House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2006, with 45% of the vote.
The Economy October 30th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, last year Canada was ninth, this year sixteenth. It has nothing to do with SARS or BSE. It is because the World Economic Forum has for the first time included government waste and mismanagement in its calculations.
The government is reckless and wasteful and the numbers speak for themselves. How does the Prime Minister defend his stewardship of Canada's economy when the world economic community has pronounced his stewardship an outright failure?
The Economy October 30th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, according to the World Economic Forum, Canada has dropped off the world's top ten in growth competitiveness, with countries like Singapore, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands all surpassing us. In 1994, Canada was ranked third. In 2000, Canada was ranked sixth. Today Canada is ranked sixteenth.
How can the Prime Minister explain this dramatic drop? And why should we expect anything better from his replacement, the man who presided over the decline as finance minister during the past 10 years?
Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act October 29th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the House will be voting on Bill S-7, which stands in the name of the hon. member for South Shore.
Yesterday the hon. member was called back to his constituency because of the death of a close friend. The hon. member asked me to inform the House that he regrets his unavoidable absence. He asks that the House support the bill.
Ethics October 29th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the leader of the government in the Senate said yesterday that one must carefully separate when one does something with a friend from when one does something for so-called other reasons.
We know now that Paul Zed has invited the Minister of Industry, the Minister of the Environment, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, now the Minister of Human Resources Development to the Irving fishing lodge for vacations.
Could the Prime Minister tell us what criteria he advises his ministers to use to separate public business from private business, and will he table that criteria today?
Ethics October 29th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, licence or no licence, our fishing trip yesterday was successful. Divine revelation struck the HRDC minister last night and she remembered that she too had been at chateau Irving with Paul Zed.
How can the minister explain her poor memory and how can she explain misleading the House yesterday?
Ethics October 28th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, despite the fact that my friend the House leader looks forlorn and left out, I want to return to the only minister who refused to answer the question today, the Minister of Natural Resources.
Seeing that he has not filed with the ethics commissioner since May 1998, would he tell the House whether he has received any undeclared gifts over $200?
Ethics October 27th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, anybody who believes that believes in the tooth fairy. It is well known that Paul Zed lobbied the health minister successfully on many occasions on a whole host of matters. At the time, the current Minister of Industry served as the minister of health. From Paul Zed's point of view, the then minister of health was a very profitable friend to know.
Realizing he is in conflict from A to Z, will he do the right thing and resign?
Ethics October 27th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, here are the facts. The industry minister was appointed health minister on June 11, 1997. Liberal lobbyist Paul Zed invited the then health minister and his family to New Brunswick for an all expense paid fishing trip. During that period, Paul Zed lobbied the Department of Health on at least 10 occasions, most notably concerning the proposed new labelling for tobacco products.
How can the minister rise in this House and claim that accepting an all expense paid vacation from the very person who was lobbying him is not a conflict of interest?
Children of Deceased Veterans Education Assistance Act October 24th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, let me ask the minister a simple, basic question.
Is the minister going to assure that every widow of every veteran is treated alike, regardless of whether her husband died on May 12 or after? Are they all going to receive the same benefits regardless of what the minister has to do to assure it? Are they going to receive like benefits across the board?
Ethics October 23rd, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Industry would like Canadians to believe that his not reporting his free vacation from the Irving empire was a simple oversight and yet we know he clearly knew the rules.
On six occasions the Minister of Industry filed declarations with the ethics counsellor claiming such gifts as tea cups, a clock and some CDs. However he did not report the greatest gift of all. He hid his free, all expense paid vacation from the ethics counsellor.
As a result, will the minister do the right thing and resign?