Yvan Loubier

[Points Of Order, February 25th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, while listening to you, I found the exact quote. I would not want to distort the statement made by Alain Dubuc, who is the editorial wrtier from La Presse . He wrote, yesterday, that “the minister is cautious to the point of becoming deceitful”. And if you ask me—

[Points Of Order, February 25th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I simply read what Alain Dubuc wrote in the paper, namely that the Minister of Finance was so secretive about his budget, almost to the point of deception, or something to that effect. But it was a quote.

[The Budget, February 25th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, we are essentially being told that we have to be cautious.

If so, what does the finance minister have to say to Alain Dubuc, an editorial writer for La Presse who usually approves of his policies, but who said that, in this case, the minister is cautious to the point of deceit?

[The Budget, February 25th, 1998]

Yesterday, the Minister of Finance delivered yet another budget full of hidden data. Jean-Luc Landry, the president of Bolton Tremblay, said that the minister was clearly hiding surpluses.

Given that the Minister of Finance was off by $15 billion last year and by $17 billion this year in his deficit forecasts, what does he have to say to this financial analyst who said, as we do, that the budget is again full of hidden data this year?

[The Budget, February 25th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I guess we did not watch the same television channel, because we heard just the opposite on the news.

[Bill C-28, February 23rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, for two years, the Minister of Finance appeared to be in a conflict of interest and it took the questions of the Bloc Quebecois to get a reaction from the government.

Are we to understand that the role of the ethics commissioner is not to ensure government ethics but rather to provide opinions after the fact in order to save the skins of ministers caught red handed?

[Bill C-28, February 23rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the ethics commissioner said “If I had been informed prior to the introduction of the present bill or its predecessor, Bill C-69 introduced in 1996, we would have discussed the best way to resolve the question of introducing the bill in the name of the Minister of Finance”.

My question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. How does he explain that, for two years, the Minister of Finance appeared to be in a position of conflict of interest and that, throughout that period, neither he nor anyone in the government thought it wise to seek the opinion of the ethics commissioner?

[Bill C-28, February 19th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister probably recalls that, in 1985, when he was in opposition, he asked for the resignation of Finance Minister Michael Wilson on the basis of an apparent conflict of interest.

Does the Prime Minister realize that we are not going that far, at least not yet, and are only asking that light be shed on this confusing matter?

[Bill C-28, February 19th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, on the GST issue, despite the evidence, the Prime Minister denied having broken his promise until the bitter end.

In the matter of the apparent conflict of interest involving the Minister of Finance, we are getting a repeat performance. Despite the evidence, the Prime Minister is denying the facts.

Does the Prime Minister not realize that the only way to maintain the credibility of his finance minister—if that is still possible—is to stop denying his responsibility and allow this confusing business to be thoroughly reviewed?

[Supply, February 18th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, to echo what my colleague has just said, the Minister of Finance seems more interested in passing legislation to his own benefit than lowering the tax burden on Canadians.