Paul Calandra

[Ethics, March 4th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP report was very clear. It stated that the Prime Minister had no inkling of Mr. Wright and Mr. Duffy's plan. The Prime Minister also said that if he had known about the plan, he would have put an end to it immediately.

[Ethics, March 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, again, the documents released by the RCMP quite clearly indicate that the Prime Minister did not know of this. At the same time, these very same documents outlined quite clearly the extent to which the Prime Minister went to make sure that all information was made available, including waivers from all of the staff. All emails were turned over.

We are working with the RCMP to make sure that all the facts on this are known. We went even further, by making sure that these three senators were suspended and that there are new accountability measures in the Senate. That is the type of action Canadians expect, and that is what they will continue to get from this government.

[Ethics, March 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has already confirmed the fact, and said to the House, that he told Senator Duffy, in fact all of caucus, that any ineligible expenses should be repaid immediately. It is a standard that we expect on this side of the House. It is a standard that Canadians expect.

When that was not done, we went further to make sure that these senators were suspended from the Senate without pay. Again, I think that was the right decision. That was the decision that Canadians expected.

[Ethics, March 3rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told Senator Duffy that he to repay any ineligible expenses, and he told that to the entire caucus. The report issued by the RCMP also quite clearly indicates that the Prime Minister did not know of the scheme that was being put forward by Mr. Wright and Mr. Duffy. As the Prime Minister said, had he known, he would have put a stop to it immediately.

[Ethics, February 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, right from the beginning this government has always talked about how important it is to maintain the highest ethical standards, and it is a standard that the Prime Minister has maintained right from the beginning.

That is why one of the first acts that we brought forward was the Accountability Act. We passed that through the House to take out the corruption, the influence of big unions and big money, in the system.

We know now that the NDP leader is throwing in the towel. He is prepared to enter into a tax-and-spend coalition led by a Liberal leader who thinks that the budget simply balances itself. We will make sure that never happens and that Canadians can have a good, competent government for a very long time.

[Ethics, February 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the three auditors appeared before a Senate committee and confirmed that the report was kept completely confidential and that senators and the House could have confidence in the report they tabled.

[Ethics, February 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the answer is the same in French. The three auditors confirmed that the report was confidential.

At the same time, senators and the House can have confidence in the report that was tabled.

[Ethics, February 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said and as the Prime Minister has already said, these three auditors appeared before a Senate committee and they verified that the work they had done could be held in the highest of confidence and that the Senate could accept these reports confident that they had done their work without interference.

[Business of Supply, February 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, it was interesting to hear the member for Malpeque talk about democracy, because he ran for a party that made a whole host of promises and then systematically, one by one, turned its back on every single promise that it made to the Canadian people. I do not recall the member, who was also a cabinet minister, standing up for democracy or standing up for what he told the Canadian people in advance.

However, the member was talking about the filibuster at committee. Could he expand on this and explain how many people the committee has actually heard since the bill has been before us and why we are not hearing from witnesses?

Canadians give us $500 million a year. That is what it costs to run this place and send members of Parliament back home every single weekend. I wonder if the hon. member could tell me some of the steps he is taking in his riding to engage the people in his riding and hear what they are saying on the bill. Could he expand further on what the filibuster is and why the opposition members are so desperate to stop the committee hearings and prevent it from hearing from people such as the former chief electoral officer, who gave this bill an A minus?

[Business of Supply, February 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, on the same point of order, I know that you will no doubt remain consistent in your ruling, especially in light of earlier comments by both Liberal and NDP members with respect to this motion and their speaking notes.