House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2006, with 45% of the vote.
Human Resources Development April 12th, 2000
Mr. Speaker, I do not know how the minister can actually tell us there was no overpayment when we know very well that a large part of the grant was for the creation of jobs and not a single one was created. If no jobs were created, is not every cent an overpayment?
Human Resources Development April 12th, 2000
Mr. Speaker, Placeteco's owner, Claude Gauthier, compared the HRDC grant to his wife giving him some money to buy himself some fishing gear. Incredible.
Do these rather astonishing statements made by the individual at Placeteco who found himself the recipient of a $1.2 million grant not say a lot about the attitude of those involved in this affair, where the main person involved looks on the grant money as an extremely nice gift from his friend the Prime Minister?
Option Canada April 10th, 2000
Mr. Speaker, with respect to the hundreds of pages of documents that the minister says she tabled, I would respectfully remind her that the auditor general wrote her as follows on April 20, 1998:
We note, however, that while this additional information is useful, it does not make it possible to determine with sufficient accuracy the nature of the activities that took place and the results achieved.
Two days later, the auditor general added that it could be considered misappropriation of funds.
Does the minister not think that she has a moral duty to tell the public what she did with its money?
Option Canada April 10th, 2000
What kind of an answer is that anyway?
The government has systematically refused to respond to requests by the opposition, even the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, he who passes himself off as the minister of clarity, whether in connection with Option Canada or his own department, when we ask him to provide us with the opinions he has received in response to the supreme court judgment. We are told that confirmation cannot be given as to whether there is indeed such a thing or not, but if there were such a thing, we would not be given it.
How can the minister responsible for the Privy Council behave in such a way?
Option Canada April 10th, 2000
I am going to have to ask the minister what Option Québec is, Mr. Speaker.
Option Canada April 10th, 2000
Mr. Speaker, government transparency is at stake here.
We know that Option Canada is directly connected to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. This organization has managed to make $4.8 million disappear and is still refusing to act on our access to information requests. In one case we have been waiting for 195 days and in the other 225.
How can the minister of clarity, who is responsible for this group, justify such unacceptable behaviour? Is it on grounds of national security, or for the security of friends of the Liberal party?
Health April 6th, 2000
Mr. Speaker, if the minister agrees with me, I would like to know whether he agrees with the second part of my question. It is my clear impression that he must respect the jurisdictions of the provinces and therefore provide for complete opting out with full compensation.
Does the minister intend, out of respect for the provinces, and respecting their jurisdictions and existing plans, to provide this right to opt out with full compensation?
Health April 6th, 2000
Mr. Speaker, in an area as serious as pharmacare, if his intent is noble, as he says it is, if he wants to provide a new service to Canadians, would the Minister of Health not be well advised to proceed as his status and position dictate?
That means consulting those responsible and then telling us whether he will proceed, since he will be ready to do so. Is he not doing it backwards by assuming the right to do it himself without consulting others?
Human Resources Development April 3rd, 2000
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the reply by the President of the Treasury Board.
I would now like to ask the following: Admitting that the minister noticed an error within her department and that the payment was made without any jobs being created, why then, as allowed by the contract, and as the Prime Minister has announced, has Placeteco not been asked to pay back the money, since it did not use it for the intended purpose?
Human Resources Development April 3rd, 2000
Mr. Speaker, section 7.2 of the Treasury Board rules governing grants, which relates to transfer payments, states that managers must make an effort to avoid making payments in advance, by instead making payments on account to reimburse recipients for expenditures that have actually been incurred.
My question is for the President of Treasury Board. By paying out over $1 million in order to create 42 jobs, only one of which was created, has the Minister of Human Resources Development not been in serious contravention to Treasury Board's rules?