Mr. Speaker, the matters pertaining to the sponsorship issue are serious matters and they deserve serious attention from people like the Auditor General and investigators like the RCMP. These issues will not be resolved through glib one-liners.
House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2019, with 34% of the vote.
Government Contracts September 16th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the matters pertaining to the sponsorship issue are serious matters and they deserve serious attention from people like the Auditor General and investigators like the RCMP. These issues will not be resolved through glib one-liners.
Government Contracts September 16th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman is obviously engaging in a good deal of smear and innuendo.
The fact of the matter is, if one is really interested in determining what unfolded, who was responsible and so forth, the very best way to do that is to rely upon the RCMP and the Auditor General step by step methodically moving forward ensuring that justice is properly done.
Government Contracts September 16th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the RCMP, in dealing with this matter, has already indicated that it will follow this issue wherever the trail may lead. It is completely independent. It exercises its own discretion to ensure that justice is properly done.
Government Contracts September 16th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I would again emphasize what I said yesterday. It is very important in this matter to proceed in a steady and logical fashion, first things first, step by step. Let us ensure that we do not make a misstep that fouls up the investigations that are presently underway.
It is very important not to take any action that would in any way impede the activity of the RCMP or the Auditor General. We are absolutely determined that those two bodies should be allowed to do their work and to ventilate this matter to the satisfaction of the public interest.
Government Contracts September 16th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has always said in this matter that where there was administration that needed to be corrected, that correction would be done, wherever there were audits that needed to be performed, those audits would be done, wherever there were criminal matters that needed to be investigated, that that indeed would be done, and if anyone had broken any rule, they would pay the consequences.
Government Contracts September 16th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, specifically with respect to sponsorships, it is very important that the two official investigations that are presently underway be allowed to proceed to their full conclusion without any interference of any kind whatsoever.
One set of investigations is being presided over by the RCMP. It is obviously doing its job. The other set of investigations is being presided over by the Auditor General. We have in fact complied with her request to expand her mandate to allow her to do her full job in this matter. Those things must not be impeded.
Government Contracts September 16th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning of my responsibility in this file I have been very careful to ensure that the proper steps were taken, first things first, step by step, every step on a solid foundation and then moving on in a progressive manner to ensure that all matters were properly exposed, all investigations were properly undertaken, and the public interest was satisfied. I have embarked on that course and I intend to continue it.
Agriculture September 15th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, as all hon. members will know, given our painful experience this summer with BSE, it is important to take a science based approach to cross-border trade issues. That having been said, I have a great deal of concern about the same things the Canadian Wheat Board is concerned about. We do not want to lose either markets or market share. A great deal of work therefore remains to be done to ensure intelligent and responsible behaviour in respect of genetically modified products.
The government is working very closely with the Canadian grains industry and other stakeholders, including the Canadian Wheat Board, to determine how best to proceed in a responsible manner.
Government Contracts September 15th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, since May of last year we have frozen all activity to stop the abuses. We terminated the use of private sector middlemen. We stopped doing any business with certain firms in question. We set up financial holdbacks and launched money recovery proceedings. We toughened the program rules and procedures. We reduced its budget. We conducted extensive transparent internal inquiries. Disciplinary proceedings are underway. All legal issues have been referred to the RCMP. We called in the Auditor General; in fact we expanded her mandate to make sure that the job could be done right.
Government Contracts September 15th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, first let me congratulate the hon. member upon his promotion to the role of official critic for public works. I welcome him to that role.
On the substance of the question, our approach over the past 15 months has been to put first things first, moving steadily forward, step by step. We want to make sure that nothing interferes with the appropriate independent investigations of both the RCMP and the Auditor General. We have encouraged and co-operated with both those investigations and obviously the action taken recently by the police indicates the wisdom of that approach.