House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2019, with 34% of the vote.
Business of the House November 22nd, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the government House leader has recently departed from the practice of giving the House leaders at least two weeks notice in terms of the government's business. He is now restricting that notice to just one week.
I wonder if the government House leader could be just a little bit more forthcoming, not with his gratuitous embellishment of the content of legislation but simply and plainly indicating to the House what he intends to call in what order over the next two weeks.
Points of Order November 21st, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I have a point of order arising out of question period. I have just obtained the preliminary Hansard from question period to verify the point that I have in mind, which I would like to raise at this time.
In question period, a number of questions were addressed to the government House leader with respect to the issue of redistribution of seats in the House of Commons and, particularly, the impact upon Ontario.
In response to the Leader of the Opposition, the government House leader at one point said, “When he”, that is the Leader of the Opposition, “was in cabinet they introduced bills twice to deal with redistribution and never once proposed increasing a single seat” with respect to Ontario.
That is factually incorrect. In 1996-97, four more seats were added for Ontario and two for British Columbia. In 2003-04, three more seats were added for Ontario, two for Alberta and two more for British Columbia.
Now that the government House leader knows that seats were indeed added for Ontario, I think he will want to correct the record now that he knows he misspoke.
Foreign Affairs November 21st, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the whip for the NDP has made an eminently important point. I think we should also consider the beneficial effect that that action would have in reducing greenhouse gases.
Points of Order November 20th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, obviously the Leader of the Opposition is not in the House at the moment. He will clearly review Hansard to examine the words that were spoken.
The fact of the matter is we have on many occasions pointed out the gross inconsistencies between what the Conservative government said last spring and what court documents revealed to be true at the time. It will be important to examine the exact record to determine where the truth lies.
The Grey Cup November 19th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I rise to warn the House that Toronto will be invaded this coming weekend. Rabid football fans from across the Prairies will be heading to Toronto where, for the first time, two prairie teams will be fighting for the biggest prize in Canadian football, the Grey Cup.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers prevailed over the Toronto Argonauts yesterday to win the east, despite losing its starting quarterback.
In the west, the Saskatchewan Roughriders pulled out a stunning victory over British Columbia. Hundreds of fans welcomed them back in Regina at 1:30 this morning.
The rider nation is now set to demonstrate green and white support on the national stage using all the usual tools: painted faces, flags, hats, costumes, even a few watermelon helmets. And against Winnipeg, there will probably be a few banjos too.
This game has all the hallmarks of a classic. There are only three words left to say: Go Riders Go.
Business of the House November 15th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, in view of the designation which the government House leader has just made that next week will be a resumption of its tackling crime initiative and will designate the week as a week to tackle crime, I wonder if the government would consider a take note debate at some point next week with respect to the Mulroney-Schreiber matter?
Business of the House November 15th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the government House leader would indicate his proposed work program through to the end of next week.
He has indicated informally to House leaders what he intends to pursue on Monday and Tuesday of next week, but he has not provided any further detail beyond that. I wonder if he could inform the House of his intentions.
Airbus November 15th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the question was whether Mr. Mulroney complied with the law.
The Mulroney-Schreiber issue reignited in the media only days after the government came into power. There are damning letters in the Prime Minister's Office, but the paper trail is hidden.
Ministers deliberately refused to be briefed. A justice department review was started and then suddenly stopped. Some ministers consult Mr. Mulroney daily. He has numerous personal encounters with the Prime Minister. Was Mr. Schreiber ever discussed?
Will the Prime Minister change the mandate to include specifically whether the government was involved in a cover-up?
Airbus November 15th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, it is not Dr. Johnston's credibility that is at stake here; it is the Prime Minister's.
Dr. Johnston has been hired to look only at Mulroney-Schreiber financial dealings, nothing more. He cannot examine Privy Council officials or political staff about the paper trail into the Prime Minister 's Office. That would be beyond his mandate. He cannot find out who ordered the justice department to stop a fresh investigation, which the department began last year, because that would be beyond his mandate.
What is the government so afraid that he will find?
Airbus November 15th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister wants to limit the political fallout from the Mulroney-Schreiber affair, so he prevents Dr. Johnston from investigating the behaviour of the Conservative government over the last 22 months.
The terms of reference for Dr. Johnston include only specific financial dealings between Mr. Mulroney and Mr. Schreiber. They do not include any negligence, wilful blindness, interference, invasion or concealment by the Prime Minister, his office, his ministers or Conservative insiders.
Why did the Prime Minister exempt himself from this investigation?