Herb Gray

[Fundraising, March 12th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has not supported any terrorist organization. He and another minister attended what they considered to be a cultural event celebrating a Sri Lankan holiday.

They were there with a provincial Conservative cabinet minister. They were there with the editor of the Toronto Sun . They were there with a number of other civic and municipal politicians. I do not see how the hon. member could validly attack the Minister of Finance for doing the same thing that a number of other civic and provincial politicians did.

[Immigration, March 12th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the premise of the hon. member's question is wrong. They were not allowing him to do what he is alleging.

Mr. Ressam is on trial now in the United States. I hope the hon. member was not trying to say things that will prejudice the successful outcome of the trial. It sounds like it.

I want to say that Canadian authorities have co-operated fully with the American authorities. They are assisting in the prosecution. I think the hon. member should give recognition to that fact.

[Immigration, March 12th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that a deportation order had been made against this individual but the country of which he was a citizen, Algeria, was unwilling to take him back. There was no third country willing to take him. An immigration adjudicator ordered that he be released and report, and of course we know what happened after that.

The department and the government were not lax. They were working to get him out of the country and they were unable to find a country willing to take him.

[Immigration, March 12th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, if I did not want to be accused by the Leader of the Opposition of making jokes about him, I would say that his followers just got up to give him a standing ovation for his comedy routine.

If what he said were serious, he would recognize that the ministers have acted with the utmost integrity and that there is no basis for calling on either of them to resign. They are carrying out their jobs in a very efficient and effective manner.

[Immigration, March 12th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I am not making a joke about the matter. I treat it very seriously and I have given serious answers.

The joke is to be found in the words of the Leader of the Opposition in not looking at what I have to say and treating it with the same seriousness as I am willing to treat a serious question from him.

[Media Concentration, March 12th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member is serious, he can file a complaint with the Competition Bureau. I note that he had nothing to say when Conrad Black controlled those same newspapers. I wonder why that is.

[Media Concentration, March 12th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I believe Mr. Asper enjoys the same freedom of speech as Conrad Black.

[Immigration, March 12th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, the two ministers have been carrying out their work as ministers in a way that indicates the highest of integrity and the highest of ideals. I think the hon. member should recognize that, instead of making these unwarranted innuendos, assertions and slurs.

[Immigration, March 12th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, there is no contradiction here.

What I said was that, as soon as the RCMP provided the department of immigration with the necessary information, the department issued the appropriate notice and Mr. Amodeo was arrested within three weeks; he is in prison at this time.

[Newspaper Industry, March 12th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I am not aware of any such discussions and I am surprised that, someone with the distinction that he claims, the leader of the Conservative Party would try to tarnish in an unwarranted way an arm's length quasi-judicial body.