House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2011, with 35% of the vote.
Afghanistan February 6th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister spends more time talking to foreign politicians like Messrs. Sarkozy, Brown and Bush, than to his own citizens. He should start by telling the truth about the choices we have.
When will the Prime Minister show some respect for Canadians and establish an open and honest dialogue with them about the mission in Afghanistan?
Afghanistan February 6th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, as usual, the Prime Minister gets it more than wrong. The party over there wants to pull out of Afghanistan, not this party.
Afghanistan February 6th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, for two years, there has been mounting criticism of the Prime Minister's failure to lead in Afghanistan.
This week we learned the Prime Minister has finally, at the eleventh hour, begun to call NATO countries to ask for much needed assistance for our troops. He should have made those calls last year, and we said so.
Why did it take a year, with the deadline fast approaching, for the Prime Minister to realize the urgency of the situation and take responsibility—
Automotive Industry February 5th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance has warned Canadians that now is not the time for heavy spending. That is quite ironic coming from the very minister who paid his associate $122,000 with taxpayers' money for just a few months of work.
Now that he has acknowledged breaking the rules, will this minister take his own advice and will he ask his associate to return the money that was paid to him illegally?
Automotive Industry February 5th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the auto sector in central Canada is having a very tough time and ministers in the government are wasting time with an argument about what to do about it.
The industry minister is quoted as saying that some help might be possible but the finance minister said he has already done enough. This argument is ridiculous. In my riding I have seen two plants close and I do not want to see a third close while the government works out what it is going to do.
Who speaks for the government? The Minister of Industry or the Minister of Finance?
Access to Information February 4th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, all of us who are struggling to make sense of those blacked out pages we received will be skeptical of the minister's reply.
The number of complaints received by the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada has doubled from last year. The commissioner noted that the government ought to make it a habit to make information available to the public without having to be arm-twisted.
Does the Prime Minister agree with this assessment by the commissioner, or will this commissioner face dismissal?
Access to Information February 4th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, Bob Marleau, the Information Commissioner, has protested that a fog has descended over the government's handling of information. Complaints to the commissioner have doubled in the past year.
A former leader of the opposition once said that the public interest should come before government secrecy and that information is the lifeblood of democracy. Who said that? The Prime Minister. If he still believes what he said, why has he allowed a fog of secrecy to descend on his government? Is Bob Marleau the next one to pay for his job with the truth?
Afghanistan January 30th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of National Defence claimed “operational security” as grounds justifying his refusal to tell Canadians and Parliament the truth.
But if operational security justified the policy change, then why did this government refuse to tell our NATO partners, our “operational” partners? After all, they have the right to know.
Afghanistan January 30th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the government changed the detainee transfer policy two and a half months ago without communicating that change to Canadians or to Parliament.
We now know the government also failed to communicate that change to our NATO allies in Afghanistan. Just this week, the senior spokesman of NATO said, “This came as something of a surprise to us”.
When will the Prime Minister own up to his responsibilities as a leader, begin communicating openly and honestly with Parliament, with Canada and, above all, with our allies?
Afghanistan January 29th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the Manley report criticized the Prime Minister's lack of leadership on Afghanistan. We have noticed the same thing from the start: ministers contradicting each other, confused messages, management chaos.
What specific changes in managing the mission will the Prime Minister propose in order to respond to these specific criticisms of his lack of leadership?