John Baird

[Government Programs, October 2nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, what I did say in response to questions from members opposite was that the quotes attributed to me were in fact not the case. We believe, those of us on this side--

[The Environment, October 2nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to say very directly for the member for Ottawa Centre, what a good idea, and as the member of the New Democratic Party knows, one of the most important parts of the federal accountability act is the new power that the government wants to give the Auditor General to follow the money.

I can say that those of us on this side of the House will leave no stone unturned to ensure that every dollar fraudulently spent will be returned to hard-working, middle class families who deserve a break, something they never got from the Liberal Party opposite.

[The Environment, October 2nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear for the member for Ottawa Centre. I am not prepared to stand in my place and defend the mismanagement, financial or otherwise, of the previous Liberal government.

[Government Appointments, October 2nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House we believe that appointments should be based on merit. We believe there should be greater scrutiny of appointments. That is why the very first piece of legislation we brought forward in the House was the federal accountability act, a federal accountability act that was passed in 71 days.

We are coming upon the 100th day that the Liberal Senate has had the federal accountability act. Maybe that member, instead of spreading hot air in this chamber, could go down the hall and get her Liberal colleagues, her Liberal friends, to do the right thing, help us clean up corruption and bring real accountability to the statute books of this nation.

[Government Appointments, October 2nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, we look forward to the federal accountability act being passed by the Liberal Senate, because, let me tell members, human rights are tremendously important to Canadians. Canadians have heard some very disturbing claims from a front bench member of the Liberal Party who is charging that in the Liberal Party he has faced bigotry and discrimination.

I ask the Liberal Party, has anyone been called in to investigate these disgraceful charges made by a member of that party's own front bench?

[Government Programs, October 2nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, what we are saying is that Canada's government has a responsibility to uphold the Constitution and our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and we do not have to give grants to Liberal lawyers to get this government to do the right thing.

Let us look at what my good friend, the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore, said. He said, “I certainly feel overtaxed...that means a very...rigorous program review...I would look for program review within the government to pull as much savings as we can out”.

That is from the upcoming new leader of the Liberal Party, the member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore.

[Government Programs, October 2nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I could tell my dear colleague from Ottawa—Vanier that the political decision not to appeal to the Supreme Court of Ontario was made when the current Minister of Health and I, in my capacity as minister responsible for francophone affairs, decided in cabinet not to file an appeal.

I was naturally very pleased to call Gisèle Lalonde and tell her that the government, the cabinet, had decided that the Montfort Hospital would remain open, in light of its importance.

[Maher Arar, October 2nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, we do support independent prosecution when violations happen in federal law, which is why it is so important that we pass the federal accountability act.

In this battle to reward accountability, we have received a good amount of support from the New Democratic Party. What we need is support from the Liberal Senate to finally pass the federal accountability bill and finally let the corrupt practices of the previous Liberal regime be a part of Canadian history.

[Youth, September 29th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the government has made a decision to reduce funding in this regard and to focus those resources on young people at risk with significant challenges.

The program will not be reduced right across the country. On this side of the House we thought that in areas of the country where $20 an hour summer jobs were going unfilled, it just did not make sense to offer wage subsidies in those same communities.

[Government Programs, September 29th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the member opposite seems to be much more familiar with the writings of Ian Brodie than I am.

We take the issue of human rights to be incredibly important. We in the House have a responsibility to uphold human rights.

I, like all members of the House, am deeply disturbed by the serious allegations of former members of the Liberal cabinet and even one member of the Liberal frontbench who says that he feels he experiences bigotry and discrimination within the Liberal Party.