Debates of May 7th, 2015

Ethics

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, what an absolutely ridiculous question from the Leader of the Opposition. What the reality is here is that this is in front of the courts, and we will let the courts do their work.

At the same time, the NDP could show some leadership by reimbursing the Canadian taxpayer the millions of dollars it owes them. The member opposite, the Leader of the Opposition, owes over $400,000 to the taxpayers of Canada, and 67 of his other members owe the rest. I suggest that they pay back the $2.7 million they owe them.

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP has shown that the Prime Minister's Office interfered in the audit of Mike Duffy's expenses to hide his wrongdoing.

Although his own office bent the rules to change the Duffy report, the Prime Minister never told the Senate auditor about it.

Was the Prime Minister one of the people who was not authorized to know the content of that report? Why did his office interfere in this audit?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this is before the courts, so we will allow the courts to do their job on this.

At the same time, I was wondering if the Liberals could help us in finding that $40 million they owe Canadian taxpayers. I wonder if, while they were sitting around in the $2-million home of the leader of the Liberal Party, at the kitchen table, trying to figure out how to relieve Canadians of their hard-earned tax dollars, they perhaps thought that a way of helping the middle class would be to find the $40 million they stole from them. Perhaps they could start by doing that.

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Minister of Justice outrageously referred to Alberta as “Albertastan”, but it is his government that is being accused of Soviet-style tactics.

We now know that the PMO staff secretly tampered with a confidential Senate audit to get their comrade, Mike Duffy, out of trouble. Did the breach of confidentiality include a briefing for the Prime Minister?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I have answered that question on a number of occasions. As we know, the case is in front of the courts, so I will allow the courts to do their work.

Again, I would ask the Liberals to help us out, and help all Canadians out, by helping us find that $40 million they stole from Canadians.

At the same time, on this side of the House, we are doing our best to ensure that our economy continues to grow and that the real Canadian taxpayers have money in their pockets so that they can reinvest in their future and in their family's future. We will continue doing that for a long time to come.

[Sean Casey, Liberal, Charlottetown, PE]

Mr. Speaker, we know that Nigel Wright had Conservative Senator Irving Gerstein call Deloitte to tamper with the Duffy audit. As Bob Rae would put it, the Prime Minister would have us believe that he was like the piano player in the brothel, completely oblivious to what was going on upstairs, and we all know how the Prime Minister likes to play the piano.

Will the Prime Minister now admit that he ordered his staff to tamper with the Duffy audit?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, this is hardly a time to be reminding the people of Ontario about Bob Rae, because Ontarians remember what Bob Rae did to their economy. They remember the billions of dollars of deficits, the high taxes, and the millions of people who were unemployed. They remember the Rae days. They do not want to go back to that. They are going to do everything to make sure that they do not.

Instead, they have a government on this side of the House that is focusing on the economy and on putting more money in their pockets so they can invest in their future and their family's future. We will continue to do that for a long time to come, because it is the right thing for Canada and for Canadians.

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we focus on government affairs. The Prime Minister's Office seemed much more concerned about Senate affairs than government affairs.

Corporal Jolette revealed that the Prime Minister's Office communicated frequently with a number of senators involved in Senate committees. It just so happens that these senators were discussing the content of the Deloitte report on the expenses of three senators.

Can the Prime Minister explain why his office was so interested in the Deloitte report?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I have answered that question.

Imagine this member of Parliament getting up and asking a question about accountability. This is a member of Parliament who was given resources by the taxpayers to use for her riding, and the member instead used it in an illegal office in Montreal. The member owes the taxpayers $30,000, and that does not include interest, which is compounding every single day. I would encourage her, for her residents and for her riding, to pay it back.

[Annick Papillon, NDP, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, where I come from, when someone does not answer the question, we say it is because they have something to hide.

The Prime Minister's Office received the Deloitte report on the inappropriate expenses of several senators, according to Mr. O'Brien, but this report was confidential, which means that it is intended for a limited number of people.

Who in the Prime Minister's Office had access to the report before it was officially tabled in the Senate committee?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, I have already answered that question. This case is before the court, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment.

Unfortunately for that member, she used nearly $30,000 intended for her riding for an illegal office in Montreal. I hope she will do the right thing and repay the taxpayers in her riding immediately.

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

Mr. Speaker, let us review what we know. According to the RCMP, the office of the Prime Minister of Canada was involved in a scheme to manipulate the findings of an audit report regarding potentially fraudulent claims of a Conservative senator, and yet the Conservatives continue to dodge and weave, stubbornly refusing to answer any questions about the involvement of the Prime Minister's key advisers or what the Prime Minister knew.

Will the Prime Minister at least confirm that in order to be able to keep using Mike Duffy as his key fundraiser, his staff orchestrated a cover-up?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Obviously, Mr. Speaker, I completely reject the member opposite's question, and I have answered the question, but let us bear in mind who is asking the question. This is a member who was singled out by the judges who were reviewing our boundaries as somebody who was trying to inappropriately influence the process. He was one of two members in this entire House who was singled out. The only other person singled out was another member of the NDP, for breaking the rules, so when it comes to ethics, this is certainly not a member who anybody in the House should ever take a lesson from, no one. He could help, though, by repaying the $2.7 million.

