House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 23% of the vote.
Government Advertising May 23rd, 2013
How hypocritical, Mr. Speaker. They have the nerve to accuse the opposition of wanting to put a tax on iPods, but three years later they are caught with their pants down, introducing that same tax.
Since they keep saying one thing and doing another, they have to spend money on pitching their twisted logic to the public. That is why they spent $190,000 a minute on ads for a job program that does not even exist.
Is the President of the Treasury Board using his new iPod tax to pay for these ads?
Ethics May 22nd, 2013
Mr. Speaker, in 2005, the Prime Minister said that anyone who abuses the public trust would go to prison. What is his story now? He says that everyone makes mistakes.
Conservative favouritism is running rampant, whether we are talking about ACOA, the Senate or the employment insurance tribunal. It is not surprising that the Conservatives are spending a fortune on ads for programs that do not even exist. They want to sell the public on this illusion, since they have nothing meaningful to propose. That is what this government does.
Why has breaking the rules become the norm with the Conservatives?
Government Advertising May 21st, 2013
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have pushed the bar even lower by advertising a job program that does not even exist. Legislation is still months away, and the provinces have not even agreed to it yet. Advertising experts are saying this is downright misleading.
Why are they spending $190,000 a minute on Hockey Night in Canada ads for a program that does not even exist?
Public Works and Government Services May 21st, 2013
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives have left the door open so that companies found guilty of collusion can bid on public contracts. Two companies received 500 contracts from the Conservative government after being found guilty of collusion for bid rigging. Unbelievable.
How is it that companies found guilty can still bid on public contracts? When will the Conservatives close the door once and for all on companies that cheat and misuse taxpayers' money?
Agriculture and Agri-Food May 10th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, let us take a moment to talk about their spending.
At Agriculture Canada, 665 have employees received job notices. These are just more cuts to essential services for Canadians.
Employees in the department’s science and technology and market and industry services branches are the ones who will be losing their jobs.
Walking away from Canada's breakthroughs in agriculture is akin to turning back the clock.
Why are the Conservatives cutting services that help farmers carve out a place in our markets?
Government Expenditures May 10th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives cannot find $3.1 billion, but they can find $2.4 million to track their own MPs. Now that is Conservative priorities.
If I told Conservatives that my question today was going to be on a scandal, they would need to ask me, which one? That is where we are. The Conservative government is so entangled in its own spending scandals it can barely keep track. When $3.1 billion of taxpayer money gets spent without any public scrutiny, well, the Conservatives shrug. When did they stop caring about good financial management?
Public Works and Government Services May 9th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives cannot even keep track of billions of dollars in contracts, but they are the champions of monitoring their own MPs.
We now know that they are going so far as to waste millions of taxpayers' dollars on media monitoring to keep tabs on their own backbench MPs.
We are talking about $2.4 million of our taxes to track 65 of their own MPs. It is ridiculous.
Can the Conservatives explain how they could spend and waste so much of the taxpayers' money?
Public Works and Government Services May 9th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, yesterday, when I asked the President of the Treasury Board about the $2.4 billion in consultation contracts awarded in secret, often without details and sometimes to companies with unknown numbers, he told me “I may be able to find other ways of achieving this transparency.” I should hope so. That is his job.
There is no information available on the awarding of 90% of the consultation contracts disclosed. Canadians have no idea how their money is being spent and who it is being given to.
Can the minister tell us what practical measures he intends to take to improve the management of the public purse?
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I think so.
I would like to add one more thing, and that is this government's inability to listen to its officials, the experts and now the Auditor General. It puts in place symbolic measures. It throws money around. It could not care less about how the money was spent. It could not care less whether reports were produced. It is totally incompetent.
Business of Supply May 9th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, indeed, it is a forensic exercise, and that is why our motion proposes access to information that would allow us, as parliamentarians, to find out what happened to this $3.1 billion in missing money. It is a scandal. It is incredible that the President of the Treasury Board is absolutely incapable of saying what happened or of even indicating what might have happened. That is worrisome. The responsibility of a government is first, to take care of taxpayers' money, and this is a clear violation of that pact with the Canadian people.