Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in favour of a motion put forward by the Conservative Party of Canada to amend section (k) of the terms of reference for the Gomery commission.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to an opposition supply day motion. I am pleased because this institutionalized democratic right has not taken place in quite some time. This democratic voice was stifled by a government that is fearful of opposition, that is fearful of being held accountable for its actions, and most sadly, by a government that is fearful of the very voters who entrusted its members with the responsibility of governing.
By amending the terms of reference to the mandate of Justice John Gomery, we can take the first step to restoring the faith of the disheartened populace.
Canada is currently being run by a government under investigation. To find out what happened to our money, we have to wait for the verdict of the Auditor General, Justice Gomery, the RCMP and the Sûreté du Québec.
This is a sad state of affairs and because of it, we are here today to discuss an important opportunity to make sure that this never happens again. By not allowing Gomery to name names or assign responsibility for the largest scandal in Canadian history, his hands have been tied by the same political party that committed the egregious act that he has been commissioned to investigate. This cannot be seen as anything but a deliberate attempt to evade accountability and to avoid responsibility.
Recent public opinion polls have placed Canadians' confidence in their elected officials at abysmal levels. I strongly believe this is something that we must work tirelessly to repair. No longer can we sit idly by while the confidence of the electorate slowly slips away from us here in the House of Commons. The historic democratic institutions of Canada must be free of taint and that is why we are here today.
In fact, it was the Prime Minister himself who stated, “I want to get to the bottom of this. I want every single fact to come out and I want every person who has been involved in this to pay the consequences”. We on the opposition side of the House of Commons could not agree more. By empowering Justice Gomery with the ability to get to the bottom of the sponsorship scandal, we will be fulfilling a promise made by our very own Prime Minister.
Many Canadians have long suspected that the Liberal sponsorship program in Quebec was created to finance the Liberal Party with taxpayer funds. When the Gomery inquiry, which is investigating allegations of corruption in the sponsorship program, recently lifted the publication ban restrictions on testimony by an advertising executive, the revelations shocked Canada from coast to coast to coast. It was discovered that an advertising executive used his firm to launder large sums of taxpayer money to fill Liberal Party coffers.
Jean Brault, the former president of Montreal advertising firm Groupaction, provided detailed evidence that he paid $1 million in kickbacks to the Liberal Party in exchange for receiving multiple contracts for advertising firms in Quebec. Mr. Brault also claimed he was asked to put Liberal Party loyalists on his payroll.
This is a Liberal Party scandal that has touched every Canadian who has seen his or her hard-earned tax dollars allegedly used to perpetrate fraud on fellow Canadians. Instead of bringing the country together, the Liberals have pitted province against province and Canadian against Canadian. The Liberal Party does not represent Canada today, nor does it represent Canadian values.
The Conservative Party believes that the testimony heard at the Gomery inquiry was not an isolated event that can be easily explained away. It was not the work of a few misguided people. This was a systematic and deliberate attempt to divert public dollars to a partisan political purpose and to do so in a way that would subvert election laws and other laws to the benefit of the Liberal Party of Canada.
We are all aware of the systematic misuse of federal tax money by the Liberals: the cost of the gun registry; the HRDC boondoggle, where $1 billion that was supposed to be spent on job creation went missing; the purchase of two Challenger jets for $100 million through an untendered contract without providing a need for jets; and the list goes on. This is not just a matter of misguided policy and wasted tax money. This is a scandal of a much greater and serious proportion.
The sworn testimony to date has indicated that through the sponsorship program, taxpayers' money was being funnelled to Liberal friendly advertising agencies and then directed right back to the Liberal Party of Canada. The past few weeks have seen numerous extraordinary measures taken by the Liberal government to distract the Canadian public from its record of scandal, waste and mismanagement. The past few weeks have seen a remarkable $25 billion in new spending. Beginning with a backroom deal with the NDP, the government has said anything and pledged allegiance to anyone in its quest to remain in government. Even cabinet posts have become the reward for those individuals who agree to support the government's corruption.
The most serious implication of this scandal has without a doubt been national unity. The irony is that where this advertising program was supposed to bolster national unity, it has in fact seriously harmed the cause of federalism in Quebec. It has also increased the chances of the separatist Bloc Québécois party sweeping all Quebec seats in the next federal election. The state of affairs has become very troubled and the only federalist alternative in the province of Quebec is the Conservative Party of Canada.
Even the NDP has agreed to turn a blind eye to Liberal corruption for a few billion dollars in additional government spending.
What is happening in Quebec is symptomatic of a greater problem the government is facing. Whether it is on the equalization file or by neglecting the fiscal imbalance, the government simply lacks a national vision. While the sponsorship program has damaged federalist fortunes in Quebec, other actions by the government have only fueled the flames. By agreeing to one-off equalization deals, the government has pitted province against province. By treating Quebec as a financial tool in its re-election campaigns, it has only increased the support for separation.
We must not let the Liberal government through the scandal weaken our public institutions, our reputation in the world, or the unity of our nation. The future of our country will not be bright if there is no accountability in government. There cannot be good management of public funds by misleading Parliament and Canadians about how contracts are tendered.
One cannot claim to represent Canadian values if one is not telling Canadians the truth. Canadians today are rightfully demanding politicians accept greater personal responsibility for their actions. In time, the Canadian people will also decide what fate awaits the government.
When the Canadian people do pass judgment on the government, they will be doing so confident that the Conservative Party of Canada will get to the bottom of the scandal and confident that this will never happen again.
I was extremely proud to be at our party's founding policy convention in Montreal this past March where we discussed how our positive vision for Canada can return ethics and integrity back to government.
A Conservative government would not hesitate to strengthen internal audit functions and comptrollership functions of government so that program delivery matched the intent of the program. This would also allow spending to be measured against objectives. Cost overruns would immediately be brought to the attention of Parliament.
A Conservative government would also make sure that the comptroller general operated in an independent office that reported to Parliament. This would ensure that the highest standards and practices of expenditure management were enforced in all federal departments, crown corporations, agencies and foundations.
A Conservative government would also allow the Auditor General to table reports with the Clerk of the House of Commons when Parliament was not sitting. This policy would have been especially valuable since the Liberal government prorogued Parliament last year to avoid the public receiving notice of the Auditor General's report on the sponsorship program as soon as the injustice was revealed.
The hon. member for Saint-Laurent—Cartierville commented, “I've never met anyone in Quebec who has told me that because he saw a sponsorship he has changed his mind” on separatism. This is a powerful statement coming from someone who was active during the aftermath of the 1995 referendum.
This program has become a complete failure from the start. If we are to save something from this, it must be to make sure that it never happens again. After hearing testimony that former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's aide Jean Carle hid details of a $125,000 sponsorship deal with phony invoices, Justice Gomery made an extraordinary comment. He mentioned, “If this were a drug deal, it would be called money laundering”.
This is a scandal involving determined individuals and a corrupt political party. Justice Gomery must be allowed to name names and assign responsibility for this disastrous happening. Canadians simply cannot stomach that individuals who launder money can just walk away.
The backdrop of this Parliament has without a doubt been the Gomery commission. It has dominated every aspect and overshadowed every happening. Veteran political commentator Rex Murphy noted, “The history books will show this as the Gomery parliament”.
By amending section (k) of the terms of reference to the Gomery commission, we can end this. I look forward to all hon. members supporting the motion so that the victims of this scandal, the Canadian taxpayers, can feel relieved that those responsible will have been rooted out.
