Paul Calandra

[Ethics, June 9th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, there is only one taxpayer, and it does not matter whether it is senators or members of Parliament; when they abuse the taxpayers, they should pay that money back. That is why I encourage the member for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot to repay the $30,023. The member for Outremont, the Leader of the Opposition, owes $400,000 to the Canadian taxpayer.

Standing up for the taxpayer is what we have done since day one, and we will continue to do it. Whether it is a senator or a member of Parliament, they should pay back the $2.7 million they owe.

[Ethics, June 9th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, it is very clear that when Canadian taxpayers' money is abused, they expect actions to be taken. That is what we have been fighting for since we were elected in 2006.

The member does not seem to understand that there is only one taxpayer. Maybe the member and the caucus should look at the people in the gallery who send their money here and expect it to be used wisely, and explain to them why they refuse to pay back the $2.7 million.

Why does the member for Chicoutimi—Le Fjord refuse to pay back the $28,152? Why does the member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine not pay back the $169,000—

[Ethics, June 9th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we had speaker after speaker from the NDP, and not one of them admitted it. Not until the very end, when they were asked how they would actually reform the Senate, did they actually admit they would have a constitutional conference and they would ultimately have a referendum.

That is not the priority of Canadians. We know there is not unanimous support to modify the Senate. What we are going to continue to do is focus on jobs and economic growth.

In the meantime, I am going to see if I could get the member for LaSalle—Émard to pay back the $27,866 she owes, and the member for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles to pay back the $29,845. The member for Brossard—La Prairie could help us out by repaying the—

[Ethics, June 9th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, we will not open up the Constitution and engage in constitutional battles, which would culminate in a referendum, as the NDP is proposing.

The member could help me, if she would have the member for Louis-Hébert repay the $31,000 he owes, the member for Beauport—Limoilou repay the $31,000 he owes, the member for Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles pay the $35,000 she owes, the member for Scarborough Southwest repay the $141,567 he owes, the member for Louis-Saint-Laurent pay back—

[Ethics, June 9th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, we welcome the Auditor General's report, and we expect that the Senate will follow the recommendations of the report.

However, the height of arrogance is coming from the NDP right now. There are 68 members of the NDP who owe $2.7 million to the Canadian taxpayer. They are being taken to court to repay that $2.7 million, and they have refused to do it.

They should do the right thing: repay the taxpayers the $2.7 million they owe them. We will continue to focus on jobs and economic growth.

[Ethics, June 9th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, we have put a number of reforms on the table. It is now up to the Council of the Federation to take a look at those reforms. What we will not do, of course, is reopen the Constitution and set Canada on this course, which would culminate in a referendum. This is what the NDP has suggested it would do. That is not what we will do. We will continue to focus on jobs and economic growth.

At the same time, the Auditor General has come forward with some recommendations. We hope the Senate will follow those recommendations, and we hope the New Democrats will do the right thing for taxpayers, and refund the $2.7 million they owe them.

[Ethics, June 9th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, we know what the NDP agenda is with respect to the Senate. The New Democrats said yesterday that they want to hold a referendum and open up the Constitution. They said it was their priority to open up the Constitution, hold negotiations, and ultimately have a referendum. That is not the priority of Canadians. The priority of Canadians is that we continue to focus on jobs and economic growth. That is what we will continue to do.

At the same time, Canadians want their money to be used wisely. There are 68 members of that caucus who owe Canadians close to $3 million, and I hope they will repay the Canadian taxpayers the money they owe them.

[Ethics, June 9th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, we obviously expect that the Senate will implement the recommendations of the Auditor General.

However, the member of Parliament opposite who just asked the question owes the Canadian taxpayer $27,000. Members of the NDP think it is funny to owe the taxpayers $2.7 million. The Canadian taxpayers do not think it is funny because they work too hard for the money they send to us. They expect it to be used in a responsible fashion, and when it is not, they expect it to be repaid. Therefore, the NDP members could do the right thing. They should look at the Auditor General's report, do the right thing for taxpayers, and pay back the millions of dollars—

[Ethics, June 9th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, as members know, the Auditor General has released his report. Just today it was tabled in the Senate. It was the Senate that called in the Auditor General to review its expenses, and we expect that it will implement the recommendations of the Auditor General.

At the same time, what is clear is that deliberate misuse of taxpayer dollars is completely unacceptable. There is one taxpayer and, whether it is a member of Parliament or a Senator, Canadians expect their money to be used wisely. There are 68 members of the NDP caucus who deliberately misused taxpayers' dollars to the tune of $2.7 million. That is three times the amount the Auditor General identified in the Senate, and they should pay that money back.

[Ethics, June 9th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, my understanding is that the Auditor General has made some recommendations, and we expect that the Senate will follow those recommendations.

At the same time, we know that it is a priority of the NDP to hold a referendum with respect to the Constitution. It is ironic, since the member opposite has written 29 separate cheques to a separatist party. This is the NDP that wants to open up the Constitution and have a referendum, with that particular separatist member as its lead.

I think not. We will continue to focus on jobs and economic growth and trying to get back the $2.7 million that they owe the Canadian taxpayer.