David McGuinty

[Decorum, October 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, it is astonishing to the House and all Canadians that the parliamentary secretary is trying to defend the indefensible. This behaviour is not tolerated in the business world nor in the public service. It cannot be tolerated around the cabinet table or in the House of Commons.

Does the Prime Minister really believe that this conduct will have no impact on our relationship with prominent women such as the president of Latvia, the chancellor of Germany, the American secretary of state, or the foreign minister of Hungary, a former minister of equal opportunities, with whom his minister is meeting this very day?

[Decorum, October 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, it has been four days since the Minister of Foreign Affairs made unacceptable remarks in the House about a member of Parliament. Since then we have had nothing but excuses, denials and legalese from the minister, who should know full well that he crossed the line.

The Prime Minister is accountable for the actions of his subordinate. What more will it take for him to order the minister to apologize to the House of Commons and to all Canadians?

[Points of Order, October 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, in your remarks a moment ago you said that you were not in a position to comment after having had your staff examine both the transcript and the audio tape.

On this side of the House at least a dozen Liberal members heard the comment. May I respectfully suggest or submit to the Chair that in this case, given the particularly egregious breach of parliamentary conduct by a minister of the Crown, that the tape in question be sent out to a professional audio house, at which point the tape can then be examined more closely and we can then determine whether in fact the Minister of Foreign Affairs made the comments when he scurrilously referred to a member of Parliament on this side of the House as a dog.

[Decorum, October 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that the minister in question is Canada's face to the world. He is our representative in the global community and the spokesman for our foreign policy.

The world of high diplomacy, he should know, is one that demands pointed communication and respectful language. Yet, the minister has shown his inability to refrain from schoolyard antics when the opportunity comes his way.

How can Canadians possibly trust the government to avoid domestic embarrassments, such as this one, in the international community?

[Decorum, October 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in this House the Minister of Foreign Affairs insulted the office he holds and confirmed Canadians' reservations about his suitability as our face to the world. The minister's role as Canada's top diplomat requires him to exercise a little diplomacy.

The government pretends to champion Canada's role on the world stage, but it seems that decidedly undiplomatic behaviour is just fine, as long as it is coming from a senior minister.

How can Canadians trust the minister to bite his tongue when snide little smears cross his mind at the UN, at NATO, or at other vital international meetings?

[Infrastructure, October 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has clearly crossed the line. As regional minister for Mike Harris, he fired the Ottawa Hospital board of directors and fired the school board trustees and then stacked the boards with well-known Conservatives who left massive deficits in both places.

A Liberal government ensured that O-Train federal funding be capped and the entire contract be delivered at a fixed price. The contract does not allow for cost overruns and it does not allow for political interference.

Can the minister now reveal what new liabilities he has exposed the federal government to by breaking Treasury Board rules?

[Infrastructure, October 6th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, after two and a half years of negotiations and due diligence on the O-Train project here in Ottawa, the President of the Treasury Board has improperly summonsed and met with Siemens Corporation to “ask questions”.

The federal government has no contract with Siemens. Eight federal departments have signed off on the deal. Yet the minister demands details of a contract which he is not privy to and further demands of Siemens how best to delay a $654 million project.

Will the minister please now explain this improper intrusion into municipal affairs?

[Judicial Appointments, October 2nd, 2006]

Let me get this straight, Mr. Speaker. Now he blames Mr. Klein for the appointments.

The Minister of Justice has appointed Bruce McDonald as a federal judge knowing full well that he was a top fundraiser for the Minister of Public Safety, a top fundraiser for the Minister of Health and a top fundraiser for the Prime Minister.

Given that one of his key jobs is to uphold the ethical principles for judges and that Mr. McDonald raised funds for the Conservative Party up until 2004, will the justice minister now admit that his promise to end judicial patronage is nothing but Conservative hypocrisy?

[Judicial Appointments, October 2nd, 2006]

Let me get this straight, Mr. Speaker.

[Judicial Appointments, October 2nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago, the Minister of Justice appointed Bruce McDonald, a well-known Conservative fundraiser and organizer, as a federal judge. Now we learn that for 12 straight years he personally donated over $11,000 to the Reform-Alliance-Conservative Party.

The Minister of Justice has stated that he would never support judicial appointments where “who you know gets you on the bench”.

By making one of his party's top bagmen a federal judge, will the minister now admit that he has badly broken his promise?