Sue Barnes

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, May 15th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the public accounts committee has heard testimony accusing the former commissioner of muzzling the RCMP ethics adviser.

It has also heard that deputy commissioners blocked access to information requests and that a culture of secrecy and fear exists inside the National Compensation Policy Centre, where workers were terrified of reporting abuses by their bosses.

The minister refuses to do anything more than window dressing. What is the minister afraid of? Why will he not stand up for these brave officers and call a judicial inquiry?

[Afghanistan, May 9th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, again we have heard from the wrong minister.

The bungles continue because the defence minister is not doing a full job. What Conservatives do not realize is that civilian military control is an important principle of democracy. Do Canadians not deserve a real defence minister, one who asks questions and can actually answer them?

How can Canadians have confidence in the government to manage the combat mission when its defence minister is so clearly a political dead man walking?

[Afghanistan, May 9th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, with their defence minister often muzzled in the House, Conservatives have confirmed to Canadians the total mismanagement of the Kandahar mission from top to bottom, with detainees botched and bungled, defence and foreign affairs at war with each other through the press, blackouts and secrecy instead of real information on the mission, and a defence minister who is usually benched. I am sorry, but that is true.

When will the Conservatives show some real loyalty to the troops and name a defence minister who can actually do this job?

[Points of Order, April 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I thought I would correct the record on the misinformation from the Minister of Public Safety to say that I did meet with the head of the Canadian Police Association. As witness to that, I had the leader of my party and also the justice critic.

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, April 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this is about money that belongs to the RCMP front line officers and Canadians are wondering why the minister seems to have no interest in actually finding out what really happened.

It appears the government is only interested in investigations when they score political points for the government and simply does not care about ensuring that the cloud hanging over Canada's national police force has to be lifted.

Will the minister stop this investigative charade he started and launch a full public judicial inquiry?

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, April 23rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the public accounts committee continues to hear conflicting testimony regarding the RCMP pension scandal. Each day brings new contradictions. Even the Conservative former chair of the public accounts committee has admitted he is surprised by the number of people implicated in this scandal.

Will the Minister of Public Safety finally recognize that this issue goes deeper than a powerless investigation and will he call the full judicial inquiry, which is clearly necessary, to get to the bottom of this issue?

[Firearms Registry, April 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if the minister does not understand the necessity of getting to the bottom of the allegations about the RCMP pension fund or if he just does not care.

The officers have demanded answers and they deserve them. Any delays now in getting answers is the responsibility of the minister who has not acted on multiple calls for a full judicial inquiry.

When will the minister stop putting up roadblocks, end the sham of a powerless investigation and a powerless investigator and launch a full judicial inquiry?

[Firearms Registry, April 18th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday was clearly a bad day for the Minister of Public Safety. Not only did the front line police officers, who were on Parliament Hill, tell us that they supported the gun registry, they also wanted more than a toothless investigator.

The minister has completely ignored Parliament. Will he also ignore the front line police officers he says he represents?

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, April 17th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, that is not good enough. The longer it takes for the minister to call a judicial inquiry, the longer it will take for the RCMP officers to get the answers for which they are asking.

Four separate witnesses yesterday, including one who has already given conflicting testimony, told four different stories. It is time for a full judicial inquiry. The RCMP know it. We know it in this Parliament. The Canadian public knows it. It seems the government does not know it.

When will it call for the full judicial inquiry? It is necessary.

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, April 17th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, testimony at the public accounts committee is proof positive that the government needs to appoint a full judicial inquiry to investigate the RCMP pension scandal. Four different witnesses; four different stories. The committee will continue to do its work at public accounts, but a judicial inquiry has the powers necessary to get to the bottom of this issue for the benefit of the RCMP officers, and they deserve this.

The public accounts committee yesterday passed a motion calling for a full inquiry. When will the minister from the government call for a full judicial inquiry?