David Emerson

[Gasoline Prices, June 28th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the hon. member that it still costs more for a litre of Coke than it does for a litre of gas.

I will say this. I welcome suggestions from the member opposite on how we can strengthen the Competition Act. We will certainly consider constructive suggestions on how we can improve that act and improve public policy for all Canadians and for competition in the marketplace.

[Gasoline Prices, June 28th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, while I thank the hon. member for the question, I must say that following the tradition of the Parti Québécois perhaps he should recommend to Parliament that we repeal the laws of supply and demand. In the meantime, let us get on with the amendments to the Competition Act, which are designed to deal with the very issues he is talking about. We will go further, but we will consult with industry on how to take those amendments further.

[Technology Partnerships Canada, June 27th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is sounding like a broken record. The reality is that it is against government policy to pay contingency grants or contingency payments. Companies enter into contracts which stipulate that no contingency fee will be paid. Those contracts are still in place. We will enforce them strongly.

In the case of any payments that have been made thus far, we have recovered the money. It is a matter of good, diligent audit that we have captured this and caught it in time.

[Technology Partnerships Canada, June 27th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should know a lot about TPC because a half a million dollars in funding has gone into his riding. I am sure he is up to speed.

There is no prohibition against the use of consultants under the TPC program. The prohibition is a government-wide prohibition against the payment of contingency fees that create a moral hazard for people in government and for consultants and which we do not want to put up with even though in many cases it provides a very positive service to the companies concerned.

[Technology Partnerships Canada, June 27th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I am sure that we will put the repayment schedule back on the website.

I have said before that I will be releasing the results of the forensic audit. Whether I do it today or not is uncertain, but it will be very soon.

[Technology Partnerships Canada, June 27th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, if the link has been erased, it is for reasons that I am unaware of. It was certainly not by design. We are very committed to disclosing all the information that companies will permit us to disclose subject to commercial considerations.

[Technology Partnerships Canada, June 23rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is very funny. I think the hon. member knows that I was referring to the forensic audit. The forensic audit identified four situations where a contingency fee was paid and the contract explicitly prohibits a contingency fee.

The hon. member would be more responsible if he would congratulate Industry Canada on the good work it is doing in improving the administration of the program, in auditing so effectively and protecting taxpayers' money.

[Gasoline Prices, June 22nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, we have a very good Competition Bureau in our country which is rated among the top four in the world. It has investigated the oil and gas industry five times since 1990 and found no anti-competitive conduct.

The hon. member can blather on all he likes. The facts are the facts.

[Gasoline Prices, June 22nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is just demonstrating that he is another one of the neanderthals who think that every time the price of oil goes up there is an international conspiracy to fix prices.

What about when the price of oil goes down? I was referring to the politicians opposite, not the members of this party.

[Technology Partnerships Canada, June 22nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, here we go again with the mud pies.

These are consultants who are hired by smaller companies typically, because they do not have the resources themselves to determine where opportunities exist for those companies with government programs. There are many ridings held by members opposite where TPC grants have been issued and there are several members opposite who have done their own lobbying.