House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 51% of the vote.
Government Contracts October 9th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I presume the hon. member is referring to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence.
He should know that the member in question cleared his relationship, which is a longstanding one between his family and the Irving family, in advance of taking on his duties as parliamentary secretary.
The ethics counsellor has blessed that relationship, and understands the nature of the business that occurred between those families.
Member for LaSalle—Émard October 9th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I repeat that this is a matter which is dealt with by the ethics counsellor. It is within his purview.
As I said earlier, since the member for LaSalle—Émard came to the House he has made every effort to ensure, not just that he comply with the applicable rules but went beyond what the rules required.
These matters will be ones that will be dealt with in the appropriate way by Mr. Wilson.
Member for LaSalle—Émard October 9th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I am not making an argument. I am simply quoting what the ethics counsellor said, which was that because the parent company was listed the blind trust rules would still have applied.
What we are getting at here is the essence of this. Is there a conflict? The ethics counsellor says that it is covered by the blind trust rules. The opposition is not interested in whether or not there was a conflict. All it is interested in is trying to hurt somebody's reputation. It is unworthy.
Equalization Payments October 9th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the member is so jumbled up here that he is combining transfer payments and equalization, and now disaster relief. Let us get a few things straight.
First, transfer payments were increased by $35 billion in the health accord. Second, equalization is a formula. It is based on numbers which are derived by Statistics Canada. There is nothing mysterious about that, although it is complicated, I grant that to him, and I will try to explain it to him at another time. Third, disaster relief is based upon expenses that are actually incurred. Nova Scotia will receive federal disaster--
Equalization Payments October 9th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, that was such a convoluted mix, a spaghetti bowl of false statements, one tied to the other. But I guess after being chased by an excited suitor as he was, he may have been inclined to misspeak himself.
There has been no change. There was no mistake. Calculation of equalization payments is based on a formula. Everybody understands that. The numbers are plugged in as soon as the numbers are available. They have been plugged in and the calculations are made. All the provinces understand that and they prefer that kind of system to one that would be--
Member for LaSalle--Émard October 9th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, first of all the member for LaSalle—Émard did not sign a false declaration of assets. Second, the member himself was interested enough in this issue to contact the ethics counsellor, something the hon. member for Medicine Hat did not do, and why is that? It is because all he is interested in doing is not getting the facts or getting the truth but throwing dirt.
What we have is a member who since he entered Parliament much less became a minister has followed not only the letter but the spirit of the ethical rules. In fact he went beyond what the rules called for and the member for Medicine Hat stands up and--
Member for LaSalle--Émard October 9th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, first of all, the fact that this matter was brought to the House's attention has led the hon. member for LaSalle—Émard himself to ask the ethics counsellor why this particular company was not listed. In any event, as Mr. Wilson himself said to the press yesterday, the fact that the parent company was listed meant that the blind trust arrangements extended to all of the subsidiary companies, including Lansdowne.
Infrastructure October 8th, 2003
You know, Mr. Speaker, if this Layton fellow ever shows up in here, he has already missed the one byelection in his province in which he could have offered himself, perhaps we will need biometrics to identify him at the door when he gets here.
I would suggest the hon. member look at the record of the government that established the first infrastructure program in 1993, and year after year have renewed it in order to contribute to the building of strategic and municipal infrastructure across this country. That will continue.
Taxation October 8th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the equalization program is one of our government's most costly at more than $10 billion a year. It is not hard to reach a consensus among the provinces on asking the federal government for an increase in funding. It is simple, and I fully understand that they would prefer us to levy taxes so that they can spend the revenues.
Taxation October 7th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I do understand. But perhaps the hon. member does not understand that we have not only the same taxpayers, but also the same sources of revenue as the provinces.
We have had good management in the federal government, and because of that, we have had some success with our fiscal situation.
Nevertheless, this year, not only were we affected by a slower rate of growth than predicted, but we also had to face serious situations at home and even in Iraq and Afghanistan. There have been expenditures that were completely unforeseen back in February.