Deborah Grey

[Government Contracts, June 7th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, our Prime Minister refuses to admit his blatant conflict of interest. For the sake of seeing whether we really know what a conflict of interest is and whether he has any idea, I would like to consider the following: First, a businessman receives a multimillion dollar government contract; and second, that same businessman donates $10,000 to a particular politician's campaign and subsequently buys a half million dollars worth of land from that particular politician's company.

Does the Prime Minister see that this is a conflict of interest, or does he think that this is just business as usual?

[New Brunswick Election, June 7th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, it is decision day in New Brunswick. We encourage the people of that great province to get out en masse and vote for the political parties, the policies and the candidates of their choice.

It has turned into a proverbial political horse race between a standing champion and a young challenger. Reigning Camille Red, trained and nourished on McKenna oats, burst out of the gate with a big lead but as we all know early leads do not guarantee late wins.

Old political warhorses in Fredericton, Ottawa and everywhere else eventually realize that the jockeying of the backroom boys, the punditry of the press and the betting of the crowd are not enough to win today or tomorrow. New ideas, new energy and fresh blood are what it takes to win in the future.

In New Brunswick, Lord Blue has tracked brilliantly to the inside lane of lower taxes and a brighter economic future for children. He has pulled ahead in this race with the finish line in sight. There is a message here for the old warhorse in Ottawa: “You can't win in the future by running forever on your past”.

[Government Contracts, June 2nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, in some of these arm's length organizations the arms get pretty short.

The Prime Minister accepts tens of thousands of dollars in contributions from Mr. Gauthier. He then does personal business deals that pull in over half a million dollars for Mr. Gauthier. Then when Mr. Gauthier gets a $6.3 million government contract, the Prime Minister and his government wonder why anyone would see a conflict with that.

We would like to hear an answer from the Prime Minister to this question. Why does he not get up? Why does the Prime Minister always pretend there is no conflict when it is as plain as the pavement on his driveway?

[Government Contracts, June 2nd, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I did not realize the Americans were part of the European Union for its little ad hoc chat.

The Prime Minister has battles of his own here. The showcase of shame continues to loom over him. A friend won a $6 million CIDA contract after donating more than $10,000 to the Prime Minister's campaign. He then went on to inject more than $500,000 into the Prime Minister's company on a land deal.

Why does the Prime Minister think it is okay to abuse his office that way?

[Government Grants, June 1st, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, deep in mud is one thing the Prime Minister ought to know because he is right there right now.

The Prime Minister promised that things would be different when he was Prime Minister. Well he was right. They are worse. They are different all right.

The Prime Minister bent all the rules in announcing a grant before the government department announced it. We know that. He made sure a CIDA contract was awarded to one of his cronies who then turned around and bought a real good deal on land.

Does the Prime Minister not think that the reputation of his office is more important than feathering the nests of his—

[Government Grants, June 1st, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said he has helped his electors. He sure has helped a couple of them anyway.

Mr. Gauthier got a $6.3 million CIDA contract. That was after donating more than $43,000 to the Liberal Party, $10,000 of which went to the Prime Minister's own campaign for goodness' sake. We also know that Gauthier paid $525,000 for an undeveloped piece of land from a company in which the Prime Minister has a financial interest.

Why is the Prime Minister sullying the position and reputation of the office of the Prime Minister this way?

[Kosovo, May 27th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the NATO campaign is at a critical juncture right now. We know that the U.S. and Britain are talking about a ground war. The Russians are very concerned about the continued use of air strikes.

Now Milosevic has been indicted for war crimes. We believe that he should be charged but we are concerned about the timing. Saving the peace process is paramount in this whole exercise.

I ask the defence minister how he will negotiate with an indicted war criminal to make this situation better.

[Kosovo, May 27th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, in fact Russia has been very hesitant to side with NATO in this whole conflict, but it has played a key role in trying to bring a negotiated end to this crisis.

The timing of the indictment has not only annoyed the Russians. It has also made it very difficult for them to negotiate and help broker peace. Potentially hundreds of thousands of lives hang in the balance here.

Is the government not concerned that the timing of the particular indictment may make things worse rather than better?

[Kosovo, May 27th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, Slobodan Milosevic was indicted today for war crimes. There is no doubt that his program of ethnic cleansing warrants legal punishment from the international community. However, the timing of this indictment raises serious concerns about the impact this will have on the peace process.

I would like to ask somebody in the government if they are concerned that this move will drive Milosevic even farther from the bargaining table.

[Publishing Industry, May 26th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I bet those Americans are just trembling in their boots today. Oh yes, they must be.

Taxpayers would rather have their own money in their own pockets instead of having the heritage minister confiscate millions of dollars for 19th century protectionist policies. Taxpayers today are beginning to feel a little bit like a dog trapped in a car on a hot summer's day.

Why will the heritage minister not just let Canadian advertisers choose the magazines they want to support?