Rahim Jaffer

[Customs Tariff, February 25th, 2004]

Madam Speaker, I believe that if you seek it you would find unanimous consent that the motion standing on the Order Paper for the Conservative opposition day tomorrow, February 26, 2004, be replaced with the following:

That the government reallocate its resources from wasteful and unnecessary programs such as the sponsorship program, or badly managed programs such as the gun registry, to address the agricultural crisis at the farm gate across Canada.

[Sponsorship Program, February 25th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, that evidence should be made public in this place so that we can do our work here in Parliament.

For André Ouellet, the former cabinet colleague of the Prime Minister, his suspension amounts to a $10,000 paid vacation. He is the highest paid bureaucrat in Canada, running Canada Post, a crown corporation responsible for the misdirecting of millions of dollars. Yet, as a Liberal friend of the Prime Minister, Mr. Ouellet continues to collect a salary.

Why is André Ouellet the only one involved in this scandal who continues to collect his paycheque?

[Sponsorship Program, February 25th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister said he was going to take the guillotine to the heads wearing the crowns. Instead, the government has suspended three crown corporation bosses without releasing the review done by the President of the Treasury Board.

When will the government release the evidence against and the defences made by these Liberal appointees?

[Sponsorship Program, February 24th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, we are talking about over $100 million for Liberal friends and that is something this side of the House could have nothing to do with when it came to cabinet ministers knowing how to access the money.

The Minister of the Environment was in on the sponsorship slush fund. His staff was in on it. His Liberal friends were in on it.

The Prime Minister has said that anybody who knew about this should do the right thing and resign. The Minister of the Environment is defying the Prime Minister by not resigning. Will the Prime Minister do what is necessary and fire that minister?

[Sponsorship Program, February 24th, 2004]

The difference is, Mr. Speaker, I had nothing--

[Sponsorship Program, February 24th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has said that only a few Liberal ministers knew enough about the sponsorship slush fund to get hooked on the free flow of cash.

The environment minister clearly knew how to get his fix. The President of the Privy Council, the ministers of health, industry and finance all have the sponsorship monkey on their backs. His whole front bench is loaded with slush fund junkies addicted to doling out these illicit funds.

How does the Prime Minister really expect us to believe that the environment minister was the only one with access to these funds?

[Sponsorship Program, February 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, let us start with those ministers. The President of the Privy Council is neck deep in this scandal and still he refuses to answer questions as to his involvement. Now that we know the Prime Minister is targeting bureaucrats in the Privy Council Office for discipline, the minister must end his silence.

My question is for the President of the Privy Council. What is his involvement in this scandal and what steps did he take to cover it up?

[Sponsorship Program, February 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I guess we will have to put his picture on a milk carton.

The Privy Council Office works hand in hand with the PMO to service its political masters around the cabinet table. It is simply not possible that rogue bureaucrats could act without cabinet ministers in the know.

If the Prime Minister is indeed going after those bureaucrats in the PCO, will he also go after those cabinet ministers who directed those bureaucrats to steal that money from Canadian taxpayers?

[Sponsorship Program, February 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, this is why the Prime Minister is on a road show and dodging his responsibility here in the House.

This scandal is more about the rogue bunch of bandits in the civil service.

[Sponsorship Program, February 20th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, this is about the Prime Minister keeping his promise and, something the government knows very little about, a commitment to Canadians. The Prime Minister claims he respects Canadians and their tax dollars, yet everything he is doing is absolutely the opposite. He dodges questions about his involvement and continues to shovel advertising money to his friends at Groupe Everest.

Now we know the money cannot be recovered. How are Canadians supposed to trust the Prime Minister when there is no way he can recover this money?