House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 70% of the vote.
The Budget December 13th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, only the Minister of Finance thinks there is no waste in the budget.
The auditor general said clearly that the amount of waste had to be cut. The Standing Committee on Finance said the same thing.
If the Minister of Finance did not know where to cut, why did he not listen to the auditor general or to his own members on the Standing Committee on Finance?
The Budget December 12th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, opposition politicians often get accused of just being critical for no good reason, but listen to what Brian Costello said yesterday about the finance minister's budget. He said not to let this finance minister trick anybody into thinking there were tax reductions in this budget and that taxes had in fact gone up.
Why did the finance minister try and trick every single Canadian with his “fiberal”, Liberal budget?
The Budget December 12th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, let me try again. The wasteful spending we are talking about is home heating fuel rebates to the dead. How is that for wasteful spending?
The Minister of Finance has increased the payroll tax, and this is killing jobs. He has done nothing to reduce the debt, and has not cut back one cent on waste.
Can the Minister of Finance explain to the public why he has not done the smart thing and cut back on waste?
The Budget December 12th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, let us talk about the wasteful spending. How about home heating fuel rebates to the dead? How--
The Budget December 11th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, that shows exactly how bad we were. In comparison to the G-8, we are the second highest in the G-7. Is that the record the finance minister is proud of? I am ashamed of that record.
Do members know who should really be crying? It is the children of the country who will have to pay for the soaring debt.
Why did the finance minister not find one solitary nickel to pay down our debt? Could he explain that to the kids?
The Budget December 11th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, it is interesting when we compare these quotes across the floor, but the auditor general made it very plain that there was wasteful spending by the government.
I would like to know about the priorities of the government. When the finance minister could find money for film producers and he could not find a single solitary dime to pay down our debt, what priority is that?
Minister for International Cooperation December 10th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, we are talking about a thin reed of defence here. The minister has admitted that she voted in the byelection incorrectly and now the Deputy Prime Minister sits over there and says that all is well. All is not well. She is an elected official and she has done something incorrect. How long will she be allowed to sit in cabinet?
Minister for International Cooperation December 10th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, she admitted it and that is quite clear. Bad news follows this minister wherever she goes. We recently learned that she paid her campaign manager lavishly to do communications consulting for her department, work that was only done after it was discovered. Now we learn that this same man was the campaign manager for the candidate the minister voted for in that byelection.
Will the Deputy Prime Minister explain to Canadians how much longer this minister will be allowed to continue down this path of cronyism and possibly law-breaking?
Minister for International Cooperation December 10th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, in the democratic process, those of us who hold elected office need to be seen to abide the laws that govern our elections. It is now clear that the Minister for International Cooperation apparently broke the law governing municipal elections in Ontario and voted when she should not have.
Could the Deputy Prime Minister explain to Canadians why the Prime Minister has not asked this minister to step aside?
National Defence December 3rd, 2001
Mr. Speaker, that is truer than I think we will ever know.
After many years of neglect there is another problem in our country, which is that our defence establishment has been neglected. Our NATO partners in fact are so far ahead of us in this area that they can hardly see us in their rearview mirror.
On the issue of the Canadian forces, are we going to see at least $2 billion in the upcoming budget for the Canadian forces?