John Baird

[Ethics, April 16th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the member in question is no longer a member of the ministry. If the member opposite has any concerns he would like to forward to the Ethics Commissioner for her to look into, I would urge him to do so.

[Points of Order, April 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments by the member for Burnaby—Douglas. I think he clarified the issue in his last speech. He said that the matter was referred to the Ethics Commissioner. These allegations were brought forward to the Prime Minister. He does not know whether they are true. He does not know whether they warrant an investigation.

Since he did not want to simply sweep these allegations under the rug, he forwarded the allegations and referred them to the Office of the Ethics Commissioner. He said that this individual had come forward and raised some very serious allegations and that he wanted to refer this matter to the Ethics Commissioner. The Ethics Commissioner has the capacity, as she said on CBC this morning, to initiate an investigation proactively if she sees fit.

I understand that the Ethics Commissioner telephoned the third party in question, who then declined to co-operate, which is regrettable, but I think it demonstrates that the Prime Minister acted quickly, appropriately and ethically by not trying to somehow sweep this matter under the rug.

He also referred the matter to the RCMP. He did not ask the RCMP to conduct an investigation because the prime minister in this country does not ask the RCMP to do investigations. There was a matter of concern over serious allegations and he referred them to the RCMP. It is up to the RCMP to make a determination as to whether it does or does not want to open an investigation, just as it is with the Ethics Commissioner.

Again, I want to highlight that it showed that the Prime Minister did the right thing. He acts responsibly. I know the member for Burnaby—Douglas to be a fair and reasonable person. I do think we are splitting hairs. It does underline the Prime Minister's ethics in this matter and that he did the right thing.

[Ethics, April 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, serious allegations were brought forward to the attention of the Prime Minister. He did the right thing. He immediately said, “I can't be the judge. I can't be the jury. I can't be the executioner”. He referred the matter to the relevant authorities so that they can conduct an independent review. That was appropriate. That was ethical. The Prime Minister did the right thing.

[Ethics, April 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the member says, “if these allegations are true”. I do not know whether they are true. The Prime Minister does not know whether they are true, and the member opposite does not know whether they are true.

That is why the Prime Minister did the right thing and referred this matter to the RCMP. They are the ones who conduct an independent review. They are the ones who can launch an investigation if they choose. It is their responsibility.

The member opposite is a distinguished lawyer. For him to stand in this place and come to conclusions based on media reports is quite outrageous.

[Ethics, April 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, it was this government that set up an independent lobbying commissioner, so if the member opposite has any specific allegations to make, he can make them to that independent officer of Parliament.

The member opposite could also make allegations without parliamentary immunity. He could go outside and repeat the outrageous claims he just made, but I suspect that when it comes to that member, once again he will not have the guts.

[Ethics, April 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, on the specific allegations that are before the House, neither the Minister of the Environment nor the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities provided any grant for the issue in question.

The member opposite should be ashamed of himself.

[Ethics, April 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the authorities in these matters is the RCMP. The Prime Minister has forwarded all the information that he learned last Thursday evening on to the RCMP so it can conduct an independent investigation.

The Prime Minister's ethical conduct in this matter has been beyond reproach. He acted ethically, he acted immediately and he did the right thing.

[Ethics, April 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, if we want to talk about proactive, the minute this information was brought to the Prime Minister's attention, he acted ethically. He acted responsibly. He did the right thing. He referred the entire matter to the RCMP. It is the competent authority to conduct this investigation, and this government will co-operate fully in that investigation should it choose to undertake one.

[Ethics, April 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the allegations made by the member opposite are quite preposterous.

Let me be very clear. Last Thursday evening, serious allegations were brought to the attention of the Prime Minister. He acted immediately. He brought the issue to the RCMP. He also notified the Ethics Commissioner.

He acted responsibly. He acted ethically. He acted expeditiously. The Prime Minister did the right thing.

[Ethics, April 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, serious allegations were brought to his attention. What did he do? He did the responsible thing. He did the ethical thing. He immediately referred these allegations to the relevant authorities so that they, on behalf of Canadians, could independently look into these situations.

That is the honourable thing. That is the ethical thing. The Prime Minister did the right thing.