Paul Martin

[Sponsorship Program, March 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I did not attend the committee meeting this morning, but I can assure the Leader of the Opposition that Liberal members who sit on the committee will assume their responsibilities and that they will do so the way they should, which is by being open and transparent.

[Sponsorship Program, March 23rd, 2004]

In fact, Mr. Speaker, the reason that so much information has been provided, the reason that unprecedented numbers of recent cabinet minutes have been made available, is precisely that Liberal members have exercised their function responsibly. I am very proud of the Liberal members on this committee. They want to get to the bottom of it and we are going to get to the bottom of it.

[Sponsorship Program, March 23rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the government's position has been from the very beginning that all such information, all information that is pertinent, should be made available. That is why we went to the unprecedented step of furnishing the opposition and the committee with cabinet minutes, cabinet minutes which have never been made public before 30 years were up.

[Leader of the Opposition, March 22nd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to congratulate the Leader of the Opposition on his outstanding victory on the weekend. It was an outstanding and well-deserved victory.

This is not the first time that the Leader of the Opposition has been chosen Leader of the Opposition, but it is indeed the first time that I have had the opportunity to congratulate him. I appreciate him coming back for a second time in allowing me to do so.

I also want to say that it was a victory and I have had some experience in this kind of endeavour. It was a victory that was well merited. It was a victory for which the Leader of the Opposition worked very hard and indeed, we all share the enthusiasm that some of the members of his party have for this victory.

I want to say a couple of other things. First, I would like to congratulate his party on the convention. Those of us who watched the convention thought that it was indeed very well run.

As I listened to the speeches of the three candidates, and the number of times that I heard my name being taken in vain, I thought I should have at least received an award for best actor in a supporting role.

This House is where the great national debates take place. The choice of the leader by the new Conservative Party gives us in this House an opportunity now to have those debates in a way that will make this country proud.

Never before, or certainly not in recent years, have the divisions, and the differences of opinion and philosophy between all of the parties in the House been as clear as they are today.

Therefore, I congratulate the new leader. I congratulate him very sincerely and let the debate begin.

[Haiti, March 10th, 2004]

Mr. Chair, very briefly, if I might, a comment, and then I would like to take advantage of the great experience of the former prime minister to ask him a question.

My comment in terms of the departure of Mr. Aristide is this. It is my understanding that the reason he said he was going to stay and then very shortly thereafter decided to go was in fact that apparently his own security force around him melted away. That is the understanding that at least we are given to believe. Canada obviously was not there and we do not have direct knowledge, but that is the way it is put to us.

I think the example of East Timor is a very good one. As the hon. member knows, what happened after about a year and a half is that the population wanted those who were in charge to leave, which is probably the best way to have it happen, to not stay too long under this kind of concept.

My question, however, for the hon. member is this. Given his experience, does he believe that if Canada were to develop and coordinate its great expertise in institution building, whether it be judiciary, police, or how a democracy should in fact operate, this is an area that Canada should invest in far more heavily as part of our overall foreign aid development? There are a number of failed states; we have seen what happened in Liberia. Does he in fact believe that there really is a niche where Canada can play a very important role if we are able to coordinate the skills we have?

[Industry, March 10th, 2004]

That is nonsense, Mr. Speaker. In fact, at the meeting I had with the president a month ago, the two main topics, apart from certain other ones, were in fact mad cow and softwood lumber. Those are the issues that we are working on now.

The hon. member does not seem to understand that if these meetings are going to be successful, we have to work on it. We cannot just stand up in the House of Commons and make empty speeches like the hon. member.

[Industry, March 10th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, a month ago in Monterrey, the president and I had a very successful meeting. I am looking forward to meeting with the president again. In fact, what is happening is that officials in both countries are working on the agenda. The purpose of the meeting is not simply to get together; it is to basically accomplish good things for both our countries. We intend to do that.

[Prime Minister, March 10th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member wants to know why I visited a mall in Saint-Bruno, Quebec. I live in Quebec.

[Prime Minister, March 10th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, it may be the hon. member's vision of this country that the government should stay here in Ottawa, that no member should visit abroad, that the Prime Minister should not reach out and see Canadians. That is certainly not my vision of what this country is all about. Let me simply say--

[Prime Minister, March 10th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that one hears from Canadians from coast to coast to coast, and especially from Canadians in western Canada, is that they want to see the government there. They want to see the Prime Minister there. They want to see ministers there.

I happen to believe that it is the responsibility of the Prime Minister to visit all parts of the country, and I will continue to do that.