Jean Chrétien

[Transport, October 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, another government will be another government.

We received requests from VIA Rail to have its capital budget approved for years to come, as is normally done. In fact the money that has been allocated is much less than the request we received.

This was processed by Treasury Board and the cabinet committee. We think it is important to invest in rails in Canada. That was the consensus of cabinet and it was approved.

If somebody changes it in the future, there is nothing I can do. I will probably not be a member of Parliament then.

[Member for LaSalle--Émard, October 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, one can make all the affirmations one wants. The ethics counsellor said that there was nothing abnormal about it. There is not much I can do. The only recourse I have, when someone is in cabinet, is to ask the person to leave. The member is no longer in cabinet.

That member does not have to ask me questions about what I would do because there is nothing I can do.

[Member for LaSalle--Émard, October 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the ethics counsellor looked at the letter of complaint by the hon. member and he gave an answer. The member should accept that answer.

Everybody files their assets with the ethics counsellor and they follow the rules that are established. All members have done it. I have received no indication that any member of cabinet since 1993 has not done what he or she has been obliged to do.

[The Economy, October 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, is it a failure that ours is the only country that has balanced its books for six years? Is it a failure to have created three million jobs in the last 10 years? Is it a failure that we took interest rates down from 11.5% to 6%? Is it a failure that we have in Canada, as I have said, the best place to--

[The Economy, October 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, that was a survey that was taken during the time that we had some problems with SARS, with mad cow disease, and so on.

There are many surveys. For example, a month ago, the Economist Intelligence Unit report said that Canada will be the best place to invest for the next five years. The 2003 World Competitiveness Yearbook ranked Canada number three. In 2002, KPMG said Canada has the lowest business costs among advanced industrial countries. There are other very good statements made by everybody about Canada.

[National Defence, October 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, first I would like to state very clearly that the soldiers who died were in a jeep like all the soldiers have there, and it was over a mine that would have blown up a tank. It was a big one. These people were the victims of terrorists in Kabul and to try to score political points against the government with false statements like that is completely unacceptable.

[National Defence, October 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, it is always the accusation of the opposition that the army is not well equipped. I was in Kabul a few days ago and the general in charge said that we are the best equipped troops around Kabul at this time. In the army in the United States, too, there are people who think they should have new equipment and so on. I think our troops are very good. They are excellent soldiers and they are equipped properly to do their job.

[National Defence, October 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I am not embarrassed at all to have been in a position to make sure that we would have six consecutive balanced budgets in Canada.

Yes, the helicopters were not replaced, but the same type of helicopter is used by the President of the United States to go from the White House to Camp David, so I presume that if it is a good enough helicopter for the President of the United States, it should be a good enough helicopter for Canadian soldiers.

[Ethics, October 29th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, there were rules that applied to all the political parties in this House.

When there are conventions, in the case of the Liberal Party, every dollar donated is accounted for publicly. The amounts were made public before the convention, which does not happen in the other parties.

All the rules were respected. It is clear that with the new legislation, these things will be different in the future, after January 1, 2004, but until now, all the rules have been followed and everything was public knowledge.

[Ethics, October 29th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, in contrast to the leader of the official opposition, who has only revealed the source of 13% of the money he received for his leadership campaign, the hon. member for LaSalle—Émard and the ministers who have been candidates have publicly reported on every dollar they have received, every three months, and they have revealed the names of all their donors.

It is public knowledge and I do wonder why they are asking these questions; it is all public knowledge. We have passed a law so that these things cannot be happen again in the future, but it is—