Stephen Owen

[Sponsorship Program, February 17th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that the hon. member was not able to follow my line of reasoning, but let me make it a little clearer for him.

By the end of 2001, and he is quite right, it was widely assumed that there had been political interference. What I am talking about is the public accounts committee in 2002 in June looking backwards with prior deputy ministers to ask them when they knew. In 2000 and in early 2001, they were of the opinion that there was no illegal activity, no breach of the Financial Administration Act, and they both said to the public accounts committee that there was no political interference.

[Sponsorship Program, February 17th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the internal audit that was conducted in 2000 by the Department of Public Works was made public in September 2000. It was also made public with an action plan that was sent to Treasury Board in early 2001. That identified a number of managerial and administrative problems.

The chair of the public accounts committee in June 2002 held hearings and called before it the two deputy ministers over this period. They both said there was no political interference in their minds, only managerial problems. That is--

[Sponsorship Program, February 16th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, there was an internal audit in the Department of Public Works in late 2000. This led to an action plan to deal with some identified managerial problems. By late 2001 it became clear through investigative reporting as well as other means that this was beyond just ministerial problems. In early 2002 the then minister was removed from that job and specific programs were put in place to come to grips with bringing to end the problems that existed in the sponsorship program.

That led in an incremental way to the situation we have today with--

[Government Contracts, February 16th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, a highly distinguished judge of the Quebec Superior Court has been appointed, with wide terms of reference, to look into these issues. The rules in terms of a public inquiry have been clarified by the Supreme Court of Canada where inquiries can continue when criminal investigations are underway in a way that will not complicate one to the other.

We expect this to go ahead expeditiously with an urgent report. We do not expect any barriers to the full inquiry of people who have knowledge about this issue.

[Auditor General's Report, February 16th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, the Auditor General made these observations with respect to the preferred or the recommended bulk buying of syndicated public opinion research polls.

The government has accepted that criticism and is taking steps to ensure that happens in the future.

[Auditor General's Report, February 16th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General's report on public opinion research came to the conclusion that in general she found that the public opinion research was conducted in a transparent manner with adequate controls.

She did find, however, that there were some inadequacies in a small number of cases where the voting behaviour and political party image was actually touched on in a syndicated poll.

That being said, the government accepts those criticisms, although the program in general was supported, and it has made changes to make sure that does not happen again.

[Government Contracts, February 13th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure whether there was a reply but that can be taken under advisement.

The letter that is being referred to is completely consistent with the knowledge in early 2002 where issues with the sponsorship program were brought to the fore. Reference was made to the Auditor General and action was taken, including the removal of the minister of public works at that time.

[Government Contracts, February 13th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, responsible government requires that governments, when they find something has gone wrong, act quickly and appropriately to deal with it. It is not by jumping to conclusions and firing people without the evidence, but by setting up processes, forensic audits, internal audits, references to the Auditor General, setting up public inquiries, referring matters to the public accounts committee and hiring special counsel to go after finances that have gone astray.

[Government Contracts, February 13th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, as I am sure the hon. member knows, contracts such as this are tendered competitively. Lockheed Martin has a Canadian subsidiary which bid competitively and won this contract.

The appropriate concern with respect to Canadian privacy and the taking of the census will be observed in this contract as it has in any previous census in the past.

[Government Contracts, February 13th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the government in which the current Prime Minister was finance minister started to take very aggressive action starting in 2002.

No one in the country can take issue with what the current Prime Minister has said. He has acted to find the facts, go after the money, hold people to account, bring people before the inquiry to give evidence under oath and be held accountable, whoever that might be.