Jean Lapierre

[Sponsorship Program, November 4th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I will read something that hurts the Bloc Québécois. It is on page 430 of the Gomery report. It reads as follows: “[The Prime Minister] is entitled, like other Ministers in the Quebec caucus, to be exonerated—”.

This is what is hurting the Bloc Québécois, and this is why they are trying to change the conclusions. They cannot accept that. They did everything they could to say the contrary, and they even prepared an advertising campaign for that purpose. Now, they know that it would be defamatory libel if they were to say something other than what Justice Gomery wrote.

[Sponsorship Program, November 4th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, is the member saying that Justice Gomery did not do his job properly, that he did not ask the right questions? Is he trying to discredit Justice Gomery? Let us hear him say so openly.

[Sponsorship Program, November 4th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, this is a real witch hunt. The Bloc Québécois House leader is once again flinging accusations at all the hon. members on this side of the House without any evidence, without any names, and without any specific charges. This is nothing more than a smear campaign.

[Sponsorship Program, November 4th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois House leader is on another fishing expedition in an attempt to tarnish reputations. The reality is that the government does not have to comment on anything that is not in the Gomery report. We trust in Justice Gomery's findings and he blamed certain individuals.

I do not have any additional information and I have no names to disclose. If the Bloc Québécois has such information, then it should make it known and name names rather than try to tarnish the reputations of all—

[Sponsorship Program, November 4th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, if there is one person doing his level best to fuel suspicion, to try to damage reputations, it is once again the leader of the Bloc Québécois, who has no proof of what he is contending. If he wants to accuse somebody, he should have the courage to make the accusations in the House and outside it. Otherwise, he should be quiet.

[Sponsorship Program, November 4th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Bloc Québécois is starting up again on an attempted character assassination operation affecting certain people who might be sitting here or other public figures.

If the leader of the Bloc Québécois has accusations to make concerning anyone whatsoever, let him rise and name names.

[Sponsorship Program, November 4th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party of Canada—not the Minister of Justice—in conjunction with its lawyers and accountants, has gone over each page of this report. Every amount deemed to have been deposited incorrectly in the coffers of the Liberal Party has been paid back cent for cent, for a total of $1.143 million. The content of the report was the basis used by our accountants and lawyers to determine the amount.

[Airports, November 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should know that the government has addressed the problem and has corrected some of the leases that were signed by the Conservative Party when it was in power.

We had to correct the mess that it put some of the airports in, so we reduced the rent by $8 billion. Out of that $8 billion reduction, $5 billion will go to Toronto. That is quite a correction we had to make to a program that was started by a Conservative government.

[Sponsorship Program, November 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, all those identified by Justice Gomery as directly or indirectly connected with inappropriate funding have been banished, and all the money has been paid back to the Receiver General of Canada. We cannot make it any clearer than that. All those blamed by Gomery have been banished. We are, therefore, following Justice Gomery's recommendations to the letter. We have done everything required.

[Sponsorship Program, November 3rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, we have taken into consideration all the revelations recognized by Justice Gomery. Moreover, every dollar mentioned in the report that appears to have been an inappropriate donation to the Liberal Party has been paid back by that cheque for $1.143 million.