Charlie Angus

[Government Appointments, February 8th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, there were eight qualified candidates short-listed and interviewed for the position of CRTC vice-chair, and Tom Pentefountas was not on that list.

We know there was direct involvement in the nomination from the PMO, which means direct involvement from Dimitri Soudas.

This is the kicker. The process closed in June and, five months later, in December, Tom Pentefountas told the national media that he did not know anything about the job. So, either Pentefountas was lying or someone fast-tracked his appointment when he was not eligible.

Who put him on the top of the list and who broke the rules to put him there?

[Government Appointments, February 8th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, what were the criteria for hiring Tom Pentefountas? Was it a partisan appointment? Now the minister is naming another friend of the government, Pierre Gingras, to the board of the CBC. He also comes from the ADQ party, just like Pentefountas, just like Soudas, just like Housakos.

How can the minister claim that Canadians whose only qualification is being a friend of the government are not in a conflict of interest situation?

[Government Appointments, February 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the contempt for due process is so obvious it is wafting off the benches.

The government has intervened and undermined again and again in the CRTC, but in the case of Pentefountas, it not only broke the vetting process, it did it with the direct intervention of the PMO. Now we have the political strings of the Prime Minister directly at the senior level of the CRTC.

Tom Pentefountas is not qualified for this post. He has no independent credible standing to oversee a body that deals with a $60 billion industry.

Why has the government undermined the CRTC and not followed the fair process in place to ensure an adequate candidate with a regulatory background?

[Government Appointments, February 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, there was a very clear vetting process for choosing the vice-chair of broadcast for the CRTC and Mr. Pentefountas failed on every count. If we look at the standards, he does not meet the qualifications. He does not have the quasi-judicial experience. He does not have the senior level management background with experience in broadcast and cultural policy. What he does have is a calling card that he is a good friend of the director of communications for the Prime Minister, Dimitri Soudas. This appointment stinks.

Would the minister explain why the government has broken the rules and politically tainted the quasi-judicial standing of the CRTC with this partisan appointment?

[Strengthening Aviation Security Act, February 3rd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the right of privacy, the right of due process, the right to be able to confront one's accuser, these are fundamental principles of western democracy and the rule of law. The Conservatives obviously do not believe in them and neither do the Liberals.

I ask my hon. colleague why he thinks this parcel of rogues has sold out our nation? At least the original parcel of rogues got some gold and silver, but these guys gave away our rights. They are giving away our citizens' privacy for what? We have nothing in return.

What possible motivation could the Conservatives and their pals in the Liberal Party have for selling out the right of privacy of Canadian citizens?

[Broadcasting Industry, February 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, what a turkey.

The CRTC is considering gutting journalistic standards so the media giants are going to be allowed to say anything they want as long as nobody gets killed.

Now, I have never met a journalist in this country who thought that misinformation, lying or negligence has any place in any Canadian newsroom. So, who would this benefit? Well, Conservative attack ads certainly and Fox news media definitely because, thanks to the Conservative marching orders, the CRTC has been reduced to acting like a short-order cook for the media barons.

Will the minister tell the CRTC to stand up for the public interest, or does the government support the deliberate poisoning of Canada's media landscape?

[Telecommunications Industry, February 2nd, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are fed up with the Internet usage caps and the ripoff that they have been receiving. The government can blame the CRTC, but the real blame goes back to the Conservative government's 2006 directive that ordered the CRTC not to protect the public but to protect the interests of the media oligarchies. The result of this deregulation has been jacked up prices and lousy service.

Will the minister insist that all the usage caps come off individual home Internet accounts? Will the government rescind its directive to the CRTC so the commission will once again stand up for the public and protect the consumer?

[Telecommunications Industry, February 1st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, here is the problem. Canada used to be a world leader when it came to Internet access and speed, but under the Tories we have become a digital backwater. It is their record on cellphones, on cable and on the Internet that we get higher prices and less access, more restrictions and less choice.

The CRTC decision was clearly aimed at squeezing out the small ISP competitors, but families have been getting squeezed for months and months.

Will the minister send clear instructions to the CRTC that the caps must come off, not just off the small competitors out there but also off every family, business and consumer in Canada so we can make full use of the innovation agenda, the Internet?

[Telecommunications Industry, February 1st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, Canada was once a leader in terms of Internet access, but it has been moving backward for a few years now. The CRTC's decision to allow usage-based Internet billing will send Canada back to the digital stone age.

Will the minister show some leadership and ask the CRTC to review this decision in order to protect consumers?

[Harmonized Sales Tax, December 14th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are getting gouged at the pumps. When the price of a barrel of oil goes up on the market, the price at the pump goes up immediately. When the price of a barrel goes down, the price at the pump still stays high.

Northerners know the Conservatives will always take the side of the big oil companies over the average person who is just trying to fill his or her tank to get to work. What is really galling is the Conservatives seem to think average Canadians are some sort of cash cow because they throw in the HST on top of already high gas prices. The largest single jump in the price of gas in the last two years came from the government's decision to gouge people at the pump with the HST.

The HST is a massive shift in the tax burden away from the big corporations on to average citizens. For example, this year banks will get an $840 million tax break, while citizens in Ontario will pay an extra $895 million just on taxes at the pumps. It is a ripoff and it is not fair, but it is so typically Tory.