Paul Calandra

[41st General Election, November 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I just said in response to an earlier question, we are continuing to assist with this investigation. We believe, on this side of the House of course, that any individual who is found responsible for this should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

We also believe, on this side of the House, that when we make a promise, we keep that promise. Unfortunately, the member over there does not believe the same thing. When he went to his constituents and promised to vote in favour of taking away the long gun registry, he came in the House and did the exact opposite. Promise made, promise kept, that is not the same standard.

[Ethics, November 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we have answered that question on a number of occasions. As I have said, we are continuing to assist the authorities.

What this is about is the fact that these three senators and disgraced former Liberal senator, Mac Harb, accepted payments that they did not incur. They need to be held accountable for those actions.

At the same time, we are continuing to work on all of the priorities that Canadians think are important: jobs and economic growth. That is important to Canadians, as is law and order and putting the victims of crime first.

The Minister of National Defence deployed Canada's DART team in record time. When it comes to the issues that matter to Canadians, we are on top of the file.

[Ethics, November 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said on a number of occasions, we are continuing to assist the authorities.

[Ethics, November 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, again, the Prime Minister's Office is not under any investigation. We are continuing to assist the authorities on this matter.

[Ethics, November 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, no. As the Prime Minister said, it is not, but we are continuing to assist authorities. We do believe it is very important that we assist authorities, as we have said right from the beginning.

What this is really about is accountability in the Senate. Senator Mike Duffy and three other senators accepted expenses that they did not incur. Canadian people wanted accountability, and that is why the senators brought forward a motion that suspended these three senators.

We will continue to assist and move forward with other plans to reform the Senate and give Canadians an accountable Senate that they can be proud of.

[Ethics, November 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we have said right from the beginning that we would assist investigators in any way that we could. At the same time, this is an affair between Senator Duffy and Nigel Wright. Senator Duffy tried to justify expenses that he did not incur, which he should not have, and Nigel Wright repaid expenses without telling the Canadian people that was the way this transaction occurred.

The Prime Minister has been very clear: had he known that this took place, he would have in no way accepted such an arrangement. It is only the Liberals right now in the House who are standing up for these three disgraced senators. We will stand up for the taxpayer.

[Ethics, November 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, here is another parliamentary tough guy who, in the confines of this room, will make all kinds of allegations knowing that he is covered by immunity, but when he comes outside of the chamber is afraid to say anything.

Let us be very clear. These three senators and the disgraced former Liberal senator are not the victims here. The victims are the Canadian taxpayers who footed the bill for expenses that these senators did not incur.

The other victims, of course, are those who want to see an accountable Senate and know that it was the Liberals who stood in the way of accountability in the Senate by fighting so hard for the status quo in the Senate.

We will fight for change and we will always respect taxpayers on this side of the House.

[Ethics, November 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, what is very clear is that Nigel Wright has taken full and sole responsibility for this matter. He acted on his own. He used his own resources to pay.

What is also important is that Senator Duffy went in front of Canadians and told them that he actually had taken a mortgage out on his home to repay those expenses. It was inappropriate for Senator Duffy to accept expenses that he did not incur; it was also inappropriate for Nigel Wright to repay those expenses. That is why the Senate, thankfully, passed a motion that suspended these three senators and that is why the courts, I suspect, will be taking further action not only with these senators but with others.

It is only the Liberals who protect the status quo in the Senate.

[41st General Election, November 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as we have said, we will continue to assist with the investigation on this matter. We are working closely with Elections Canada and providing any assistance we can.

At the same time, we believe that those who are found responsible should be held and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. That is what we believe on this side of the House, and we are going to continue to assist Elections Canada in this effort.

[Ethics, November 18th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said on a number of occasions in the House, when Senator Duffy approached the Prime Minister to try to justify his inappropriate expenses, the Prime Minister told Senator Duffy that he needed to repay those expenses.

Moreover, Senator Duffy went on TV and told Canadians, and all of us, that he had actually taken a mortgage out on his home and repaid those expenses. We know that not to be true. We also know that it was Nigel Wright who repaid those expenses. We know that if the Prime Minister had known about this scheme, he would in no way have approved of such a plan.

Mr. Wright is prepared to accept the consequences of those actions, and we are assisting in any way that we can.