Candice Bergen

[Ethics, December 9th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we know that the Commissioner of Lobbying has launched an investigation into the Liberal cash for access fundraising practice, and the Ethics Commissioner has confirmed that her office is looking into these matters as well.

Although the Prime Minister had promised to set a higher bar for openness and transparency, he and his government continue to hide the details about these fundraisers from Canadians. If the Prime Minister is so committed to openness and accountability, why does he refuse to make the details of these events public?

[Business of the House, December 8th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask if the government House leader could share with the House what the business will be for the remainder of this week and for next week.

[Ethics, December 7th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, repeating Liberal spin and outrageous comments a thousand times do not make them true. Frankly, it is embarrassing to watch the House leader allowing herself to be used by the Prime Minister like this. She can tell him no, after all.

The Prime Minister is breaking fundraising rules. The media knows it. The public knows it. Even Liberal donors and supporters know it.

Is there anyone on that side of the House who has the courage to stand up for what is right, and tell the Prime Minister to stop this corrupt fundraising?

[Ethics, December 7th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, she is repeating lines that the Prime Minister has asked her to say, words that she knows are not true. The Liberals are not following the rules, and she has to know it.

Will the House leader show the integrity and the leadership that I know she has, and will she admit that the Liberals need to clean up their act, or will she at least tell the Prime Minister that she is not going to keep doing his dirty work for him?

[Ethics, December 7th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the government House leader gets up day after day, and repeats the same lines over and over, lines that the Prime Minister—

[Petitions, December 5th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present two petitions, signed by more than 300 constituents from my riding of Portage—Lisgar. These petitions are regarding Falun Gong. The petitioners point out that Falun Gong practitioners have been arbitrarily detained, including the family members of Canadians.

The petitioners request that the government bring forward measures to stop organ tourism and other concerning practises.

[Ethics, December 5th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, they are very different. There was no Prime Minister Harper talking business to Chinese communists at Conservative fundraisers.

The Prime Minister today may already be breaching sections 17 and 16, which the House leader may want to familiarize herself with, of the Conflict of Interest Act. The host of this fundraiser said that he did discuss government business with the Prime Minister and he told the Prime Minister what he wanted. Again, is the Prime Minister waiting for the RCMP to come knocking on his door before he stops this unethical behaviour?

[Ethics, December 5th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, we know the Prime Minister does not care one iota about his own ethical guidelines. They are a prop for him and a joke. Everyone knows that. The Prime Minister openly and blatantly takes donations for the Liberals and in return does favours for wealthy individuals so that they can make more money. Everybody gets some grease and the Liberal gravy train rolls on. What will it take for the Prime Minister to have any respect for any laws in this country that may curb his out-of-control behaviour—a knock on the door from the Ethics Commissioner or maybe the RCMP?

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, December 5th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I want to ensure that I do not comment on the current or past presence of any member of Parliament, which I know is out of order. My point of order has to do with the future.

We noticed that today the Prime Minister has a meeting scheduled right at 2:15 p.m. The event is one of the only meetings he has today, and the meeting is here in Ottawa. We want to be able to help the Prime Minister accommodate his open and accountable government. In the message that he gave to his ministers he said that he thought it was important to be in Parliament to answer honestly and accurately. In order to help the Prime Minister do that, I would ask for unanimous consent of the House to move question period for today as follows: that notwithstanding any Standing Order or usual practice of the House, on Monday, December 5, 2016, members may make statements pursuant to Standing Order 31 at 4 p.m. instead of 2 p.m. and oral questions shall be taken up not later than 4:15 p.m. instead of 2:15 p.m. in order to help the Prime Minister, and the House shall proceed to the ordinary daily routine of business at 5:00 p.m. instead of 3:00 p.m., followed by government orders.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2016, No. 2, December 5th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I think what Canadians are seeing over and over again with the Liberal government is that it has a facade. It says one thing—it says it is going to respect Parliament, for example—and then as soon as Canadians or, in this case, parliamentarians, kind of scratch away at the surface, we realize there is absolutely nothing behind the facade. It says one thing and then it does something completely different. Whether it is on deficit, on policy in the Middle East, on fighting ISIS, on fiscal policy, or whether it is on respecting Parliament, it is all a facade.

The new House leader came in saying that she was going to set a new tone. I can tell members that on the opposition side of the House, we have been working in good faith with the government. We only ask for what the previous House leader implemented, as far as the ability to debate. He allowed five days at this stage of the previous budget implementation act. We have had one hour on this.

Canadians are seeing the complete charade that the Liberals are showing them, and they are not buying it.

I want to ask the current finance minister—and I do not want to hear the talking points that the House leader gave him—when they will start doing what is right for Canadians, when will they be authentic and real with Canadians, and when they will quit this act and this facade in everything that they do?