House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2019, with 50% of the vote.
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns March 21st, 2011
With regard to Building Canada Fund projects in Manitoba: (a) in which federal riding is each project located; (b) what is the description of each project; (c) what is the expected cost of each project; and (d) what is the expected completion date of each project?
Questions Passed as Orders for Returns March 21st, 2011
With regard to Building Canada Fund projects in New Brunswick: (a) in which federal riding is each project located; (b) what is the description of each project; (c) what is the expected cost of each project; and (d) what is the expected completion date of each project?
Petitions March 11th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I wish to present a petition on behalf of 44 Nova Scotians who are very concerned about people living in poverty in Canada and call upon Parliament to ensure swift passage of Bill C-545, An Act to Eliminate Poverty in Canada.
Business of Supply March 8th, 2011
Madam Speaker, I was disappointed by my hon. colleague's speech because she ought to know better. She ought to know there is a difference between local and national advertising. To the rest of us, and probably to her, it is actually obvious. If we had asked her before that election, she would have made the distinction very clearly. Now she is trying to deny that one exists.
The fact of the matter is that there is a difference between what other parties might do in terms of transferring money from the local level to the national level, or vice versa, and doing so for the purpose of exceeding the spending limit on what one is allowed to spend on advertising nationally. That is what happened with the Conservative Party.
It is not an accident that the director of public prosecutions of Canada, the top crown prosecutor in the country, has decided to lay charges against four senior Conservatives that could result in jail time. That is a very serious matter and that member ought to understand it. She ought to take crime seriously. However, the Conservative regime seems to have a pattern of rewarding wrongdoing, such as making two of those Conservatives senators.
Points of Order March 7th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, during question period the President of the Treasury Board referred to a legal opinion, which he said justified paying the former integrity commissioner half a million dollars for utterly failing to do her job. The Integrity Commissioner is an officer of Parliament. She reports to the House. It seems to me it would be appropriate for the President of the Treasury Board to table that legal opinion. Would he do so?
Former Public Sector Integrity Commissioner March 7th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, Ms. Ouimet received more than 228 complaints from public servants and did nothing. The supposedly independent officer of Parliament was taking direct orders from the Prime Minister's Office to cover up complaints of wrongdoing.
Now the Prime Minister has paid her $500,000 to shut her mouth. When will he admit that the creation of the integrity commission was a sham to cover up wrongdoing and protect his power?
Former Public Sector Integrity Commissioner March 7th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister paid Christiane Ouimet half a million dollars after she resigned as integrity commissioner. There is no other job in Canada where one can get rich for quitting.
It is clear that the Prime Minister is buying her silence, but why is he paying her half a million dollars in hush money? What is he so desperate to hide?
Business of Supply February 17th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his excellent speech, which I very much enjoyed. We are talking about details, figures, that have to do with the future budget and the government's expenditure plan, which concern the Parliamentary Budget Officer. This position was created by the Conservative government, which appointed the incumbent. Now, the government does not want to assist the Parliamentary Budget Officer. It does not want him to have information and to have enough money to do his job. It is trying to hide the real facts from him.
On the one hand, the government does not want anyone to know about its plan and how it makes its budget decisions. On the other hand, it does not want to say why, for example, it decided to cut funding to KAIROS. It did not want to give the real reason. It says that it was CIDA's decision, but in reality it was a decision based on its ideology.
In my colleague's opinion, why is the government so secretive?
Business of Supply February 17th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague from Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor is aware that the Parliamentary Budget Officer has been frustrated in his attempts to assess the government's stated goals in relation to reducing or eliminating the deficit by 2015, which he and the IMF have said that their numbers indicate the government will not be anywhere near balancing the books by then. He has been trying to get access to information to assess how the government is planning to go about this. The government, unlike previous governments, and even the Conservative government in 2006 its first year in office at least, will not give this information. It claims it is a cabinet confidence.
Why does he think the Conservatives are so secretive? What does he think they are so afraid in hiding this information?
Judiciary February 15th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, it is surprising the minister will not at least defend the 39 Conservative cronies the government has appointed since the last election.
One, Brian Abrams, was a Conservative candidate just weeks before he was appointed as a judge. Judicial advisory committees which vet these appointments usually take months. It is not believable that Mr. Abrams could have been properly vetted.
Is it not the only reasonable explanation that the Conservatives politically interfered to appoint their pal?