Maria Minna

[Cida, February 24th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know where the member has been the last couple of days. First, I said that I will release the whole list tomorrow. I have said it three times now. I hope he does understand it this time.

Second, the CIDA audit was done. It was reported to me that it was done in September. I was told that it was finished in December. I read it in December. I was briefed in December in my boardroom in Hull and it was released in December. I do not know how more clear than that I can be.

[Industrial Cooperation Program, February 24th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, maybe the hon. members are not listening to this question period at all or are not participating. I just responded to her colleague. Yes, I will table the list tomorrow if the members so wish.

[Industrial Cooperation Program, February 24th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, again, I was informed of the CIDA audit in September. I saw it in December, I read it in December, I was briefed on it in December. It was released in December. That is very clear.

With respect to the CIDA situation and CIDA aid, it is important to note that the leader of the Conservative Party had seven years in which to fix the problems of CIDA. He chose not to do that. I have only been there for seven months and I have already implemented 80% of the recommendations and every one of them will be done by June.

[Cida, February 24th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Conservative Party was the minister for seven years of CIDA. For seven years he did not make any changes.

With respect, I have already implemented 80% of the recommendations, and if the hon. member wants I will table the list tomorrow.

[Cida, February 24th, 2000]

I withdraw it, Mr. Speaker.

However, the hon. member continues to use the information in different ways. First, the $850 million is from 1978 to today. He is counting 22 years. It is not the budget for CIDA. CIDA's budget is $60 million. In fact, in 1999 we spent only $43 million, not the full amount.

[Cida, February 24th, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member continues to misrepresent the information.

[Cida, February 23rd, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, the opposition members have some 30 audits in their hands on different types of programs in different parts of the world. With respect, one cannot mix them all across the board.

With respect to the comment regarding environment, the agencies that we were working with at the time did some environmental studies. Our auditor feels that it should have been part of a management plan, and I agree with that. I have asked for that to be done in every case from now on.

A central laboratory has been built to environmental standards which meets and exceeds those in effect in Canada. That is only one report. It does not address—

[Industrial Cooperation Program, February 23rd, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, I made it public immediately after the audit was finished in December. I reviewed it in December, finished it in December and made it public in December.

The hon. member has the complete copy of the audit from the original copy that I have in my office. The information is all in her handbook.

[Industrial Cooperation Program, February 23rd, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, no payments are made without supporting invoices at CIDA. We will not issue final payments to companies that do not submit final reports that are satisfactory.

We now have a method of payment that a company will only be paid if it makes specific results which are targeted in advance. In addition, the hon. member is talking about feasibility studies. We do them in order to ensure that when we invest in projects they will be viable and not ones that will not work. That is why it is 27%. We are saving taxpayers' dollars.

[Cida, February 23rd, 2000]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. gentleman is talking about CIDA aid, which I presume he is, I am not sure if he is mixing apples and oranges.

We have a 20% success rate in the analyses done. They are done to save money because when we do an analysis we will not go ahead with a project unless it is worthwhile doing. The reason for the analysis is to ensure that we are not throwing away good money. In fact, the hon. gentleman said in the newspaper at the time that when CIDA has to recover money, we recover 100% of all money.