Scott Brison

[Sponsorship Program, December 2nd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the fact that cabinet documents back to 1994 have been provided to the Gomery commission speaks volumes to the openness and transparency of the government and its complete commitment to cooperating with Justice Gomery.

I would urge the hon. member to listen to his House leader who said a couple of weeks ago that he wanted Justice Gomery to look at this. He said that he did not want politicians to be looking at this, that we had a commissioner out there who he and the public respected and that we should let him get to the bottom of the issues, and stop playing politics.

I would urge him to listen to the leadership of his House leader who demonstrated some pretty good judgment in this case.

[Sponsorship Program, December 2nd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, as members of the House are aware, the government has in fact been extraordinarily transparent and open with the Gomery commission, providing tens of millions of pages of documents, in fact cabinet documents back to 1994.

There is a discussion between lawyers at the Gomery commission about the issue of pertinence in terms of specific documents. Those discussions will occur from time to time and those will be resolved within the auspices of the Gomery commission. I would urge the hon. member and all members of the House to let Justice Gomery do his work.

[Industry, November 26th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is a world leader in human rights. We will continue to be a world leader in human rights. We are committed to that. That is part of our social fabric as a country. It is a Canadian value that we promote around the world.

At the same time, we believe in fair and free trade with our trading partners. Canadian companies and investors continue to invest around the world. In fact, Canadian investors are taking leadership roles in countries around the world. We are proud of that.

[Aerospace Industry, November 26th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada is committed to Bombardier as it is committed to our nationwide aerospace industry, which employs 80,000 Canadians.

I can assure the hon. member that the long-standing commitment of the Government of Canada will continue to grow as Canada's aerospace industry continues to be a leader in the world.

[Public Works and Government Services, November 22nd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, this outsourcing has been a tremendous success for the Government of Canada. The 1997 contract delivered high quality services and generated savings to the taxpayers of about $20 million per year.

Further, I can announce today that SNC-Lavalin ProFac Inc. has won the new contract for property management services. This will save the government $50 million per year over the budgeted amount.

This is another example of how Public Works and Government Services Canada is helping to deliver smarter and better services while ensuring the best possible value for hard-earned tax dollars.

[Sponsorship Program, November 15th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, these surveys sought public views on a range of issues including health care, economic issues and environmental issues. We know that the hon. member and his party are not that interested in sustaining a nationwide, publicly paid for health care system. They are not that interested in environmental issues.

However, the fact is that Canadians are interested in these issues. That is why the Government of Canada is very interested in getting this data such that we can build public policy that reflects the views and interests of all Canadians.

[Sponsorship Program, November 15th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the survey in question was in fact conducted by Communications Canada. The results of that survey were presented to cabinet and were shared with the public accounts committee in February 2004.

[Government Contracts, November 5th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, this contract is for approximately $155 million. The hon. member may be confusing the information relative to flow through benefits that can go to a range of subcontractors, including real estate agents and appraisers, across the country. I think that is where he is making an error in his question.

Beyond that, I can assure the hon. member that this was a fair and open process and that Canadian public servants will get the relocation services they need with the best possible value for Canadian taxpayers.

[Government Contracts, November 5th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the contract deals with the overall management of the Government of Canada's relocation services for our public servants. A list is maintained of 14,000 subcontractors who comply with our policies and agree to our fee structure. Those names are provided to Government of Canada employees when they need relocation services. We will be monitoring on an ongoing basis, as the hon. member alluded to, the compliance to that. We look forward to discussing those results, particularly with the committee.

[Sponsorship Program, November 5th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, once again I cannot understand what the hon. member would have against a competitive process. I cannot understand why the hon. member would be adverse to anybody, working on behalf of the Government of Canada or the Department of Finance, who wanted to expand competition to achieve greater value on behalf of Canadians and greater fairness in the procurement process. What is wrong with that?