Jean Chrétien

[Ethics, October 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the ethics counsellor was approved by the leader of the Reform Party--

[Ethics, October 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, we have guidelines that have been in use since I have been Prime Minister and there were guidelines on ministers before I was Prime Minister. We have always followed them. We have established a new institution. The government created the job of ethics counsellor. He has to talk to the press and counsel not only members of the cabinet but also members on all sides of the House. He has done his job. He has talked to the people. There was no such institution. Now there will be a bill on that.

With the experience we have had in the last seven years with this institution, there is always room for improvement and we will improve. I want to affirm again that it was the government--

[Ethics, October 10th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, in the case of the former minister of defence there was an incident in the month of March that was complicated and this came up in the month of June. We received advice from the ethics counsellor that he had broken the guidelines. As he had broken the guidelines, I asked him to quit the cabinet. It was what I had to do.

In the case of the Solicitor General, I have not received such advice.

[Electoral Boundaries, October 9th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, this is an attack on your integrity. These people have been named by you and you have been elected by all members of the House of Commons. It is completely unacceptable that people question your integrity. I think you have used your judgment and you have proven that you have had good judgment in the past.

[Kyoto Protocol, October 9th, 2002]

Yes, I was discussing that myself. They made their points and I made the points of the government. The ministers are working with their provincial counterparts and the private sector and by the time we will be voting by the end of this fall Canadians will know what can be done and what will be done.

[Kyoto Protocol, October 9th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I was in Calgary a few weeks ago and I spent almost two hours with the industry discussing that very problem.

[Kyoto Protocol, October 9th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, Action Plan 2000 would give 80 megatonnes. When the ministers meet in the next few weeks with their provincial counterparts, they will look at the program that was put forward in the year 2000. They will adjust it to what is the reality today. A report will obviously be made in 2005.

I know that Canadians will be able to meet their international commitment and be in a position to respect Kyoto in 2012.

[Government Contracts, October 9th, 2002]

Not at all, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Wilson himself decided to look into the matter. He decided to go to P.E.I. After he was active in that, I did not feel obliged to talk to him because he was doing his job without asking me if he could do it. He was doing his job appropriately so I saw no need to talk to him. I am waiting for his report.

[Government Contracts, October 9th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I told the House that this corporation, which has been in existence since 1964 to celebrate the Centennial, has an independent board. It is a corporation which has no association with the Government of Canada.

The contractual policies of this organization are made by the board. Mr. John Crosbie and Mr. Tom d'Aquino are on the board. I presume they applied the normal business attitude to ensure that the work was done in the interests of the centre, for which they have the responsibility to administer.

[Taxation, October 9th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, all the proposals that we are currently making to improve the standard of living of Canadians and address their social problems are joint responsibilities of the federal and provincial governments. We have agreements with the provinces and we keep investing more money in these areas. The only thing is that we have better control over our spending than does the provincial government, which continues to open so-called Quebec embassies all over the world.