Paul Calandra

[Ethics, October 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, you know how fond I am of a story. Let me tell the House another story about my father.

My father owned a pizza store. He worked 16 to 18 hours a day. I can tell the House what my father would not have done if he saw somebody stealing from his cash register. He would not have said “You are suspended, but make sure you come back every two weeks and collect a paycheque”. What he would have said, “You're fired, leave”, and he would have called the police.

That is the standard my father expected, that is the standard we expect on this side of the House and that is the standard that Canadians expect. It is only the Liberals who expect a different standard.

[Ethics, October 28th, 2013]

The hon member for Saanich—Gulf Islands is rising on a point of order.

[Ethics, October 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I have already answered that. However, since I have a little extra time on my hands, I want to tell the House a little story that my kids love to hear. It is the story of angry Tom and the three chairs. Angry Tom tried the first chair. It was a Liberal chair. He did not like it because it was too corrupt. He tried the Conservative chair, but he knew that they would never accept 17 years without telling the truth about a potential bribe. He tried the last chair, the NDP not accountable, beholding to the big union bosses—

[Ethics, October 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister has stated on a number of occasions, Mr. Wright will receive what is required under the law.

[Ethics, October 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, on February 13, the Prime Minister was very clear to the caucus, which included senators, members of Parliament and senior staff, that if they had any inappropriate expenses, they should pay them back. If they did not, they could not expect to be sitting in the Conservative caucus.

That is the high standard we expect on this side of the House. That is the high standard Canadians expect. It is only the New Democrats and the Liberals who do not expect that same high standard. They are so busy fighting for the status quo that they have forgotten that the real bosses here are the Canadian taxpayers.

[Ethics, October 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that the member has only been here for a couple of years, but the Senate does undertake its activities independently.

[Ethics, October 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I know this hon. member is quite often confused, because when he took his seat in Parliament he took an oath that he would fight for a stronger united Canada. At the same time, he went back to his province and started making donations, not once, not twice, and I could go all the way up to 29 times, to a party that would break up this country. That is what one would call a big flip-flop.

While we are over here fighting for Canadian jobs, he is donating to break up the country. While we are fighting for freer trade, he is donating to break up the country. That is the type of leadership he wants to get in this House and brag about. I think not.

[Ethics, October 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, again, as we have said right from the beginning, the Senate is in charge of its own affairs. At the same time, the Prime Minister has been very clear, as has a majority of the Conservative caucus, that we expect these senators to be accountable, to apologize to the Canadian people and to repay their expenses, and we would also like the Senate to pass this motion that would see them suspended without pay. That is the standard Canadians expect, and that is the standard we are trying to give them, if the Liberals would only get out of the way and let us do that.

[Ethics, October 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I have to say that one would think this member would just erase the number 29 from his head. Now that he has laid it out there, it would probably be an appropriate time for me to remind him why he does not want to talk about 29, but I am not going to, because what Canadians want to talk about is an accountable Senate. That is what they want to talk about. Unfortunately, the Liberals in the Senate are standing in the way of accountability. The NDP are flip-flopping all over the place when it comes to the Senate.

Canadians know one thing. When it comes to accountable, open, honest government, it is the Conservatives who always provide that.

[Ethics, October 28th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said a number of times in the House, Nigel Wright has accepted accountability for what he has done. Nigel Wright, of course, no longer works in the office of the Prime Minister.