House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2006, with 45% of the vote.
Agriculture and Agri-Food November 22nd, 2004
Mr. Speaker, Quebec's farmers have chosen today to express their despair, after more than 18 months of having the American border closed to Canadian beef, particularly cull cattle.
How can the federal government be so insensitive to the plight of the farmers of Quebec, whose uncompensated losses have reached $241 million so far?
Sponsorship Program November 4th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, is the Prime Minister finally going to admit that what we are learning from the Gomery commission is there were two streams, two lines of influence and leadership at the time both in the government and in the Liberal Party; there was the Chrétien-Pelletier-Gagliano line and then there was the line connecting the current Prime Minister, Terrie O'Leary and the Minister of Finance—
Sponsorship Program November 4th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, what the opposition is trying to do is not to bring the Gomery commission in here; it is to get the truth out of the Prime Minister and the government. That is what we are trying to do.
Is the Prime Minister finally going to admit—
Sponsorship Program November 4th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, Terrie O'Leary, the current Minister of Finance, Earnscliffe, and all these fine people have one thing in common: they are all in the Prime Minister's inner circle and they were very active in the sponsorship file in 1994-95, some giving out contracts, others benefiting from them.
This is my question: does the Prime Minister not realize that his defence of not knowing what was going on in the sponsorship file does not hold water, and that what we are learning, especially in the Gomery commission, is that in fact his team never missed an opportunity to be very active in awarding contracts?
Sponsorship Program October 28th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, what we find disappointing about these responses is that the new Minister of Public Works, who used to be on this side of the House, has learned a lot from Alfonso Gagliano, because that is exactly how he used to answer us until the Auditor General's report was tabled.
When the Prime Minister formed his cabinet he said that no one in it knew about the sponsorship scandal or had anything to do with it.
Today, I am asking him to rise from his seat and make that exact same statement, if he can.
Sponsorship Program October 28th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said on many occasions, and particularly just before the election campaign, that he knew nothing about the sponsorship scandal. We beg to differ. It is his word against ours. Since we have learned that his office intervened, his department intervened and he, himself, intervened to obtain contracts for his friends, the Prime Minister must admit that there is quite a bit of evidence tipping the balance against him.
My question is for the Prime Minister. Does he still maintain that neither he nor anyone from his office knew anything about the sponsorship scandal?
Child Care October 26th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the minister's problem is that he is promising federal funding for a pan-Canadian system, but the funding has conditions attached. The system that already exists in Quebec is very impressive. It is a model that he can use, but he must not interfere or impose conditions.
Can he tell us today, clearly, that the federal government's money will not come with conditions for Quebec's child care system?
Child Care October 26th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, following the OECD report noting the poor quality of child care services in Canada, but not in Quebec, the Minister of Social Development reiterated his position that he wanted to establish a pan-Canadian child care system.
Since the Quebec system is already in place and since it was highly praised by the OECD report, will the minister admit that he certainly ought not to interfere? He can copy it if he wishes, but he must not get his public servants involved in it, because it is a Quebec responsibility, and one which Quebec is doing a remarkable job fulfilling.
Speech from the Throne October 6th, 2004
I can understand the hon. members' applause, since that is a quote from the Jean Chrétien government's 1994 throne speech.
My question for the Prime Minister is this: Is this is not proof that the language has not changed, nor has the attitude, so we can expect the same confrontations as under the Chrétien government? The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Speech from the Throne October 6th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I will read a quote if I may:
The Government will work with the provinces to ensure that our shared fiscal challenge is dealt with co-operatively and creatively.