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

Mr. Speaker, what a pitiful legacy for the member when we are dealing with allegations of corruption tied to the Prime Minister of the country—pitiful evasions.

The police have the emails from the chief of staff of the Prime Minister of this country outlining a strategy to manipulate a Senate report and to cover up a case of potential fraud. The RCMP says that they then contacted the key senators to pull off this scheme, and then the chief of staff wrote the $90,000 cheque to make it go away.

When will the Prime Minister finally come clean about his involvement in the cover-up and the involvement of his key advisers?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Again, Mr. Speaker, I have answered that question on a number of occasions.

Again, when it comes to ethics, let me quote from the judges who were reviewing our boundaries: “the first hint of what the Commission considers to be inappropriate involvement by a Member of Parliament in the electoral redistribution process”.

This member has the nerve to get up in the House and ask questions about ethics when he was doing one of the worst things any member of Parliament could do: try to influence judges reviewing our boundaries in his favour. He was probably worried, because he voted against the abolition of the gun registry, which he promised his constituents he would not. That is why he was trying to gerrymander his riding.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

So much scandal, so few answers, so much evasion, Mr. Speaker, we cannot keep up. Let us try the Minister for Democratic Reform about the integrity of our electoral laws.

Former Conservative minister Peter Penashue's official agent has been charged with violating the Canada Elections Act. Will the Minister for Democratic Reform please tell the House that he will introducing amendments to the Elections Act to crack down on Conservatives who break our electoral laws and who knowingly provide the Chief Electoral Officer with false information?

[Paul Calandra, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs]

Mr. Speaker, that is obviously an affair between Elections Canada and Mr. Bowers. We will allow the process to unfold.

There are very clear rules that the NDP members themselves broke. We bring in the rules; they actually break the rules. This is the party that accepted, illegally, $350,000 worth of union donations, against the rules. This is a party in which 68 members owe $2.7 million. Another 23 members owe over $1 million. This is a party convicted of robocalls.

Our Minister for Democratic Reform has brought in rules that will continue to make elections fair.

They will continue to break the rules.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I will ask members to come to order while the member is answer the question.

Employment

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, under the government, young Canadians are struggling. Too many of them are unable to get their first break and find a decent job. Instead of helping them, the Conservatives are breaking promises. Instead of spending money on youth employment programs that could get young people their first opportunities, they left $30 million unspent.

They certainly enjoy the photo-ops, and then they do not deliver. This is a betrayal of our young people. Why are the Conservatives padding their bottom line with broken promises to young people?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to confirm to the House that our department has come in under budget.

The NDP judges success by how much taxpayer money it can shovel blindly out the door. We judge success by the number of young people we can help employ.

The Canada apprentice grant is one example. We gave out half a million Canada apprentice grants, including to Nina Widmer, who was able to graduate debt free, win the national skills competition, and open her own masonry business. We are proud of Nina, and we are proud of the hundreds of thousands of other young people we have helped get apprenticeships.

[Jinny Sims, NDP, Newton—North Delta, BC]

Mr. Speaker, there is a pattern here with the Conservatives. From veterans to the unemployed, they make big promises and then they break them. The Conservatives committed funds to help immigrants get their credentials recognized, to help Canadians living with disabilities find the right opportunities for employment, and to help adults struggling with literacy and a lack of basic skills. They made the photo-op commitments, and then they did not spend the money.

Why do the Conservatives continually abandon the most vulnerable Canadians?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, the member mentions the issue of foreign credentials recognition.

We acknowledge that there are many newcomers who come with skills, professions, and trades that do not get recognized. That is why we have partnered with the private sector to issue foreign credential recognition loans, partly funded by the private sector, that help these newcomers get trained, tested, and licensed to work in their fields.

I am happy to report that the results are an over 40% increase in employment among those who participated and a less than 3% default rate on those loans. That is results for newcomers, and we are going to continue to deliver those results.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' promises are no better than their empty policies.

With the youth unemployment rate at twice the national average, young Canadians need that first job more than ever. Instead of helping them, the Conservatives sent almost $100 million back to the treasury, and $30 million of that was earmarked for youth desperately looking for a first job.

Why abandon young people when they really need us?

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Minister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform]

Mr. Speaker, the New Democrats and the Liberals gauge success by the amount of taxpayers' money they can spend irresponsibly.

We gauge success by the achievements of the young people we help.

For example, I am going to read the quote from Nina Widmer, who said:

I was able to go through school because of all the grants without any debt. It was amazing.

She has now started her own stone masonry business. She is debt free. Along with hundreds of thousands of other young apprentices, she is making her way in this country.

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

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives' achievement is the nearly 15% youth unemployment rate, and that is not a success story.

Parliament approved $100 million to help Canadians find jobs. That money would have improved the lives of immigrants who need help getting their credentials recognized, people with disabilities, young people who need a first work experience and adults who need to learn to read and write. However, the Conservatives chose to send the money back to the treasury.

Why did the Conservatives fail all these Canadians?