House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2006, with 48% of the vote.
Canada Steamship Lines February 5th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, first of all let us understand that what we are talking about is the compilation of the numbers. The fact is that an enormous amount of information about the numbers was on the Public Works' website and had been there for a long period of time. The real fact of the matter is that a lot of that information was incredibly ancient because it went back to a period before I even entered cabinet.
Canada Steamship Lines February 5th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, as soon as I was in a position to do something, I pushed immediately to have a complete exposition of all of the numbers. As a result of that, the most comprehensive set of numbers probably of any set of contracts has been prepared by the government. I did so immediately I was in a position to do so.
Canada Steamship Lines February 4th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, CSL is a Canadian company, headquartered in Montreal. The vast majority of its employees are Canadians. The vast majority of its vessels are Canadian. This is very clear. If there is anyone who has fought against tax havens on the international level, it is I. We have debated this issue here in this House, I have debated it at the OECD, and I will continue to debate it.
Canada Steamship Lines February 4th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the question is, why is the Leader of the Opposition afraid of having the Auditor General review this matter? Why is he against openness and transparency?
Let me just say that in addition to asking the Auditor General to do this, I have also asked that all future dealings with the company will be posted on the website so Canadians can view this.
The Leader of the Opposition may not believe in openness and transparency, but Canadians do and so do I.
Canada Steamship Lines February 4th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, it is very difficult to understand that kind of an allegation against the integrity of the Auditor General.
Let me just say that yesterday I offered to refer this matter to the Auditor General. I am pleased to say that I spoke to her this morning. I have asked her to review the matter. I have also asked her to review whether the answers provided by the government to Question No. 37 on the Order Paper were satisfactory based on the information the government possessed. I also asked her to review whether the solutions in terms of the future, which were suggested by the House leader, were satisfactory.
Canada Steamship Lines February 3rd, 2004
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, I have had no involvement with this company, and indeed anybody who signs one of these blind management agreements has no such involvement. Under those circumstances, when one signs the declaration, it is prepared by the ethics commissioner's department and one basically signs it on that basis. The hon. member knows that.
Now I have made the offer. If the hon. member has doubts about the veracity of the procedures that were followed, I am quite prepared to ask the Auditor General to look at that. If that is what the hon. member wants, all he has to do is take us up on the offer.
Health February 3rd, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's position is very similar to that which Commissioner Romanow himself set out, which is we cannot cherry-pick. We have to look at the entire Romanow Report.
When we talk about the Romanow gap, which is after all a financial target, then we have to look at the wide range of recommendations made by Mr. Romanow. That is why the health accord between the provinces and the federal government is so important.
Health February 3rd, 2004
Mr. Speaker, at the meeting with the provincial prime ministers and the territorial leaders there was extensive discussion of health care. We agreed that we would meet again this summer on essentially the whole question of sustainability, financing and reform.
At the same time, there will be a meeting of finance ministers within the months to come, and many of the health ministers.
We made it very clear that the entire health accord, as agreed to between the provinces and the federal government, is an incredible priority for us. Home care and the other issues are a very important part of that.
Health February 3rd, 2004
Mr. Speaker, not only did the previous government invest $35 billion into health services, but we have just confirmed another $2 billion. We did that last week. The amount of $37 billion, to me, is real money.
Health February 3rd, 2004
Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that, given the aging population and the new technologies, more funding will be needed for health care.
The leader of the opposition ought not to downplay the importance of indicators. All experts in the country have made it clear that, taking the matter of waiting lists as an example, we need the ability to gauge the situation with indicators. These are very important; all the experts agree.