. Then, as this thing blew up, Mr. Wright became Mr. Wrong and he had to go. Canadians do not buy it.

My question for the Prime Minister is very simple, and he should answer. On May 15, when he received the information about this situation, did in fact Nigel Wright tender his resignation?

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

Mr. Speaker, again, the Prime Minister was very clear on that matter. As soon as the information was made available to him, he made the information available publicly. Nigel Wright has taken sole responsibility for his personal behaviour, which is exactly as it should be.

If the Liberal Party believes in getting to the bottom of these matters, it should make sure that it holds its own Senate colleagues accountable for their behaviour. Liberal millionaire senators are hiding their tax obligations from the Government of Canada, and they should cut it out.

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

Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister learned that Nigel Wright wrote a cheque for $90,000 to “protect taxpayers”, why did he not tell him that he absolutely should not have done that and that Mike Duffy had to pay his own fine the same as everyone else or have his pay docked?

Why was that not his reaction? It was certainly the right thing to do. Is he afraid of Mr. Duffy?

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

Mr. Speaker, that is what the Prime Minister said. It is very important that every senator and every MP be held accountable and show respect for taxpayers.

The Liberal Party should also show this type of leadership with their Senate colleague who is currently avoiding her obligation to pay her taxes in Canada by hiding her money offshore.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said that he knows that the cheque was drawn “on Nigel Wright's personal account”.

Has the Prime Minister seen the cheque to be able to affirm in the House that he is sure that the cheque was drawn on Nigel Wright's personal account?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, once again, Mr. Wright has been extremely clear that he paid this out of his own personal funds. I can certainly assure the House that none of this money has come from the PMO or from any government account, nor, as the Leader of the Opposition has attempted to imply, has there been or will there be any attempt to reimburse Mr. Wright for those expenditures.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, is a trust account a personal account?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, I have answered these questions repeatedly. What is interesting is that the facts are clear. The people who did these things are before the appropriate authorities following further investigations and are being accountable for their actions.

We have here the leader of the NDP, who has known for 17 years of the kinds of things that are behind the Charbonneau commission, has denied their existence publicly for three years and is now refusing to tell us anything in any way that would explain his actions.

I think that is a pretty clear contrast.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister refused to say whether he authorized his communications director, Andrew MacDougall, to state, “The prime minister has full confidence in Mr. Wright and Mr. Wright is staying on”.

Why will the Prime Minister not just tell Canadians whether or not he authorized that statement?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I have explained to the House many times, the facts of the matter are that Mr. Wright informed me of his actions on May 15. I immediately insisted that those facts be made public and that Mr. Wright consult the Ethics Commissioner.

As is also known, I did accept Mr. Wright's resignation. He has accepted full responsibility for his actions. He admits it was an error in judgment and he is prepared and will be prepared to accept the full accountability and consequences with the Ethics Commissioner.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, that was on May 15. However, on May 17, Andrew MacDougall made that statement.

The question remains. Did the Prime Minister authorize Andrew MacDougall's May 17 statement or not? The question is clear and simple.

Canadians deserve a clear answer from their Prime Minister, the only person who can answer the question.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the facts are clear.

Of course, the other facts that are clear are these: In 1996, the leader of the NDP was apparently offered an envelope by the mayor of Laval that he, we are apparently led to believe, declined to look into. Fourteen years after that, when asked by the media if he knew anything about the activities of the mayor of Laval, he said he did not. He then admitted some time later that he was forced to admit certain facts to the RCMP, but he will not tell us the rest of the story.

We have been very clear. It is time for the leader of the NDP to live by his own demand.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, what happened between the time, which was also February 13, when the Prime Minister stood in this House to say that he had personally reviewed Pamela Wallin's expenses and that there were no problems? What happened between that same day—the same day of the caucus meeting, the same day he stood in this House—and the day he threw Pamela Wallin out of his caucus?

What happened? Canadians want to know.

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated at that time, the facts of the matter are that the Senate had ordered a comprehensive audit into Senator Wallin's expenses, and we said that all of those expenses would be examined carefully.

We are now several moths later. That audit is ongoing. The issues are still not resolved. At this point, in our judgment, it is incumbent upon Senator Wallin to leave the caucus and explain those things on her own.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister said that on May 15 he asked Nigel Wright whether any other payments were made to any other senators.

What else did the Prime Minister ask Nigel Wright at that time?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, on May 15, Mr. Wright informed me as to his actions. I have been very clear as to what action I took. First and foremost, of course I made sure that the public was informed about the facts of the situation.

This, of course, is what the leader of the NDP should have done 17 years ago when he knew of the activities of the mayor of Laval and anything else he knew in between. Maybe if he and people like him had acted in that manner we would not have the Charbonneau commission today—

[The Speaker, Andrew Scheer]

Order. The hon. Leader of the Opposition.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, what was the date on the cheque that Nigel Wright wrote?

[Stephen Harper, Conservative, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, clearly, I was not the one who wrote the cheque. It was Mr. Wright. I do not know. An investigation is being conducted by the Ethics Commissioner.

Mr. Wright agreed to take full responsibility for his actions. He is prepared to give the commissioner all of the information required and he will accept the consequences.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Leader of the Opposition]

Mr. Speaker, on May 14, CTV reported that Mike Duffy wrote in an email that he, “...stayed silent on the orders of the PMO”.

This is a simple question. Did the Prime Minister ever ask Nigel Wright if that were true?