Paul Calandra

[Ethics, November 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, of course, as I have mentioned on a number of occasions, we are assisting the authorities on this matter. At the same time, I was glad to hear that, finally, Senator Duffy is co-operating with the RCMP. He might also take the opportunity to cut a cheque to the Canadian taxpayer for the thousands of dollars in expenses that he owes the Canadian people.

At the same time, I hope that the Liberals will reflect on this and try to put Canadians first, and when it comes to protecting the status quo in the Senate, maybe think twice and get on board with some of the reforms that our minister of democratic reform has brought forward with respect to the Senate.

[Ethics, November 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, again, I, like many other Canadians, saw Mike Duffy go on TV and say that he took out a loan to repay those inappropriate expenses. We obviously learnt that was not true on May 15 when it was reported in the media. At the same time, the Prime Minister said he expected more from his staff.

Nigel Wright has accepted sole and full responsibility for this. He is prepared to accept the consequences of that decision. I hope that Mike Duffy will do the same. He is the only one who has not paid a dime back of any expenses, and he should do that.

[Ethics, November 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, let me review the timeline again for the hon. member.

On February 13, Senator Duffy approached the Prime Minister to justify his inappropriate expenses. The Prime Minister told Senator Duffy that he had to repay those expenses. He also told the rest of our caucus, including the senators, that if we had inappropriate expenses, we had better pay them back, because that is not something we would support in our caucus.

After Mr. Duffy went on TV and said he had repaid expenses by taking out a Royal Bank loan, we then learned, as all Canadians did, that what Mr. Duffy had said was not true. We also know that Nigel Wright repaid those expenses by using his own resources. He has accepted full responsibility for doing that and is prepared to accept the consequences.

[Ethics, November 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I think I have already answered that, but let me just quote the Liberal leader last night at his fundraiser. Not only did he insult millions of women across the country, but when asked what type of administration he admires, he talked about admiring a dictatorship because “...their basic dictatorship is allowing them to actually turn their economy around on a dime and say 'we need to go green fastest' ”.

Let me get this straight. He has talked about policy. He supports the status quo in the Senate. He supports dictatorship. He wants a carbon tax and he wants to legalize marijuana.

[Ethics, November 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, of course there are a number of lawyers in that caucus who have illegal campaign bills that they refuse to pay. I hope the member will be referring that matter to the Minister of Justice.

We have been very clear. We will continue to assist authorities in this matter.

It is very interesting today. I was criticized for saying that the Liberal leader has been muzzled by his own party, but now I learn why he is muzzled by his own party. Last night, when he was asked what other kind of administration he admires, he stood up for a dictatorship. Why? It is because they can force things through, and if they need to go green, they can go green faster. That is the—

[Ethics, November 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, Nigel Wright was very clear on the people he brought into his confidence with respect to this matter. We are continuing to assist officials in their investigation.

At the same time, we know that the Liberals stood very firmly behind the status quo in the Senate. It is a shame that they did that. On this side of the House, we are going to stand up for Canadian taxpayers. That is why we fought so hard to have the Senate pass this motion. I am proud of the fact that at least Conservatives in the Senate took Canadian taxpayers' desires very seriously and stripped these three senators of their pay.

Again Liberals have proven that they are entitled to their entitlements and that nothing will stand in the way of that.

[Ethics, November 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, just to advise the member, there was an audit completed in the Senate that outlined some of the very troubling expenses that Senator Wallin, Senator Duffy, and Senator Brazeau undertook.

We have been very clear that inappropriate expenses need to be repaid. At the same time, Canadians have been very clear that they want accountability. That is why a motion was passed in the Senate to strip these three senators of their pay.

We are the only party in this House that seems to want to stand up for Canadian taxpayers. I am glad that at least the Conservatives in the Senate took this motion very seriously and stripped these three senators of their pay.

[Ethics, November 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said on a number of occasions in the House, our party, like all parties in this House, does offer assistance to its members who are in good standing if they require some legal assistance.

The Leader of the Opposition accepted the same type of assistance from his party, with one exception: he had the judgment paid for. Thousands of dollars in legal fees were paid for, and the judgment.

That is not something we do on this side of the House, but as is the case with every other party, if a member in good standing requires assistance, we are there to help.

[Ethics, November 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, let me outline the timeline.

On February 13, when Senator Duffy came to the Prime Minister to try to justify his inappropriate expenses, the Prime Minister told him he had to repay those inappropriate expenses. Mr. Duffy then went on TV, suggesting he had done that with a loan from RBC. We later learned that was not true.

On May 15, we, along with Canadians, learned that it was actually Nigel Wright who paid those expenses. That was inappropriate. Nigel Wright has accepted responsibility for doing that and is prepared to accept the consequences.

At the same time, we would hope that Senator Duffy would actually pay back Canadians. At this point he is the only one who has yet to pay back a dime.

[Ethics, November 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I want to be very clear. The Prime Minister's Office is not under investigation, but of course we are assisting with the RCMP in this matter.