House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2011, with 20% of the vote.
Ethics February 29th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, when a journalist asked the Prime Minister about the $1 million insurance policy offered to Chuck Cadman, he did not reply, “What insurance policy?” He did not say, “There was no insurance policy.” Instead, the Prime Minister confirmed that he knew there had been discussions and then asked whether his comments would be published.
If there was no bribe, why did the Prime Minister not just say so? Why did the Prime Minister not simply deny that fact?
Ethics February 29th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, let us be clear. We are looking for more information about a meeting held on May 17, 2005, between two Conservative staff members and Mr. Cadman.
Will the government confirm that Mr. Finley and Mr. Flanagan met with Chuck Cadman in his office on May 17, and will it confirm, as the Prime Minister did on a recording, that he knew about the $1 million bribe?
Mr. Speaker, as you have just heard, instead of admitting that what they did was wrong, the Conservatives have decided to take the matter to court to prevent us from uncovering the truth, the whole truth, before the next election. Moreover, the Conservative Party will force Canadians to pay the legal costs of this pointless case against Elections Canada.
How many times has the Prime Minister said that Canadians deserve accountability? Now it is his turn to demonstrate transparency and to open his party's books. He must say whether the “in and out” money exceeded the limits set by the Canada Elections Act. He must say whether the “in and out” scheme gave the Conservative Party and some of its candidates access to reimbursements they were not entitled to.
When will this government stop its stalling tactics? When will this government allow the committee to examine the allegations against the Conservatives?
Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to ask the government to stop obstructing the work of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. That committee is trying to shed some light on the Conservative Party's so-called in and out scam during the last election.
I am quite certain that the members across the floor would much rather sweep this problem under the rug, but Canadians have a right to know how the Conservatives tried to hoodwink them. They want to know how they maliciously manipulated the system in order to stay within the election spending limits required by law.
During the last election, the Conservative Party transferred large sums of money into the bank accounts of several local candidates. The same party then took back the money to invest it in national advertising. It knew that it had spent the maximum allowed by law, but it decided, quite deliberately, to exceed the legal limits. The other parties, however, obeyed the law as noted by Elections Canada.
Many defeated and elected candidates as well as several official agents were involved in the Conservative Party's scheme. They allegedly asked for a refund from Elections Canada and included amounts that artificially inflated their expenses. That is fraud. A defeated candidate who spent just $3,000 more than the approximate amount of $24,000 received from the in and out scheme claimed 60% from Elections Canada. The latter rightly refused to reimburse them. The Associate Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, Janice Vézina, explained the refusal in a written affidavit to the Federal Court.
The list of candidates who apparently participated in this scheme included several ministers, such as the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages and theMinister of Foreign Affairs as well as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Status of Women, the Secretary of State (Agriculture) , the Secretary of State and Chief Government Whip, and the member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles. A daily newspaper also mentioned the name of the Minister of Public Safety who, of all the candidates, should be above suspicion. Closer to me, the Conservative candidate for Hull-Aylmer reportedly participated in this scheme. The ads were placed in Quebec.
The office of the chief electoral officer revealed that official representatives of Conservative candidates had said that the discrepancies were simply an in-and-out scheme designed to enable the federal party to fund more advertising. Elections Canada's affidavit points out examples of striking differences between amounts booked by Conservative candidates and those booked by the Conservative Party for the same ads.
The minority Conservative government tried to impede the work of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. The Conservatives denied accusations of cheating during the last election, then they attacked and blocked everyone who was trying to shed light on the issue. Over the past two years, they loudly proclaimed their zeal for transparency, but now the party is all about covering things up.
Will the government cease its machinations to prevent these allegations from being examined in the light of day? Will the government acknowledge its wrongdoing and allow the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to go about its business as usual?
Citizenship and Immigration February 25th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the heartless Conservative government sent Dunia Rivera-Mora, and consequently the son she was breastfeeding, back to Costa Rica. Her spouse is a Canadian and their child was born in Canada. I wrote two letters asking that the removal be postponed, and I made a number of calls, but to this day I have received no response. Ms. Rivera-Mora has apparently now filed a sponsorship application.
Will the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration show more compassion than her colleague from Public Safety? When will she allow this family to be reunified in Canada?
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day February 15th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, when Canada Post failed to mark Saint-Jean-Baptiste day, a holiday for all French-speaking Canadians, on its calendar the Prime Minister's Office described the situation as unacceptable, and rightfully so. Today we learn that the calendars issued by the Treasury Board Secretariat and the Department of Finance also fail to mark the importance of June 24 to French-speaking Canadians.
Do the ministers responsible believe that omitting Saint-Jean-Baptiste day from their respective calendars is any more acceptable?
Manufacturing Industry February 14th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, in my region, as in Shawinigan and Quebec City, the AbitibiBowater plants are closing. In the Eastern Townships, furniture manufacturer Shermag is closing its factories one by one. The list is growing longer throughout Quebec, but according to the Conservative government, everything is just fine.
How can the Conservative government turn a blind eye to the serious economic problems right in front of its nose? How can it just stand by ignoring the fact that an entire economic sector is crumbling?
Manufacturing Industry February 14th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, Belgo workers in Shawinigan will have to wait until Monday for the community development trust to apply to them, if they are lucky, but by Monday, they will already have lost their jobs. The government seems as unconcerned about the closure of their mill as it has been about so many other workers in the manufacturing sector.
Perhaps the Minister of Finance could give the soon-to-be-former Belgo workers some speech-writing contracts? Or perhaps the Prime Minister's press secretary could appoint them to a crown corporation?
Canada Elections Act February 11th, 2008
Found in breach.
Canada Elections Act February 11th, 2008
So do I understand that we will hold off on all of the amendments until we get Amendment No. 3 and then give our consent to the whole list of amendments?