James Moore

[Ethics, June 17th, 2013]

I have not, Mr. Speaker.

However, if the leader of the Liberal Party wants to talk about raising the bar, I do not think he is talking about an ethical bar. Do members know those novelty thermometers that they have at charity events when they raise the bar when they are increasing money for the charity? He must have one in his home or in his office and he raises the bar of that thermometer of money that he personally gets from charities across the country. That is the bar that is being raised.

Again, if the Liberal leader wants to lecture others about accountability, he should come clean. What is it about the ethical standard of giving money to charities rather than taking money from charities that he does not understand?

[Ethics, June 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, somebody really should advise the Liberal leader not to lead with his chin in question period.

As I said last week, we do not have access to a personal cheque of Nigel Wright.

However, the leader of the Liberal Party does have access to a personal cheque that was given to him, for example, from the Canadian Mental Health Association that paid him. He took $20,000 from the Canadian Mental Health Association while speaking at a charity event. He also took $7,500 from the Nova Scotia Nature Trust. He took $10,000 from the Children of Hope, which is a charity organization that helps orphaned children.

If he believes in accountability and transparency, he should show us the money he took from the charity.

[Ethics, June 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said to the leader of the NDP in English, the Prime Minister made it very clear that any expenses claimed by senators have to be associated directly with their responsibilities as senators.

It is the ethical and responsible thing to do. Just as the ethical and responsible thing to do for any member of Parliament, for example, is to do work for charities and to give money to charities, not take money from charities.

The member for Halifax knows that. The member for Outremont knows that. We know that. A member of Parliament showing up at a charity event should give money to charities not take it away from charities like the leader of the Liberal Party does.

[Government Appointments, June 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows very well, I found out this morning, of course, we all found out, that Mr. Zajdel was under investigation and now there are charges pending. If he or Mr. Applebaum or anybody broke the law, they should be punished to the full extent of the law. That is how it works.

The justice system also works best when those who are aware of corruption, like the leader of the NDP, co-operate with police and tell the police about corruption that they know about. The leader of the NDP was offered a bribe 17 years ago, which is a crime, and he did not report that bribe and that crime to the police. Why was he covering for corruption in the city of Laval?

[Government Appointments, June 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I just finished saying in French very clearly, if Mr. Zajdel or Mr. Applebaum have in any way broken the law they should have the book thrown at them and they should be accountable to the full extent of the law.

With regard to what my office has been doing proudly for the city of Montreal, we have been doing things like investing in important events like Les FrancoFolies, Festival International de Jazz, festival Juste pour rire, and inventing a cultural infrastructure in the city of Montreal like les 2-22, le Quartier des spectacles, and expanding the programming and physical space of the Segal Centre for Performing Arts. That is the work that indeed my office is very proud of, because it will serve the people of Montreal and all Canadians.

[Government Appointments, June 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the charges relate to municipal issues and not the federal government. Until today I had not even heard about an investigation or charges against Mr. Zajdel.

However, to be clear, if Mr. Zajdel, Mr. Applebaum or anybody broke the law, they should be punished to the full extent of the law.

[Ethics, June 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, on behalf of all members, I would like to thank the leader of the NDP for being here today without incident.

The Prime Minister has been very clear on this question and the leader of the NDP opposite knows very well that there is, of course, an independent audit and examination of this very matter going forward.

The Prime Minister has been very clear to all senators, including Senator Wallin, that any expenses have to be paid and have to be associated directly with their responsibilities as a senator and that any expenses that are not associated should come directly from their own personal pocket.

[Questions on the Order Paper, June 14th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (i) and (ii), Treasury Board provided $22,810,000 over a three-year period in 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009 10 for the AMICAN/ Trusted Digital Repository, or TDR, project.

With regard to (iii), the document entitled Preliminary Survey of a System Under Development: Audit of the AMICAN Catalytic Initiative is available at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/012/014/012014-205-e.html.

LAC’s departmental performance reports for 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 are available at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/dpr-rmr/index-eng.asp.

LAC is continuing to invest in long-term preservation and is focused on further development of the TDR by developing and implementing the digital acquisitions process by loading e-books from publishers into the TDR; expanding this system so that higher volumes, and differing material types, can be acquired; expanding storage capacity to ensure ongoing and future requirements are met; and developing internal capacity and redesigning business processes to support the efficient operation of the TDR.

LAC’s investments in its TDR ensure that LAC continues to meet the increasing demands of the digital economy while realizing significant cost efficiencies for Canadians.

[Canadian Heritage, June 13th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I just answered a similar question. No, the museum operates independently.

I would point this out to Canadians, and actually, this is an interesting comparison. The NDP asked me whether I interfered with the public display of underwear at the civilization museum and we have, of course, the leader of the NDP having his drive-by today in front of the Parliament of Canada. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of this country is fighting for Canadian jobs in Europe, speaking in the Westminster parliament for the first time since 1944. For the first time since the week before D-Day, the Prime Minister of this country is fighting for Canadians jobs, building our alliances with Europe—

[Canadian Heritage, June 13th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the answer is no. Neither I nor anybody on my staff had any comments or discussions with the Museum of Civilization on its exhibit on underwear. No, we did not. To be clear to my friend opposite, I do not now, nor have I ever, had an official public position on the public displaying of underwear.