House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2011, with 35% of the vote.
Ethics April 14th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, there is a consistent pattern of obstruction with this government. Ministerial staff block requests for access to information. Entire pages of information and documents on torture are censored.
Now the Prime Minister is refusing to tell us why he called in the police against his minister.
All of this amounts to contempt for the institutions involved and for Canadians.
When will the Prime Minister tell us why he trusted the minister last week, but no longer trusts her this week?
Ethics April 14th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, by letting the rumours swirl, the cloud over the government continues.
There is a pattern here. When Parliament gets in the Prime Minister's way, he shuts it down. When MPs ask for documents, they are blacked out. When ordinary citizens ask for access to information, they are turned down. When Parliament asks a simple question, why did he fire a minister, he will not even deign to answer.
There is a pattern of arrogance here. When will it stop?
Ethics April 14th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, for more than seven months the Prime Minister has stood by and watched while Mr. and Mrs. Jaffer attached their tentacles to the neck of the government and slowly dragged it down. The question now is not about Mr. and Mrs. Jaffer, it is about the Prime Minister.
Will he finally explain why he called in the police? Will he finally admit that in the confidence he placed in this couple, he displayed a poor lack of judgment?
Ethics April 13th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, can the minister stand in this House and say that the matters that are alleged to have been conducted are a good use of taxpayer money? It hardly seems to us that it is.
The former minister's husband was arrested on drug possession charges. He used the minister's limousine, driver and office to conduct lobbying activities.
Why did the Prime Minister turn a blind eye to these activities for seven months?
Ethics April 13th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the member for Simcoe—Grey and Mr. Jaffer make quite a pair. We learned that Mr. Jaffer had use of his wife's ministerial car and use of his wife's office for lobbying purposes, all of which appears to violate the government's code and may well violate the law of the land. Through all of this, the Prime Minister did not just turn a blind eye, he praised the minister.
Would the government explain how this pair was allowed to get away with this for so long?
Ethics April 13th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, on Friday, the government did some recalibration. The Prime Minister fired a minister and called in the Mounties. Days later we still do not know why. Yesterday we heard that there were some serious allegations brought forward by a mysterious third party.
What were these allegations? What are they? Why were the Mounties called in? And, why will the government not tell Canadians the truth?
Ethics April 12th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, once again, who is the third party referred to in the minister's reply?
These are questions that have to do with the integrity of this government.
When the Mulroney-Schreiber affair cast doubt on the integrity of the Prime Minister's Office, the Prime Minister called for a public inquiry. Today, the integrity of his office is again in question.
Why is the Prime Minister refusing to be transparent in this case? Canadians are entitled to the truth, are they not?
Ethics April 12th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, how long will the government hide behind the Ethics Commissioner and the Mounties? This sordid tale has been going on for six weeks. It was not enough that the minister violated airport security and abused airport personnel. It was not enough that her staff impersonated the public in a letter writing campaign.
For six long weeks, the Prime Minister has got up and said that she was doing a great job and then presto, from Thursday night to Friday morning, he called in the RCMP. Why?
Ethics April 12th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, on Friday the Prime Minister fired a minister, kicked her out of caucus, called in the RCMP and the Ethics Commissioner, and Canadians still do not know why.
There are “serious allegations” surrounding the conduct of the minister, but we still do not know what they are. When will the government tell Canadians the truth?
Poland April 12th, 2010
Mr. Speaker, I rise to mourn the death of the president of Poland and the 95 other Polish leaders who died in Saturday's tragic airplane crash.
President Kaczynski was a defender of freedom, one of those courageous Poles who took a stand to put an end to half a century of repression and bring down an entire empire.
The shock of this weekend is compounded by the 70th anniversary of the massacre at Katyn, a place of infamy in Polish history, now darkened by this tragedy.
Today, everyone in the House stands in grief and solidarity with the people of Poland and with the Polish Canadian community. We honour the lives of the victims, including some of Poland's most distinguished citizens. We recall with gratitude the immense contribution made by Polish people to our life in Canada and we venerate Poland's unquenchable passion for freedom.