John Reynolds

[Government Expenditures, April 16th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's chief election adviser and his top guy, Warren Kinsella, said that he would have advised against buying the jets because the waste of tax dollars was hard to spin politically.

What has happened to the Prime Minister? He used to criticize governments for this type of selfish spending and now he is authorizing it. The Prime Minister criticized the spending of a former prime minister on a luxury jet and now he is buying them for himself.

After almost nine years in office, has the Prime Minister forgotten all the promises he made to the Canadian people?

[Government Expenditures, April 16th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, buying luxury jets when the military tells us the existing ones are fine is wrong. Buying luxury jets with gold faucets when our soldiers in Afghanistan waited for weeks for porta-potties is wrong. Buying luxury jets when even today the auditor general tells us that the government needs to refocus its defence spending is wrong.

Could the Prime Minister explain to Canadians why buying luxury jets for his cabinet is a priority when our soldiers in the field do not even have the proper equipment?

[Government Expenditures, April 16th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, there is something wrong with the priorities of the government when it decides that the most important priority is buying two luxury jets.

The government has different priorities than the people of Canada. Making real investments in health care and national security, paying down the debt and offering tax relief for hard-working families who play by the rules should be the priority.

Could the Prime Minister explain to Canadians why purchasing these two luxury jets for his cabinet was such a high priority?

[Government Expenditures, April 15th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, it seems they are building another Taj Mahal over there. It would seem that the former member of the rat pack is now part of the fat pack.

Could he explain what is extra? He is right that we rounded the figure out just like we did $101 million. Could he explain exactly, not parts since these planes come with parts, what are the extras that make it cost an additional $25 million?

[Government Expenditures, April 15th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, we hope they will visit British Columbia a little more often.

My question is for the minister of public works. He said to my colleague, when he said that we had an order for planes and we could get them for $77 million, that that was what they paid for them and he got great applause. Yet on March 28 his own department released a press release saying they acquired two Challenger 604 aircraft at a cost of $100.9 million. Where is the difference of $25 million?

[Government Expenditures, April 15th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister promised in 1975, and I quote:

I will continue to exercise the greatest possible degree of restraint. There will be considerable belt-tightening in Ottawa. I can assure you that all departments are aware of the sharp axe in the hands of the Treasury Board.

Now we learn he orders the jet to fly empty from Ottawa across the river to the executive airport in Gatineau. The Prime Minister saves about 10 minutes that way.

Could the Prime Minister explain why he is so determined to waste precious tax dollars just to save himself a few minutes drive time in the limousine?

[Government Expenditures, April 15th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister needs to answer some serious questions about the use of tax dollars to buy these luxury jets. The government broke its own rules for sole source contracting. It rushed this purchase through the entire machinery of government in only 10 days. It did not bother to bring this matter to cabinet.

Could the Prime Minister clear up something? Who ordered the planes and who made the decision to buy these planes? If it was not his cabinet, was it himself?

[Government Expenditures, April 15th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure about that. I hope he did not have any aircraft problems on his trip to Africa because his cabinet has been having some in the past week trying to explain why the government's priorities are so out of whack.

I would like to ask the Prime Minister this. Since we have not been able to get a satisfactory answer from his ministers, could the Prime Minister explain to Canadians why spending $101 million for two luxury executive jets was a priority for his government?

[Government Expenditures, April 15th, 2002]

We will see how they like it from here on in.

[Government Expenditures, April 15th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to welcome the Prime Minister back to the House.