House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 54% of the vote.
Minister for International Cooperation December 10th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the minister's position is that she acted in good faith based on information her staff had obtained from the municipality.
With respect to the contracts in question, they have conformed totally with the rules of treasury board. The hon. member should not spread insinuations about contracting procedures when the rules, as I am advised, have been followed correctly according to the provisions of treasury board.
Minister for International Cooperation December 10th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, in our system of justice based on British principles going back hundreds of years, people are found to have broken the law when they have been charged and convicted by a court and the court finds that they have broken the law beyond a reasonable doubt. This certainly has not taken place.
Business Development Bank of Canada December 7th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Conservative Party is mischaracterizing what the RCMP has said. As was reported in the media this spring, I am told the bank compared the document with the original in its files and determined it was forged. I think that answers the question.
The Economy December 7th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I and other ministers are standing together with the Minister of Finance, the outstanding Minister of Finance of modern times.
When we stand together with the Minister of Finance we are standing with every Canadian who has benefited from the measures in his budgets which we are proud to support. We will be proud to support the budget on Monday.
The hon. member should be ashamed of himself for not recognizing this reality and giving it his support as well.
Auditor General's Report December 7th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has spoken about a rope-a-dope strategy. Does this come from himself looking into the mirror? Is it a personal reference about himself when he speaks of rope-a-dope or does this come from the days of Muhammad Ali?
I would like to say that when the hon. member talks about cuts he must be calling for cuts in health care and cuts in aid for higher education. This is not what Canadians want and I am sure that on Monday we will see an excellent budget which even he will have to support.
Auditor General's Report December 7th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, as usual, the Leader of the Opposition is mistaken.
The auditor general did not say these amounts were wasted. She spoke of improved management and confirmed that the steps for improving management of these contributions are being followed.
International Trade December 6th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I think the agreement announced as a result of the visit of Attorney General Ashcroft earlier this week is a very good indication of the interest of the Americans in responding to Canadian initiatives. We will continue to press them for action. This is important to us in the Windsor area, but it is important for all Canadians.
Business Development Bank of Canada December 6th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, this document was not a document from the Prime Minister or his office. It represents something in the files of the Business Development Bank.
The matter of the document is being looked into by the RCMP. I repeat, it is not necessary in our system of British and Canadian justice when somebody like the Alliance member makes an unwarranted allegation for the person against whom the allegation is made to prove the contrary.
The Alliance member has not offered any proof. He should withdraw his unwarranted assertion.
Terrorism December 6th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, there was no vote. To say that the Government of Canada supported the declaration is wrong. In our statement of reservation and criticism of that declaration, the government also stated:
--the Palestinian Authority should also ensure respect for the universal principles of International Humanitarian Law, including for the protection of Israeli civilians, regardless of their legal status.
Why does the hon. member not recognize the reality that Canada did not accept the declaration at that conference?
Terrorism December 6th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is totally mistaken in his allegations. There were no votes at that meeting and the statement of Canada criticizing the declaration shows clearly that the Government of Canada found that statement to be unacceptable. To say that Canada said yes, is absolutely something to which we have to say no.