Helena Guergis

[Decorum, October 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the hon. member that last Friday, when the member for Bourassa did ask for an apology on behalf of the member for Newmarket—Aurora, in that very same minute the Minister of the Environment requested an apology from the member for Bourassa for some slurring remarks that he had made about her, and we have yet to hear any response to that.

I have a question for the hon. member: why the double standard?

[Decorum, October 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the hon. member that the Speaker has made a ruling, and that he and his staff have very clearly said, after listening to the tapes and reviewing Hansard, that there was nothing of the sort recorded. Why they continue to ignore this, I believe, is based on politics.

[Decorum, October 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have to say that I do believe that Canadians are probably sick and tired of being dragged into a high school romance gone wrong.

That hon. member might want to reconsider the lack of respect that he has for the Speaker, and the integrity of the Speaker's chair. The Speaker has made a ruling. He has been very clear that there was nothing recorded in Hansard whatsoever.

[Decorum, October 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, that hon. member and her party refuse to accept the facts. The facts are that nothing was reported in Hansard whatsoever. The hon. member did not make those remarks.

Quite frankly, if those members want to have a conversation about decorum in this House, I would be happy to do that. Many times when I have stood in this House I have had to put up with rude remarks from members across, which are in fact recorded in Hansard.

[Decorum, October 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, once again I will tell the House that we respect the integrity of the Speaker's chair. You have ruled on this matter and you have clearly said that there was nothing in Hansard whatsoever to indicate that any of the words that are suggested were said by any member of the House.

I do want to point out to the hon. member who has put the question that she needs to look deep inside her own party because, quite frankly, they live in a glass house.

[Decorum, October 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, once again I would remind hon. members that the Minister of Foreign Affairs is a gentleman and has always treated me and other female colleagues in this House with the utmost respect. He is a man who was raised by a single mother and who has a number of sisters.

Again I would point out, Mr. Speaker, that we on this side of the House respect your ruling. You were very clear when you said that there was nothing in the recording and nothing in Hansard to indicate that the Minister of Foreign Affairs said anything of the sort.

I do want to point out again, Mr. Speaker, that we respect your integrity and we do not question your integrity on this side of the House.

[Decorum, October 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, first let me say that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in my opinion and that of many across the country, is that he is a gentleman in every sense of the word. He has always treated me with the utmost respect.

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House respect your ruling where you clearly said last Friday that there was no indication in the recordings or in Hansard that any of this has been said. We on this side of the House actually respect the integrity of the Speaker's chair, unlike the members opposite.

[Canada Account, October 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, on behalf of the Minister of International Trade, the Canada Account Annual Report 2004-05 prepared by Export Development Canada.

[International Trade, October 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I remind the hon. member that we of course are in negotiations with Korea on a free trade agreement, but we are nowhere near any finalization. When we are, he can trust us in that we will ensure that our auto industry in fact will continue to be consulted, as it has all along.

[International Trade, October 18th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Liberal members of the international trade committee demanded the release of the government's negotiating positions for the Central America Four free trade negotiations. The Liberals have irresponsibly flip-flopped on their long held position.

When in power, the Liberal government never revealed its negotiating stance. Now the Liberals want Canada to completely compromise its negotiating position by revealing it partway through trade talks.

Based on the actions of the Liberal members, it is obvious that they are not interested in Canada's government getting the best for all Canadians.

I hope the Liberal leadership candidates do not share their colleagues' total disregard for Canada's economic future.

In order to prosper in the global economy of the 21st century, we need to build and strengthen our trade relationships. This requires aggressive pursuit of new trade agreements. We can ill afford to toss away our ability to negotiate effectively.

Unlike the members opposite, the Conservative government puts the prosperity of Canadians first.