Michael Ignatieff

[Government Accountability, March 21st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, Bruce Carson was at the centre of the government's inner circle and there he remains. This is a question of the judgment of the Prime Minister, who is guilty. The government is facing charges of election fraud, influence peddling and a scheme related to access to information. As if that were not enough, a committee of this House has found the government in contempt of Parliament.

How can Canadians trust a government that treats them, and the country's institutions, with such contempt?

[Government Accountability, March 21st, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the government faces two RCMP investigations at once, one of them about Bruce Carson's influence peddling right in the Prime Minister's Office, and four members of the Prime Minister's inner circle face accusations of election fraud that could result in jail time. As if that were not enough, a committee of the House has found the government in contempt of Parliament. This is an unprecedented cascade of abuse. The issue here is one of trust.

How can Canadians remain trusting of a government guilty of such flagrant abuse of power?

[National Defence, March 10th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I can barely believe it. Does the government believe that Canadian democracy is a distraction?

Mr. Speaker, yesterday you ruled that the government has to tell Canadians the truth about the real cost of the stealth fighter aircraft. The Conservative government has offered us a guesstimate of $16 billion. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has said it is going to be just about double that at $30 billion. That is $1,000 for every Canadian man, woman and child.

When will the government stop lowballing the cost to the Canadian public, face the facts and tell them the truth?

[Government Accountability, March 10th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, every effort is not good enough. The House order is clear. This is a question of compliance. It is not a matter of discretion.

This government has violated the basic rules of democracy in this House three times. But this is the moment of truth.

Will the government produce the documents, all of them, and fire that minister?

[Government Accountability, March 10th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, your rulings yesterday should not have been necessary. A decent government would have complied with the rules of democracy without being forced to, but this is not a decent government. This is not the first time, not the second time, but the third time the government has been forced to respect the rulings and orders of the House. Now the game is up.

If the government actually respects the rulings of the Speaker, will it deliver the documents to the House and will it fire that minister?

[Political Financing, March 9th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, we are not talking about discussions and differences of opinion, but of charges of fraud laid by the Attorney General.

Last night the House passed a resolution ordering the Prime Minister to fire those connected with this election scam. We are talking about four members of his inner circle. But there is a fifth man involved, and that is the chief of staff of the Prime Minister, who in 2006 was the secretary of the Conservative fund.

Is the Prime Minister asking us to believe that Nigel Wright knew nothing about this election scam?

[Political Financing, March 9th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is not even bothering to reply. He is not firing people who were involved in election fraud. The Prime Minister refuses to reimburse taxpayers and instead is attempting to smear Elections Canada, a renowned institution.

Does the Prime Minister not have any respect for the democratic institutions of Canada?

[Political Financing, March 9th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, one minister in the government is charged with misleading the House. Another has turned his department into Conservative Party re-election central. Nine sitting Conservative MPs took money from taxpayers in an election fraud scheme. As if that were not quite enough, the Prime Minister decided to rename the Government of Canada after himself.

Does the Prime Minister not understand that these actions damage Canadian democracy?

[Political Financing, March 8th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, this is not an administrative dispute. Four Conservatives are charged with election fraud but a fifth person has been named in a sworn affidavit as the secretary of the Conservative fund when this election scam was concocted. His name is Nigel Wright. He is the chief of staff of the Prime Minister. Four of his accomplices face jail time.

Can the Prime Minister explain why Nigel Wright is still in the Prime Minister's Office?

[Political Financing, March 8th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, I did not get an answer to the question. There are serious accusations of electoral fraud levelled against the closest members of the Conservative government. This is not just an accounting dispute because it involves the fraud of $800,000 of taxpayers' money. It is not an administrative matter, because it involves jail time.

The Prime Minister says he will not fire these people. The Prime Minister says he will not hand the money back. Will he at least assure the House that no member of the Prime Minister's Office was ever implicated in this scam?