John Nater

[Questions Passed as Orders for Return, June 16th, 2017]

With regard to Budget 2017 and to contracts signed by the government with McKinsey and Company, its partners or consultants, since November 4, 2015, for each contract: (a) what is the (i) value, (ii) description of the service provided, (iii) date and duration, (iv) internal tracking or file number; (b) was the contract sole sourced; (c) what specific role did McKinsey and Company, its partners or consultants, or Dominic Barton play in the preparation of Budget 2017; (d) what specific sections of Budget 2017 were prepared by, in whole or in part, by McKinsey and Company, its partners or consultants; and (e) what are the details of any briefing notes or memorandums regarding Budget 2017, McKinsey and Company, its partners or consultants, or Dominic Barton, including for each the (i) sender, (ii) recipients, (iii) title and subject matter, (iv) date, (v) internal file or tracking number?

(Return tabled)

[Questions Passed as Orders for Return, June 16th, 2017]

With regard to spending by the government on private investigators since November 4, 2015, broken down by department, agency, Crown Corporation, or other government entity: what are the details of each expenditure including for each the (i) vendor, (ii) amount of contract, (iii) date, (iv) file number, (v) situation overview or reason for investigation, (vi) finding of investigation, if completed?

(Return tabled)

[Questions Passed as Orders for Return, June 16th, 2017]

With regard to government procurement and contracts for the provision of research or speechwriting services to ministers since September 20, 2016: (a) what are the details of contracts, including (i) the start and end dates, (ii) contracting parties, (iii) file number, (iv) nature or description of the work, (v) value of contract; and (b) in the case of a contract for speechwriting, what is the (i) date, (ii) location, (iii) audience or event at which the speech was, or was intended to be, delivered, (iv) number of speeches to be written, (v) cost charged per speech?

[Main Estimates, 2017-18, June 14th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I appreciated the comments by my colleague from Edmonton West and some of his greatest hits.

I wonder, for $1.4 million, if the member thinks that perhaps we could all collect an intern from each of our offices, maybe two or three of them, to help the government print off resumés.

I have a few hours on the weekend when I could maybe attend constituency events, print off a few resumés, and try to save that $1.4 million for the assistance of the government.

[Main Estimates, 2017-18, June 14th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, in response to a previous question, the member said they will accept some of the amendments from the Senate and will reject others. It might depend how the cabinet feels that day. Would it not be more appropriate if the government listened to the elected members of Parliament who have the electoral endorsement of the population and listen to the amendments that we bring forward in committee and at report stage, rather than the unelected other body, which is still regionally unbalanced and still does not have term limits or an electoral mandate from the people?

[Main Estimates, 2017-18, June 14th, 2017]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to rise in response to the biographies offered by the member for Hastings—Lennox and Addington. That really is what it is. It is reading the biographies off the Senate website, word for word, in most cases. Certainly there is wide latitude provided to members of the House to debate on different matters related to the main estimates. However, to simply read word for word from the biographies on the website brings this process into a grave area, when we should be debating the most important issues before us.

However, I want to ask the member something about the independent senators that I had asked another hon. member. Currently, Senator Pratte, the independent senator appointed by the Liberals' new process, is working in the other place to split off the infrastructure bank from the main budget bill. If they are so proud of their new senators, I would like to ask the member whether he will be supportive of that measure or if he will to wait, like his other colleague, for the cabinet to tell him how to vote.

[Main Estimates, 2017-18, June 14th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I notice the member reading from a prepared document. He seems to be reading the Senate biographies from the other place. Perhaps we could speed this up and ask for unanimous consent to simply table the website from the senate of all Senate biographies and move things along and discuss issues that are actually relevant and matter to Canadians, such as those contained in the actual main estimates.

[Main Estimates, 2017-18, June 14th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, like my colleague from Sarnia—Lambton, I greatly enjoyed hearing the member read the Senate biographies from the Senate website into Hansard. That is always great and I appreciate in particular the member's commentary and glowing words for Senator Pratte. He is a new senator in the other place who is currently amending the budget bill in the other place, amending it to take the infrastructure bank out of the budget implementation act.

I appreciate the government's strong support for the new independent senators. Am I right to assume, given the glowing words by the member for Brossard—Saint-Lambert, that they will be accepting Senator Pratte's recommendation to split up the budget bill and break off the new infrastructure bank from the budget implementation act?

[Main Estimates, 2017-18, June 14th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I can think of one. He did say he was going to do appointments differently. It is certainly different when he appoints a long-time Liberal donor to be an independent officer of this place.

The member for Langley—Aldergrove serves as our opposition critic for seniors. The Liberal government has failed to appoint a minister for seniors. Our former minister, the member for Richmond Centre, did an exceptional job serving seniors. They are the fastest growing demographic, a demographic that has unique needs. The Liberal government has failed to have a person at the cabinet table dedicated to representing seniors in Canada.

[Main Estimates, 2017-18, June 14th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I will take my direction from a Tim Hortons and a grocery store, not from the cocktail circuit like the members across the way, to paraphrase our new leader, the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle.

Let me remind the hon. member. He was not a member here, and neither was I, but it was under the strong stewardship of Joe Oliver, and before him, Jim Flaherty, that we saw a return to balanced budget under Prime Minister Harper a year early. We saw it the second year in a row. Unfortunately, because of the government's spending like a drunken sailor in the last month of the fiscal year, it turned a Conservative budgetary surplus into a deficit.