Ralph Goodale

[Points of Order, October 24th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, during question period, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services made the accusation that the previous government was “racking up debt”.

I would point out that during our years in office we reduced debt in both percentage and absolute dollar terms. We restored Canada's triple A credit rating and we recorded the best fiscal record in all the G-7 and of any Canadian government since 1867.

[Decorum, October 24th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, in dealing with the horrible slur against women uttered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the government's tactic is obviously to stonewall and deny, deny, deny. Instead of being accountable, they seek to trivialize the matter and pretend it never happened. But it did happen, Mr. Speaker. It was witnessed personally by several members of the House. It was recorded on tape. It was verified in the news media.

I ask the government, does it specifically deny that the Minister of Foreign Affairs last Thursday during question period said, “You already have her”. Did he say that or not?

[Decorum, October 24th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Canada's chief diplomat and our face to the world on issues like human rights, has compromised himself because of his highly publicized slight against women, a slight that is now being reported by international news services. It is condemned by the Canadian Federation of University Women, the National Council of Women, the National Association of Women and the Law, the YWCA, Equal Voice, the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, and many others.

Would it not be better to simply acknowledge the minister's mistake, apologize and distance the government from the implications of this ill-considered remark?

[Canadian Wheat Board, October 23rd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, last week in the other place, in response to a series of questions from a series of senators, the Leader of the Government in the Senate held open the possibility that there would indeed be a democratic plebiscite among farmers having to do with the future of the Canadian Wheat Board.

I wonder if the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food could today formally confirm, and emphatically so, that if the Canadian Wheat Board is to be changed, farmers will have the democratic right to vote on it in advance.

[Decorum, October 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, this incident reveals a demeaning attitude toward members of this House and women in particular. This is not trivial. Sadly, it seems all too typical, typical of bullies, intolerant and vindictive.

The instincts that give rise to this insult are fundamentally inconsistent with the values that make us a respectful and decent people. After depicting a woman as his dog, how can the Minister of Foreign Affairs pretend to promote women's rights in Afghanistan or anywhere else?

[Decorum, October 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, this terribly offensive insult is unmistakable. What is worse, the minister, Canada's chief diplomat, ran from public scrutiny until he could check whether he had been caught by the written Hansard and then he denied the insult, but members of Parliament witnessed it and it was caught on tape.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs is Canada's face to the world. When will the government require this minister to withdraw the insult, apologize for it, and apologize for trying to deny that it ever happened?

[Decorum, October 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I have a very straightforward question to the government. Is it acceptable to this government for a senior minister to depict another member of this House as his dog?

[Business of the House, October 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, on the Thursday question about procedure and process, I wonder if the government House leader or the government whip could indicate to us today what the government's agenda will be for the rest of this week and for the following week.

I wonder, since we are now well into this particular supply period and we have an expiry date facing us on November 10, would the government be in a position today to indicate which two days between now and November 10 will the government designate for the consideration of the estimates on the floor of the House of Commons in committee of the whole?

[Infrastructure, October 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind the hon. gentleman that it was not us but them who implemented the NDP proposals.

The minister bellows and he blusters, he rants and he raves, but he just fails to offer to any proper justification for his interference. He demands access to contracts to which he is not a party. He violates confidentiality agreements and uses the federal purse to bully and blackmail local authorities. He uses his office to advance his own partisan interests.

Is this just a local personal vendetta in Ottawa, or does his venom extend to every municipality in Canada?

[Infrastructure, October 19th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, municipal governments across Canada are worried that their local decisions and their local contracting will now be second guessed and manipulated by the meddlesome minority Conservative government for totally partisan reasons, for the sole vindictive purpose of inflicting personal political abuse.

It is not only the cities of Toronto or Ottawa. The worry is nationwide.

Is it the policy of the government that every municipal contract, including those to which the Government of Canada is not a contracting party, are subject to the partisan whims of the President of the Treasury Board?