John Baird

[Access to Information, September 25th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the first thing this government did, when it read in the newspaper that something untoward had happened, was to call Jennifer Stoddart, the Privacy Commissioner. We met with her and told her that the government would be very happy and completely prepared to work with her if she wishes to look at the case before her.

[Access to Information, September 25th, 2006]

I apologize, Mr. Speaker. The member from Six Feet Under is recruiting the dead. The member for Etobicoke—Lakeshore apparently signed up 60 members improperly in his leadership campaign in two Toronto ridings. One man in the member's constituency said that this person died two years ago. Maybe they should stand in their place and tell us about--

[Access to Information, September 25th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, in fact nothing of the sort occurred. The Privacy Commissioner will of course look into this issue. There is no evidence whatsoever of any wrongdoing with respect to the individuals in question and I take great issue.

The reality is that if the Liberal Party cannot govern itself, how can it give lectures on how this government governs Canadians? Joe Volpe apparently is recruiting dead people in Quebec--

[Access to Information, September 25th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, let us not let the facts get in the way of a good question in question period.

In fact, I can report to the member opposite that I did have a good meeting with the Privacy Commissioner. We indicated the government would certainly be prepared to work with her and respond to any questions she may have as she looks into the issue, but we will get the facts first and not the reverse.

It is odd once again to have a member of the Liberal Party giving ethics lessons to anyone.

[Lobbyists, September 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, what I can say and what the Ethics Commissioner stated very clearly is that these two individuals worked for Parliament, but not for government. That is very important. It is very clearly stated that if you have access to the trust of cabinet ministers, if you have access to government information, if you have contacts with the government while working in a minister's office, you cannot be employed as a lobbyist for five years. This is one of the reasons for implementing Bill C-2 before looking for a better bill to—

[Lobbyists, September 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat what I said earlier this week: no minister's assistant who has worked in a minister's office, on the government side, is working as a lobbyist.

I can also add that in the case of the three individuals mentioned by my Quebec colleague, I have a letter signed by Mr. Bernard J. Shapiro, Ethics Commissioner of Canada, clearly stating that these individuals did not hold government positions.

[Political Financing, September 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, this was hardly something secret when it was shared by 2,900 Canadians from every single part of this country. It was hardly something secret when it was openly discussed at a Senate committee. That is the reality.

This party will obey every single election financing law, unlike the Liberal Party opposite that was forced to return over $1 million that it stole from hard-working taxpayers. The member opposite should stand in his place and he should apologize for the egregious violation of the taxpayers' trust.

[Political Financing, September 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, let us look at what the Liberal Party of Canada is doing. Not only did it finance its party directly, not only does it get cash from Elections Canada after an election, but now the Liberal Party of Canada is asking hard-working middle class families to dig into their pockets just a little bit deeper to fund the Liberal Party's own political operations and its own political conventions.

Those of us on this side of the House believe that Canadian families should not have to pay for partisan Liberal Party conventions, and that is the basis of this whole disagreement.

[Political Financing, September 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, it is this government that wants to make lobbying more transparent and more accountable. The first piece of legislation that Canada's new government brought forward to Parliament was to require every single contact between a registered lobbyist and a public office holder to be made public and put on the Internet, and the Liberal Party has stalled it and held it up at every step of the way.

Maybe the member for Wascana could explain why David Dingwall wrote him as minister of agriculture and said that under his tenure, “Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada officials have demonstrated a pattern of non-compliance and avoidance” of Treasury Board policies when it accepts a contract. Maybe--

[Political Financing, September 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, we will obviously cooperate completely with the Chief Electoral Officer. We will also work to reform Canada's finance system. We will also seek to bring greater clarity.

However, when it comes to greater clarity, maybe the member for Wascana could tell us why, on April 30, 2004, he took a $67,000 flight on the Challenger by himself; then on August 9, another $67,000 flight; on August 22, another $67,000 flight; on January 29, another $67,000--