House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 23% of the vote.
Government Expenditures May 3rd, 2013
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are simply misquoting the Auditor General. They still cannot say how $3.1 billion was spent, or if it was even spent at all. No information has been provided to cabinet or Parliament or Canadians. The Auditor General was clear, no matter what the Conservatives are implying.
I have a simple question for the President of the Treasury Board: was all this money used to fight terrorism?
Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1 May 2nd, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I listened very attentively to the speech by my honourable colleague, who is the member of Parliament for the town where I grew up. I know the area very well. I have a question for him.
I understand that the budget is going to be advantageous for some groups, but there is a specific group for whom the budget will be distinctly disadvantageous: public servants in the area. There are many public servants in the member’s riding, and I am wondering if he finds anything of benefit for them in this budget. Tens of thousands of positions have been cut in the region.
How can he defend the budget, in light of this situation?
I would still like to thank him for his speech, though.
Privacy May 2nd, 2013
Mr. Speaker, while they are rebranding departmental websites in Conservative Party colours, the President of the Treasury Board is unable to protect the privacy of Canadians and has lost track of $3.1 billion in security spending.
What has he done to fix it? Absolutely nothing. By the way, was the $3.1 billion spent on changing the colour of the websites?
Instead of playing crass partisan games, why does the minister not protect Canadians' privacy?
Government Expenditures May 2nd, 2013
Mr. Speaker, Conservative mismanagement is out of control. The President of the Treasury Board failed to protect the privacy of over a million Canadians and lost track of over $3 billion in security funding. It was not three laptops; it was $3 billion.
What was he doing with his time, one might ask? Apparently he was rebranding Government of Canada websites in Conservative Party blue. As if using department websites for political attacks was not enough, Conservatives have lowered the bar even further. Why are they not going after the missing $3 billion instead of rebranding government websites?
Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act May 2nd, 2013
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-505, An Act to amend the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (powers of inquiry).
Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank the hon. member for Louis-Hébert for agreeing to second my bill.
I am very pleased to introduce in the House my bill to amend the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act. The government has not yet put in place a process for the review of this act, which, incidentally, was supposed to be done in April 2012. I think it is important to give this law more teeth. This will allow us to ensure that the government is more accountable and responsible, particularly at a time when services for Canadians are in jeopardy and are being hard hit by cuts to the federal public service.
This legislative measure therefore amends the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act in order to extend the time limit for the filing of a complaint, to allow the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner to examine former public servants, to increase the fine for an offence under section 10 of the Inquiries Act and to authorize the commissioner to disclose, in his or her report, the identity of the person found to have committed a wrongdoing.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)
Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act April 30th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, it is hard to resist. Thank you for that call to order.
One only needs to look at the Mackenzie years, the Pearson years and the Trudeau years to see how much liberalism has to account for. They were borrowing ideas from social democrats.
That having been said, what we did was present clear, well-thought-out amendments. These amendments had influence on the party in power and things were changed. That is because we get things done. I would like to ask my Liberal colleague to point to their contribution to this debate.
Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act April 30th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I am a little bit confused about what liberalism is at this point.
Half of what you guys stand for would not be in your party platform if you had—
Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act April 30th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. I agree with him completely.
That is precisely one of the basic issues our party has brought to this debate. I believe we have addressed this issue in a very rational and measured way. Clearly, reintegration of military personnel should be a priority for this government.
No doubt the defence critics will continue to press this government to ensure that everything is done properly.
Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act April 30th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member is perhaps mistaking our support for the bill as support for the complete perspective and direction of the Conservative government on defence issues, which is simply not the case.
There is enough good in the bill at this time to proceed to action. These other matters can be addressed in the future under other bills. We would hope that the very important points my hon. colleague is making are addressed in the future by the government, and they certainly will be addressed in the future by our party.
Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act April 30th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question, and for his passion for the Canadian Forces. It is a passion I share.
The passage of time is attributable simply to the fact that the bill presented earlier would not do. It had to be amended. The facts show that it really did need to be amended.
The Conservatives did nevertheless accept a few important amendments. Why did it take them two years to accept them? I can now send his question back to him.
In any case, at this point, both sides are agreed that it is time to act.