Mr. Speaker, the conspiracy theories continue. There is an agreement in principle, but no deal has yet been finalized. When it has, it will be public and the government will be proud to announce it.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 56% of the vote.
Public Works and Government Services June 5th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, the conspiracy theories continue. There is an agreement in principle, but no deal has yet been finalized. When it has, it will be public and the government will be proud to announce it.
Public Works and Government Services June 5th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate the member on having an unbroken record of questions with wrong information. In fact, neither the Minister of Public Works nor myself have ever met with Mr. Doucet on this file.
Petitions June 2nd, 2006
Mr. Speaker, as I have done a number of times in the House, I am pleased to present again another petition signed by a number of my constituents and in fact people from across Canada. The petition deals with the issue of date rape drugs. This is an issue that I have been raising in the House for five and a half years.
The petitioners call upon the government to have tougher laws with regard to date rape drugs, making the precursor to the development of date rape drugs more difficult to get and calling for stiffer penalties for the cowards who use date rape drugs to attack women.
Public Works and Government Services June 2nd, 2006
Mr. Speaker, we followed the regular procedures and the standards applied by the Liberal government when it was in power. All of the standards were applied. I must inform the member and the House that the process is not yet completed. Until it is, we cannot discuss it because the process must be respected.
Public Works and Government Services June 2nd, 2006
Mr. Speaker, first, I know the hon. member is the new public works critic for the opposition. I wish him well in his new post. I know he will do a good job on this file.
The reality is that this is not in fact complete. The Department of Public Works has signed, with Minto Developments, an agreement in principle, but the deal has not yet been finalized.
Mr. Speaker, as I said, discussions are taking place, of course the study is ongoing, and there will be forthcoming opportunities up until the year 2011 to have increased office space, and therefore jobs on the Quebec side of the river.
I know that my colleague from Hull--Aylmer is concerned about this issue. It is an issue that directly affects his constituency. However, if he is unhappy with the current process, if he is unhappy with the current ratio, if he is unhappy with how things are unfolding, and if he is unhappy with the way things are going to be in the future, then he should have raised those issues when he was on the government side of the House of Commons.
The current ratio of jobs between the Ontario side and the Quebec side of the river is a ratio that reflects the policies that were put in place by the Liberal government. If he thinks that has a been a failure, then he should look in the mirror and talk to his own party because it is Liberal policy that led to this result.
The government is committed to the 75:25 principle. We will see that through. There are increasing opportunities coming forward in the future. We look forward to working with the hon. member to see that realized.
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Public Works and Government Services is the largest real estate and office space manager in Canada. We manage a diverse portfolio of office space and other facilities.
There are three main drivers affecting the government's requirement for new office space: first, office space that has aged and is in need of major renovations; second, expiring leases; and, third, the evolving needs of the Government of Canada.
Departments are striving to attain the 75:25 ratio between Ottawa and Gatineau for federal government offices in the national capital region. The current ratio for the Public Works portfolio is 77% in Ontario and 23% in Quebec. Currently, it is estimated that we need another 70,000 square metres to meet the 75:25 target.
The combination of expiring leases and the identified expansion from various government departments over the next five years will provide the opportunity to acquire more office space, and therefore jobs, in the Gatineau region that the member has asked about.
Considering the projected increase in our Ottawa inventory and the planned increase in our Gatineau inventory from now to 2011, the distribution of our office space would bring the ratio to its target of 75:25.
Market availability and development potential within Gatineau has been assessed, a number of existing supply is available, while other properties are ready for development, including Crown-owned sites. Discussions with client departments are under way to examine Gatineau's solutions to their accommodation needs.
I hope this answers the hon. member's questions.
Sponsorship Program May 29th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, after the sponsorship scandal, Canadians were repeatedly asking where the money went. They should know that this government will leave no stone unturned in getting that stolen money back.
Three days ago the government amended its claim for the recovery of funds to $7 million and two new defendants, bringing our claim to $63 million against 30 firms and individuals.
Let me be clear, on behalf of the entire government, to Canadian taxpayers, that we will get the stolen money back.
Public Works and Government Services May 19th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I am afraid I have bad news for the hon. member and for taxpayers.
In the last Liberal government, as a result of one letter from one Liberal minister across the table to another, the lease at Place Victoria was renewed. Professionals at the Department of Public Works did their job, but the Liberals ignored their counsel and wasted $4.6 million leasing two buildings. They leased two buildings when only one in fact was needed.
The Conservative government and the Department of Public Works will always get value for taxpayer dollars because we have learned, unlike the Liberals, how not to waste money.
Public Works and Government Services May 16th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, if it is a secret deal, how does he arrive at the number of $600 million? This is, again, Liberals just inventing information as the NDP critic did before. Here is the simple fact for the member opposite. There is no deal on the JDS Uniphase building that has been approved by Treasury Board. There is no deal.