Paul Calandra

[Ethics, October 25th, 2013]

Again, Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister addressed this in July. Nigel Wright, in his court filings, identified the people who he brought into his confidence on this matter.

This is an issue between Senator Duffy, who should repay the expenses that he did not incur, and Nigel Wright, who understands that what he did was wrong. He has accepted responsibility for that and is ready to accept the consequences of that. Unfortunately, Senators Duffy, Brazeau and Wallin have not taken the same responsibility. That is why we are bringing a motion forward in the Senate to remove them from the Senate, to have their pay stripped. Unfortunately, Liberal senators are standing in the way of that. They need to pass that immediately.

[Ethics, October 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, what is clear here is the high standard that this Prime Minister expects of Conservative members of Parliament and our senators. He has made it very clear. If members have inappropriate expenses, if they claim expenses that they did not incur, they must repay those expenses. That is the standard that Canadians expect. It is, unfortunately, apparently not the standard that the NDP or Liberals expect.

I would call on them now to work with us to make sure that the suspension vote in the Senate passes immediately. Stop this obstructing. Have the Liberal senators stop obstructing and pass this immediately.

[Ethics, October 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has been of the same view: do not accept a payment for an expense was not incurred. He has said that in the House. It is a standard that we expect on this side of the House. He said to our caucus and senior staff that if there is an issue with expenses, they need to repay those expenses and if they do not make that right, they will sit outside of this caucus. That is the standard that we expect on this side of the House.

Contrast that to the Liberals, who would have been prepared to invite back disgraced Senator Mac Harb, or the leader of the opposition, who waited 17 years to tell police about a bribe he got. We expect more on this side of the House and so do Canadians.

[Ethics, October 25th, 2013]

Again, Mr. Speaker, I will be very clear. I like standing on this point because the Prime Minister was very clear. When he was approached by Senator Duffy, who tried to justify these inappropriate expenses, the Prime Minister said to him, “Repay those expenses”. Senator Duffy then went on TV and said that he repaid those expenses by taking out a mortgage on his home. That was not right and when we found that out, he was removed from the Conservative caucus because, as the Prime Minister said, we expect a higher standard on this side of the House. We cannot expect our colleagues to support us when we do not live up to that standard and disrespect taxpayers' money.

[Ethics, October 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister was very clear. On February 13 when Senator Duffy approached him to try to justify these inappropriate expenses, the Prime Minister was very clear. He said, “Repay those expenses”. Senator Duffy then went on TV and issued a press release saying that he had repaid those expenses by taking out a mortgage on his home. This is what he said. Obviously, that did not happen.

What Nigel Wright did was inappropriate. He is accepting responsibility for his actions. Senator Duffy should do the exact same thing, as should Senator Brazeau and Senator Wallin. The opposition needs to get out of the way and let us do our job.

[Ethics, October 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat that Nigel Wright, in his filings, identified the people he brought into his confidence here. This is really an issue between Senator Duffy and Nigel Wright.

Senator Duffy accepted payment for expenses that he did not incur. That was wrong. He was told to pay them back. Nigel Wright then paid those expenses back and has accepted responsibility for making that payment.

Now we have an opportunity in the Senate, and the Liberals are obstructing us. They need to get out of the way, respect taxpayers' rights, and help us get these three senators out of—

[Ethics, October 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is very clear that Nigel Wright, in his filings, has identified the individuals whom he brought into his confidence on this matter. What is also clear is that we on this side of the House want this motion respecting taxpayers' rights in the Senate to pass. We want it to pass immediately and we are asking the Liberal senators to stop obstructing it and pass the motion so that we can respect taxpayers' rights, get rid of these three senators, and stop paying them.

That is what Canadian people want us to do, and the Liberals should stop obstructing us.

[Ethics, October 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, again, in his filings Nigel Wright has identified the people that he brought into his confidence on this matter.

More importantly right now, why are the Liberals in the Senate obstructing the passage of this motion, which would see these three senators stripped of their pay? Why do they not get on board in bringing real accountability to the Senate, stand up for taxpayers, stop obstructing the Senate's work, and vote in favour of this motion to respect taxpayers?

[Democratic Reform, October 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear since we were elected in this place that we do not want to appoint senators: we want to elect senators. We want a Senate that is accountable to the people of Canada. It is the NDP that has consistently obstructed us in that matter. When it comes to accountability in the Senate, it is the New Democrats and the Liberals who constantly obstruct us.

We will not appoint any senators if they agree to elect senators.

[Ethics, October 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister said just the other day in this House, Mr. Perrin has actually spoken on this matter. What is also very clear is that Mr. Wright, in filings with the court, identified the people he brought into his confidence on this matter.

Again what is very clear is that when Senator Duffy approached the Prime Ministeron this matter, the Prime Minister told him that he had to repay those expenses. What the Prime Minister also said was that he expected more from the people in his office, and had he been aware of this, there was no way the Prime Minister would have accepted a deal like this.