Peter MacKay

[Ethics, October 28th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has returned to quite a mess from his final farewell tour.

As health minister at the time, the industry minister clearly violated the rules by accepting an invitation from Paul Zed, an Irving family member, who was lobbying Health Canada on the very file that the then minister of health was handling, the tobacco labelling law which was part of the government's tobacco strategy.

I say to the Prime Minister, the facts are now proven. The jury is in; the minister is guilty. When will the Prime Minister finally do the right thing and fire his industry minister?

[Ethics, October 28th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister returned to quite a mess from his final farewell--

[Ethics, October 24th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I will take no lectures from a former junior rat packer who while in opposition used to care about responsible government. I will take no lessons from a Deputy Prime Minister who stands in this House day after day and defends the corrupt, sleazy actions on behalf of cabinet ministers that cost Canadian taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

In the absence of leadership from the Prime Minister, when will the Deputy Prime Minister step forward, show some leadership and ask the industry minister to resign?

[Ethics, October 24th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the fact remains that the ethics counsellor has not a shred of credibility with Canadians or with members of the opposition certainly and, I suspect, members of the government.

The Minister of Industry since 1993 filed six gift declarations. He had to understand the provisions of the code of ethics. Yet there is a suspicious eight year gap during which he filed nothing.

Why did the Minister of Industry not come forward sooner with this declaration? Why does the Deputy Prime Minister not care about responsible government and ask the Minister of Industry to resign?

[Ethics, October 24th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday for the first time the Minister of Industry finally admitted freely that he accepted a free gift by going fishing at the Irving fishing lodge. A forced, half-hearted, eleventh hour apology is simply not good enough.

I ask the Deputy Prime Minister, does he still care about integrity in government? Has he intervened on behalf of Canadians, and when will the Minister of Industry be asked to resign?

[Ethics, October 22nd, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, how many scandals? Let me count the number: the former public works minister and chateau Boulay; the former defence minister and his contracting gal pal; the Prime Minister and Shawinigate; and now the industry minister's favours for fishing vacation. Those are just a few examples of the rampant level of mismanagement, misrepresentation and corruption in the government.

The rot in the government is running deep. Ministers of the crown should not accept gifts from corporations.

What part of a blatant conflict of interest does the minister not understand?

[Ethics, October 22nd, 2003]

Sadly, Mr. Speaker, Canadians do not share that confidence. The growing list of ministers racking up travel miles on corporate jets is disturbing for most Canadians, and it should be. Unlike members of the government, opposition members of Parliament do not sit at the cabinet table, nor do they decide government policies.

Corporations should not finance vacations for cabinet ministers. This is a clear breach of ethics guidelines. The Prime Minister knows that. His puppet ethics counsellor should know that as he is paid to know it. Surely the Minister of Industry knows that.

When will he resign?

[Ethics, October 21st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, after checking with an independent broker in New Brunswick on the cost of the industry minister's trip to the Irving fishing lodge, it was revealed that the cost of a private jet to New Brunswick was $19,000, the cost of staying at a luxury resort for a couple of days, $2,000, the cost of a New Brunswick salmon fishing licence, if he bought one, $40.25, and the savings to the Canadian taxpayer if the minister resigns, priceless. When will the Minister of Industry do the right thing and tender his resignation?

[Ethics, October 21st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, shortly after the resignation of the public works minister over his weekend jaunt to chateau Boulay, the Minister of Industry jetted over to see the ethics counsellor to find out how he could cover his tracks of his extravagant escapade to the palatial Irving fishing lodge.

The former minister of public works was relieved of his duties because he violated the code of ethics. The industry minister has done the identical thing. He is in a clear conflict of interest.

Why then does the Prime Minister simply not fire the Minister of Industry for having committed an identical breach?

[Auditor General's Report, October 20th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I can tell by the look in the Deputy Prime Minister's eyes that he and his Liberal colleagues are united in fright.

It took eight hours to buy two planes for the Prime Minister: eight hours, 10 years and no decision on Sea King helicopters. What a shocking, self-serving, disgraceful abuse of public office.

Will the Prime Minister amend the Auditor General Act to allow her to present her report if Parliament shuts early, or is the Prime Minister so obsessed with saddling his replacement with this scandal that he will hold back on the truth?