House of Commons Hansard #361 of the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was cbc.
Mark Gerretsen Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
Madam Speaker, on a point of order, is the member challenging a ruling of the Chair? If so, there is a process and I would encourage him to do that. Otherwise, he needs to respect the authority of the Chair.
PrivilegeOrders of the Day
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Alexandra Mendes
I would remind the hon. member not to mention who is or is not in the chamber.
Frank Caputo Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
On the same point of order, Madam Speaker, because the member for Kingston and the Islands is really hung up on the rule, I believe I am entitled to say how many people are in the chamber but am not entitled to say who is or is not here. Is your ruling that I cannot reference how many people are here?
Otherwise, I will say that there were an equal number of men and women on the Liberal bench, yet only two members are consistently asking questions. We have three strong women in this chamber and—
PrivilegeOrders of the Day
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Alexandra Mendes
I am going to ask the hon. member to refrain from doing indirectly what he cannot do directly and to answer the question that was asked so we can return to questions and comments from other colleagues.
Frank Caputo Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Madam Speaker, what is great about the member for Kingston and the Islands is not what he says, but how loud he says it.
The reality is that we are in an unprecedented time. I will readily admit that.
I have two questions for the member. Number one, when was $400 million of tax money taken? Number two, did he sign the letter to get rid of the Prime Minister?
Sébastien Lemire Bloc Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC
Madam Speaker, I have a question. What is today's date? Today is October 29. That is the deadline for the Bloc Québécois ultimatum. I am telling you, we are ready to bring down the government.
Of course, I would prefer it if our seniors had more income, since they have suffered the effects of inflation. I would also prefer to see that our farmers have a secure income stream by passing a bill to protect supply management. However, that is not happening. Opportunities to bring down the government are even less frequent. Why is that? It is because the Conservatives are paralyzing the House with this question of privilege.
My question is simple. When are we going to be able to talk about the real issues?
Frank Caputo Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Madam Speaker, we had two opposition days in which the Conservatives declared no confidence in the government. I would have loved to hear this same rhetoric from the Bloc at that time.
While I respect the member's sentiment that he wants to bring the government down now, we do not know where the NDP stands. We call them the NDP-Liberals for a reason, and the reason is they have been united at the hip consistently throughout this Parliament.
It is no secret that the NDP does not wish to bring down the government. I would bring down the government tomorrow. I do not have any confidence—
PrivilegeOrders of the Day
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Alexandra Mendes
Questions and comments, the hon. member for Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.
Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC
Madam Speaker, I want to reassure my colleague. I do not need his confidence to do my work.
Let us look at the real issues. Instead of all this taunting and filibustering in Parliament, can my colleague, unlike the other Conservatives I have asked, guarantee to seniors in this country that the Conservatives will extend and conserve the dental care program that has already helped 240,622 Quebeckers pay for a dental visit? If, by some misfortune, his party comes to power, is my colleague able to look seniors in the eye and tell them that this program will be maintained because it is important to them?
Frank Caputo Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Madam Speaker, one of the most heartbreaking conversations I had with seniors recently was about how difficult it has become because of the carbon tax and other taxes. In fact, I presented a petition today that was about the poverty line, which seniors are often living under.
Frank Caputo Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Madam Speaker, if the member thinks I do not care, he would be completely wrong. My parents are seniors. I deal with people every single day. What I can commit to doing for seniors is my absolute best to reduce their tax burden, reduce the cost of their groceries and reduce the cost of their fuel in the hope that we will eventually give them the best life.
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Madam Speaker, as a former prosecutor back home in our province of British Columbia, in a community that I know very well, and as a parole officer, the member has served his community well.
I want to remind the packed gallery and those tuning in what we are talking about. We are talking about the theft, essentially, of over $400 million. The Auditor General found 186 conflicts of interest where Liberal insiders, like a Liberal chair and others appointed by the Liberal government, funnelled money to their own coffers, their own businesses.
I am going to ask my hon. colleague the same question I asked colleagues previously. If somebody stole from my hon. colleague, would he call the RCMP or would he take the matter to a committee, which is essentially what we're being asked to do by the Liberals?
Frank Caputo Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Madam Speaker, I would do what had the most common sense: I would provide the documents straight to a law enforcement agency. Those documents would then be reviewed by a prosecutor, and police might have more questions. People would be summoned as witnesses through subpoenas and then a trial would happen. The problem here is that we have an intermediary, an intermediate step, and the Liberals are attempting to obfuscate, obstruct and prevent that from happening.
There is obviously something really big in these documents. They seem to believe that for this $400 million in tax funds, we should wait even longer and that it is okay to provide redacted documents rather than dealing with the fact that this was a fraud. It happened. Let us get to the bottom of it.
Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Madam Speaker, this is a very clear issue. The RCMP has said the Conservative game or tactic is not right.
The member for Kingston and the Islands asked a very good question about how many cases like this there were when the member was a prosecutor. Will the member answer the question? It is a very simple question. How many cases like this did he try in his extensive career, or any of his colleagues? Can he cite any cases above the number zero? Can he say something or should we assume it is zero? How many cases has he dealt with that were done through a—
PrivilegeOrders of the Day
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Alexandra Mendes
The hon. member for Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo.
Frank Caputo Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Madam Speaker, this is unprecedented. This $400 million is something the Liberals want to laugh at. I am looking right at them. They should be ashamed, every single one of them, for this unprecedented fraud. They are standing up for it and are not providing the documents.
They should provide the documents. By the way, they should release the names too.
Kevin Lamoureux Liberal Winnipeg North, MB
Madam Speaker, on a point of order, the member is pointing at us and challenging us on numbers. All I asked was that he confirm the number was zero.
PrivilegeOrders of the Day
The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Alexandra Mendes
Questions and comments, the hon. member for Fleetwood—Port Kells.
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Madam Speaker, the hon. member and I come from the same stomping grounds in Kamloops, and I would like to draw on his experience as a prosecutor. If the hon. member were to be delivered—
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Madam Speaker, I wonder if the hon member is listening to the question. I will ask Liberal members to quit bugging him while I am trying to ask him a question.
PrivilegeOrders of the Day
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Madam Speaker, I want to draw on the hon. member's experience in legal matters. It troubles me that by fulfilling the motion as the Conservatives want, we would be giving the RCMP material that may badly compromise what it is trying to do in its investigation. If I was a sharp lawyer, I would say that the RCMP got this information improperly and should not have it, and therefore the case is going to get thrown out. Is that not a concern for the hon. member?