House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2004, with 65% of the vote.
Standing Committee On Industry, Science And Technology March 27th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I think most Canadians would see the action of the chair this morning at committee as simply outrageous.
When a real ethical question comes up, a question that speaks to the heart of the ethics of the government, the chair and other Liberals on the committee would not even allow it to be discussed. So much for democracy that she claims to uphold over there.
Why did the chair use her parliamentary office today to cover up for the Prime Minister?
Standing Committee On Industry, Science And Technology March 27th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the chair of the standing committee on industry, which has been tasked by the standing orders of the House to examine the ethics counsellor and the operations of the Canada Business Corporations Act.
This morning she ruled out of order a motion to call Mr. Jonas Prince to committee, a man whose testimony pertains to the act and the ethics of the government. Why did the chair deny democracy in order to protect the Prime Minister?
Prime Minister March 26th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, what a complicated web they weave. It was reported that Jonas Prince's role was not one of a shareholder but essentially to serve as a parking place to buy the Prime Minister time to sell his shares.
If the Prime Minister's lawyer was trying to sell the shares for the Prime Minister, how could the Prime Minister say that Jonas Prince owned them?
Prime Minister March 26th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday of last week the industry minister sent officials to examine the corporate registry of the Grand-Mère golf course.
He has had almost a week now to read the few pages that were given to him. I know he has been trying to distance himself from this file in the last couple of questions in question period, but could he now disclose the registry documents and tell the House whether any or all federal laws have been complied with and whether anything has been altered in those records?
Prime Minister March 23rd, 2001
Mr. Speaker, it seems to me that there is a lot of foot dragging over there, and I would like to know why. It seems to me that they are buying time for somebody to concoct another new story to protect the Prime Minister. What is really happening is that they are buying time when it should not take any time at all to put those documents on the table.
Since the Prime Minister has not been forthcoming with Canadians about the Grand-Mère Golf Club, will the government appoint a judicial inquiry, independent of the Prime Minister's office, to investigate this very serious matter?
Prime Minister March 23rd, 2001
Mr. Speaker, in response to a letter from the official opposition, the industry minister sent Industry Canada officials to look at the corporate registry of the Grand-Mère golf course.
Yesterday the Deputy Prime Minister told the House that he would disclose the results of that investigation. It is time for that disclosure to take place.
Would the Deputy Prime Minister stand up today in the House and inform Canadians of the results of that inquiry and would he table all the relevant documents?
Ethics Counsellor March 22nd, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I think we are all looking forward to that report from Industry Canada to see what it finds out. With regard to what the Deputy Prime Minister just said, the golf club spokesmen said that the Prime Minister's name was taken off its records, however, Mr. Prince's name was never added.
The lawyer for the golf club said that Mr. Prince never signed the unanimous shareholder agreement, even though the company continued to report it had one in place. These are clear violations of the law.
Would the Minister of Industry or somebody in the government stand and investigate the actions of the Prime Minister and his business partners to ensure that nobody in the country is above the law?
Ethics Counsellor March 22nd, 2001
Mr. Speaker, Industry Canada officials were supposed to go to the Grand-Mère to inspect the golf club's books.
Would the Minister of Industry tell the House if they did so and if the company was in compliance with all laws, including section 50 of the Canada Business Corporations Act?
Industry March 16th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, last week the industry minister announced a $10 million loan to Sierra Wireless. He seems to be doing his part in spending the surplus before the end of March. He is working hard, overtime, to get rid of that surplus. At the same time Sierra announced fourth quarter revenue profit increases of 221% or $22 million.
What does the Minister of Industry mean when he said “Anybody who is looking to me as a minister to advocate subsidies, I am not interested; I do not believe in it; I am not interested any more; I do not think its productive; I am not having relations with those subsidies?”
Fisheries March 13th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I would call that a pretty dramatic show, flak jackets and guns at a public meeting.
What is interesting here is that the government and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans have mismanaged the fishery on both the east and west coasts. Now they have had to move inland to landlocked Alberta to ply their trade. In fact, 70 DFO officials have been transferred to Alberta. Heaven help us.
I would like to ask the minister of fisheries, or maybe the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs can answer it better, whether he thinks this heavyhanded, guns ablazing approach of DFO is better than negotiating with the Alberta government in a civilized manner?