Lawrence Cannon

[Points of Order, March 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, on March 8, in response to a question from the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine on the nomination of Gérard Latulippe, I said:

Ironically, the Bloc and Liberal opposition, while simultaneously decrying the government's continued partisanship, have rejected Mr. Latulippe's appointment on almost purely political grounds...While I don't share Mr. Latulippe's political orientation, I don't believe that stated political views and career path are reasons to question a person's capacity to act in a principled manner.

I attributed that quotation to former NDP strategist Brian Topp. In fact, I should have attributed it to Leslie Campbell, former chief of staff to Audrey McLaughlin. I apologize to Mr. Topp for any inconvenience this may have caused him.

[The Economy, March 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, perhaps the leader of the Bloc Québécois should indulge in a little humility.

In the case of the Bloc Québécois, its members are riding madly off in all directions. Let us be clear. What the government did has been accepted on the international level. At the same time, all of the G20 countries have identified these actions as the reason we have a good system.

Yes, we want to keep that system, and I hope the Bloc will support the government and its budget.

[The Economy, March 15th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Bloc Québécois is obviously referring to the government's success and its Economic Action Plan for Canada’s economic recovery. He is referring to the regulations that are in force in our banking system.

But he neglects to mention all of the things done by the government to ensure that the economic recovery is working. Unfortunately, as usual, he voted against it.

[Afghanistan, March 10th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the events in question took place three years ago. Let us be clear. Soon after, we replaced the Afghan prisoner transfer agreement that was criticized in allegations and remarks by the ambassador.

Perhaps the previous government was too busy handling communication issues, like the sponsorship scandal, to address this matter.

[Rights & Democracy, March 9th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, as I have reminded hon. members of the House, Rights & Democracy is an independent organization run by a board of directors. Its staff are not part of the public service.

Rights & Democracy was created by a Conservative government. Given that our government has a sincere and fundamental belief in the work of this organization, it will continue to support Rights & Democracy.

I invite hon. members, if they so desire, to put questions to the directors during a parliamentary committee meeting.

[Rights & Democracy, March 8th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, let me give the House another quotation, for the record. It says:

Ironically, the Bloc and Liberal opposition, while simultaneously decrying the government's continued partisanship, have rejected Mr. Latulippe's appointment on almost purely political grounds...While I don't share Mr. Latulippe's political orientation, I don't believe that stated political views and career path are reasons to question a person's capacity to act in a principled manner.

Who said that? Former NDP strategist Brian Topp in The Globe and Mail.

[Rights & Democracy, March 8th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, let me quote an interested party, who said:

He is just highly respected in the whole field. I just don’t understand the questioning of his credentials.

This comes from Leslie Campbell, former chief of staff to Audrey McLaughlin and current senior associate and regional director for the Middle East and North African National Democratic Institute.

[Rights & Democracy, March 8th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, we have made the necessary decisions. We have asked Mr. Latulippe to take on this extremely important responsibility because of his ability and experience. We have asked him to take on the responsibility of running this organization. This is an extremely important organization that plays a key role on the international stage, and we intend to keep supporting it.

However, if the parliamentary committee wants to call anyone to appear, it is free to do so. As I have said, it is quite—

[Rights & Democracy, March 8th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the government appointed Mr. Latulippe as president of Rights & Democracy following an open and transparent competition.

We believe that with his extensive experience, including with the National Democratic Institute, he is not only an appropriate candidate, but a very well qualified one.

[The Budget, March 5th, 2010]

A little bit of class.