House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 71% of the vote.
Sponsorship Program November 3rd, 2005
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that Justice Gomery heard from 172 witnesses. He and his commission reviewed 28 million pages of documents. We based our analysis on his facts and his report.
Beyond that, lord penny of pompous pond over there, who wants to follow in Conrad Black's footsteps, ought to listen to Justice Gomery and not take his ethical guidance from Conrad Black.
Sponsorship Program November 3rd, 2005
Mr. Speaker, I understand why the hon. member is feeling litigious these days. I was reading earlier today in the Globe and Mail that his dear friend, ethics counsellor, mentor and spiritual leader, Conrad Black, Lord Black of Crossharbour, is in fact suing the U.S. government.
The Conservatives can take their guidance on ethical issues from Conrad Black. We would prefer to take ours from Justice Gomery.
Sponsorship Program November 3rd, 2005
Mr. Speaker, once again, the $789,000 specifically identified by Justice Gomery's inquiry as having been improperly received, in addition to the $354,000 that was properly receipted and received from agencies against which Justice Gomery specifically assigned blame in relation to their conduct, creates a figure of $1.14 million, which has been paid in full by the Liberal Party.
Sponsorship Program November 3rd, 2005
Mr. Speaker, once again it would be highly unusual for the Government of Canada to sue an entity that has already paid the Government of Canada what it owed.
One does not sue based on figures that are pulled out of the air. One actually takes action to defend the interests of Canadian taxpayers based on facts, and in this case the facts in Justice Gomery's report. The Kroll Lindquist audit was part of over 28 million pages of documents that Justice Gomery considered and analyzed to give us his facts.
Sponsorship Program November 3rd, 2005
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member once again is pulling figures out of the air. We prefer to base our analysis on Justice Gomery's facts.
We do not trust the Conservatives or the Bloc with their figures. They have talked about $45 million. They have talked about $5.4 million. They have talked about $700,000. I prefer to trust Justice Gomery. The analysis of his facts lead to a figure that is credible and right at $1.14 million, which has been paid in full to the Canadian taxpayer.
Sponsorship Program November 3rd, 2005
Mr. Speaker, as a government, we have launched lawsuits against 28 firms and individuals to recover $57 million. However beyond that typically what would happen in these cases is that the government would determine what an appropriate figure would be and what the right figure would be based on facts, in this case the facts in Justice Gomery's report. It would then sue the party if in fact the party did not pay the money.
The fact is that in this case the Liberal Party has paid the money so why would we sue it?
Sponsorship Program November 3rd, 2005
Mr. Speaker, the first thing the Prime Minister did upon receiving Justice Gomery's report was to refer it to the RCMP. The RCMP is the appropriate party to conduct further investigations into this.
The Conservative Party, we know, does not trust the work of the RCMP. In fact, the deputy leader of the Conservative Party earlier this week accused the RCMP of being partisan.
Canadians trust Justice Gomery. Canadians trust the RCMP. They do not trust the Conservative Party, its deputy leader nor its leader.
Sponsorship Program November 3rd, 2005
Mr. Speaker, once again, the party was guided by the facts in the Gomery report. The party has returned $789,000, specifically identified by Justice Gomery's inquiry as having been improperly received. Further, the party has also remitted to the taxpayers $354,000 of money, properly receipted, but received from agencies against whom Justice Gomery specifically assigned blame in relation to their conduct.
The Liberal Party has accepted its responsibility and has repaid the Canadian taxpayer any funds received inappropriately.
Sponsorship Program November 3rd, 2005
Mr. Speaker, our party has repaid the Canadian Treasury every penny that was received inappropriately. We based our calculations on Justice Gomery's report. Whereas, the Conservatives and the Bloc have been pulling figures out of thin air.
Yesterday, they were talking $45 million. The day before, they were talking $5.4 million. Earlier this week, the leader was talking about $700,000.
We support Justice Gomery's work. That is why we based our analysis on his facts.
Sponsorship Program November 2nd, 2005
Mr. Speaker, once again, our analysis is based on the facts in Justice Gomery's report. This is what Justice Gomery said in his report:
--a system of government that would impose upon itself a searching inquiry by an independent commissioner armed with...a far-reaching mandate to investigate and report on matters that could prove to be embarrassing to the Government itself, is proof that our democratic institutions are functioning well and effectively.
We take our responsibility seriously. This Prime Minister has cleaned up the mess and we will change the governance to ensure it does not happen again.