House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 43% of the vote.
Ethics June 11th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not think it is fanciful to want their $2.7 million back from the NDP. They work very hard for the money they send here, and they want the 68 members of that caucus to send it back.
It is not a fantasy that the member for Compton—Stanstead owes $142,000. The NDP needs to look at itself, look at Canadians and just pay back the $2.7 million that it owes, and do it now.
Ethics June 11th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the absolute gall of that member, sitting in that caucus, asking that question.
We have said right from the beginning that parliamentarians who deliberately misspend taxpayer dollars ought to do the first thing and pay it back. If it is deliberate, the courts will take action and they will suffer the consequences.
There are 68 members of that caucus who have spend three times as much as the Auditor General found in the Senate. They owe the taxpayer $2.7 million. Their own leader, who hatched this scheme, owes the taxpayers $400,000 and is refusing to pay it back.
Ethics June 11th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, as I just said, obviously the status quo in the Senate is unacceptable. That is why the Auditor General came in and examined the expenses. He submitted a report, and the Senate is taking action on that.
As I said yesterday, Canadians do not differentiate. When parliamentarians abuse their money deliberately, they want some recourse. There are 68 members of that caucus who owe three times as much as the Auditor General identified in the Senate report. It is absolutely inappropriate. Starting with their leader, who owes $400,000, they should repay the money they owe Canadians.
Ethics June 11th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, that question just highlights that it is not only the Liberals who are incapable of ever governing this country again and that their leader is in over his head; it is the entire NDP caucus.
It is called a G7, where the world's most powerful nations come together to talk about the economy, come together to talk about security. Our Prime Minister was there leading the G7 with respect to improving the economy and fighting ISIL terrorism. We are proud of that, and we will continue to do that job on behalf of Canadians.
Ethics June 11th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, as you know, it was the Senate that invited the Auditor General in. He has tabled his report, and of course, we expect the Senate to listen to those recommendations and implement them.
As we all know, the status quo in the Senate is not acceptable. That is why we have fought to bring openness and transparency into the Senate. The Supreme Court, in its wisdom, has suggested that we need the unanimous support of the provinces to move forward with any reform. We anxiously await that.
Ethics June 10th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, we are standing up for Canadian taxpayers every single day. I will not defend people who deliberately misuse taxpayers dollars, whether they are a member of the Senate or whether they are a member of the House of Commons.
Canadians deserve better, and with this government they always get better. However, it is up to that member and that caucus to explain why, when specifically asked on September 22 where these offices would be, whether they would be in Ottawa in Montreal, they said, specifically, that they would be in Ottawa, but instead funnelled it to the illegal office in Montreal.
Canadians deserve better from everybody, including those 68 members who owe money.
Ethics June 10th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the absolute nerve of that member to get up and talk about defending the Canadian taxpayer when there are 68 members of his caucus who owe the Canadian taxpayer three times as much as has been identified in the auditor's report.
I will not stand up to try to protect anybody who has deliberately used taxpayers' money inappropriately, and I certainly will not defend the members of the NDP caucus who owe $2.7 million to taxpayers.
It is up to you to tell Canadian taxpayers why you refuse—
Ethics June 10th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I have already answered that on a number of occasions. The Auditor General made some important recommendations. We expect that the Senate will follow those recommendations, and it has indicated that it will do that.
At the same time, Canadians work very hard for the money they make and the money they send to this place and to the other place. When that money is deliberately abused, I am not going to stand up and defend that, nor should that member. He should work with the other 67 members of his caucus to repay the $2.7 million they owe instead of spending the entire summer squished into the defendant's box trying to argue with Canadians about why they refuse to pay it back. Pay back the money you owe.
Ethics June 10th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, this is a member who owes the taxpayers $122,000, because he supported an illegal office in Montreal. We know that he knows how to write cheques. We know that because he wrote 29 separate cheques to the separatist party in Quebec.
He can do the right thing by saving one of those cheques and writing it for $122,000 to the Receiver General of Canada for his portion of the $2.7 million the NDP owes the taxpayer. I am not sure if the Receiver General takes a credit card or PayPal, but he should pay back all of the money he owes.
Ethics June 10th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I have already answered that on a number of occasions. We welcome the report of the Auditor General. He has made a number of important recommendations, and we expect that the Senate will follow those recommendations.
At the same time, it is incumbent upon the NDP to do the right thing as well. There are some 68 members of that caucus who owe $2.7 million. The member for Compton—Stanstead owes $142,548 and is refusing to pay it back. The member for Toronto—Danforth funnelled money to an illegal office in Montreal for some reason. He spent $1,288.
They should all pay that back.