Madam Speaker, I am very pleased today to have a chance to speak to this important motion. To remind people of what the debate is about today, the opposition motion put forth by the Canadian Alliance reads in part:
That this House call for the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry into the mismanagement of grants and contributions in the Department of Human Resources Development—
Anyone who watched question period today would understand that the motion should definitely be accepted by all members of the House. What we saw today was the minister responsible for HRDC avoiding direct questions from members of the opposition. Then, after she could no longer avoid the questions, she avoided answering the questions.
An extremely important and direct question was put by several members. The question was: What is the authority that the minister used to allow her to take money out of a private citizen's bank account? It was a very direct and straightforward question. The minister never provided an answer to the question. The reason the minister did not provide an answer is because there is not a good answer.
We must establish a private, independent commission of inquiry to look into issues such as that.
There are three reasons we should establish a commission of inquiry. The first is to serve the public interest to ensure that what is best for the taxpaying public will be what happens in the future. That would be the result of an inquiry which would look at all that is wrong, so much that is wrong, with the Department of Human Resources Development.
The second reason is to restore public confidence, not only in parliament, but to restore public confidence in the Government of Canada generally. What has happened in this department and what has happened in other departments has led Canadians to become even more cynical than before when it comes to trusting the way the government spends their hard earned tax dollars.
The third reason is to provide the Canadian public with answers for all of the unanswered questions that have come up as a result of issues being raised by opposition parties into what has gone on in that department.
These are the reasons for which we clearly must establish an independent inquiry. It should be obvious. A government which really wants to be responsible to the people of this country, knowing the reality of what has gone on, should on its own volition, on its own initiative, call for such an inquiry to clear the air.
When a government is under siege, like the Liberal government is on this issue, what possible reason could there be for not wanting to establish a public inquiry to clear the air? I would argue that the only reason would be that it has even more that it wants to hide.
This is an extremely serious issue. It is not going to go away. It has added to the cynicism of the general Canadian public toward government. They feel they cannot trust government, and I understand why. For the sake of trying to help re-establish some of that trust in government and in politicians generally, we need this inquiry. That is not too much to ask. That is what the Canadian public ask.
I will read some of the things that my constituents have said on this issue, but I first want to say that I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Kootenay—Columbia.
I will quote a constituent from Vermilion who said:
I am, as many Canadians are, disgusted with the ongoing fiasco of our current government. Minister Jane Stewart and Prime Minister Chrétien insist there is no fire on their burning ship. No doubt they have cast their life boats out for themselves, but have no problem sending their bureaucrats off the plank to lighten the load.
I want say that it is wrong to blame the people working in the civil service for what has happened here. The fault lies with the government. The minister of that department and the government are responsible for how the departments are run. This constituent has expressed concern that the government is not respecting that responsibility.
My constituents are also pointing out that they are concerned that this minister and this government have tried to blame civil servants on several occasions for the problems in that department. That is just not right.
My constituent goes on to say:
Only a swift independent look at each “donation” that HRDC distributed and the roles played by the HMS Squander crew will put closure and accountability to this fiasco. It is sad though that we have to spend more taxpayer money to prove accountability. I paid a lot of taxes this year and my family looks to each pay cheque to keep afloat and to build a future. It's time the government admitted fault, fixed the problem and helped to start building Canadian's future rather than sinking its own ship and letting the taxpayer clean up the mess.
This is from one of my constituents who is responsible for supporting a family and who is fed up with the wasted spending and the lack of accountability.
My constituents are saying that they are accountable for their families and that it is very difficult to just stay afloat due to high tax levels. Wasted spending is a real concern to these individuals.
Another constituent from Lac La Biche sent me a copy of an e-mail he had sent to the Prime Minister. The e-mail reads:
Sir: You have to get rid of this albatross running the Human Resources Department of your government...One (or is it three?) billion dollars, is a staggering amount of money. She is obviously not up to the task of ensuring the taxpayers money is treated with the care and respect it deserves. Public officials...must remember, tax money doesn't grown on trees.
Elected people have a very important responsibility, no, a trust to guard against wasteful squandering of what should be considered a precious resource. I know there seems to be a shortage of common sense these days, but do we have to keep reminding you to maintain some restraint and accountability in your fiscal dealings?
This was sent to the Prime Minister from someone who is absolutely tired of the way tax money is being squandered.
Another one of my constituents from Ryley, Alberta says:
There appears to be between one to three billion dollars that was doled out to grant recipients without proper administration or following accepted accounting practices...The general public needs to have faith that the government agencies spend our tax dollars wisely and prudently. This controversy will only lower our perception of the federal government's ability.
This constituent is saying that proper accountability is critical to maintaining some sense of confidence in government, and that this problem is shattering what confidence is left.
A constituent from Vermilion wrote to me saying:
Dear Leon, I am very concerned about the billions of dollars that has gone missing while under Jane Stewart's keep. I just don't understand this system that seems to think—
