Stephen Harper

[Ethics, October 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, when we appoint senators, we expect them to follow the rules and obey the letter and the spirit of the law.

When any member or members of staff do not respect high ethical conduct, we expect them to recognize that and to correct their behaviour and be held accountable. Mr. Wright has accepted his responsibility. He resigned. Mr. Duffy continues to insist that there is nothing wrong with his behaviour. We obviously disagree and believe he should be held accountable for it.

[Ethics, October 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I have been crystal clear about this. I continue to be so. It is interesting. We, of course, insisted that those who are responsible be held accountable for their actions, unlike the hon. leader opposite. The very first thing he said was he thought that Mac Harb should be readmitted to the Liberal caucus. We obviously do not believe that kind of behaviour is appropriate.

[Ethics, October 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, obviously, I reject the preamble of that question. The reality is we are talking about the actions of Mr. Wright and Mr. Duffy. They are being held accountable for those actions. Mr. Wright has accepted his responsibility. He has admitted that his actions were not appropriate.

Unfortunately, Mr. Duffy continues to assert that his expense claims were all valid and all appropriate. We obviously disagree with that and believe he should be held accountable for that behaviour.

[Ethics, October 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I addressed this issue some months ago. Mr. Wright has been absolutely clear in terms of who he told he intended to repay Mr. Duffy's expenses to. He did not say Ray Novak was one of those people. He has named those people. He has been very clear. He has also been very clear that one of those people was not me, because I obviously would never have approved such a scheme.

[Ethics, October 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, let me correct my previous statement. I meant to say that Mr. Duffy is no longer in our Senate caucus.

This is not a cabinet issue. I clearly told our caucus and our staff that Mr. Duffy's expenses were completely inappropriate. You cannot claim an expense that you did not incur. That is not right. You cannot remain a member of the Conservative caucus after that kind of behaviour.

[Ethics, October 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I have indicated that I made these statements in a caucus room. I made them to an entire caucus and senior staff, not just to Mr. Duffy and to Mr. Wright but to many others who were present and who heard them. Those instructions were absolutely clear. I expected Mr. Duffy to repay his expenses and not Mr. Wright to repay them for him. That was also not correct, which is why Mr. Wright is no longer working for me and why Mr. Duffy is no longer in the Senate.

[Ethics, October 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, no, I absolutely did not say that.

This issue is not a matter of perception. What I said to our caucus, and I said to the caucus as a whole when this issue came up, was that “You cannot claim an expense you did not incur. That is not right. That is not proper, and that will not be tolerated in this party”.

[Ethics, October 23rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat what I have said from the beginning.

I told Mr. Duffy, when he asked, in fact, I told our entire caucus and staff, that my view was that his expense claims were inappropriate, and they should be repaid.

At that particular time did I threaten him with expulsion? No, but when inappropriate expense claims are made, I expect corrective action to be taken. If it is not taken, a person who does not take corrective action could not expect to continue to sit as a member of the Conservative Party.

[Intergovernmental Relations, October 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the fact of the matter is we believe, on this side, that debates on the process for dividing the country are best left to the courts.

Everybody on this side, including the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, is an unconditional supporter of the unity of this country. I believe that Quebeckers, as much anyone else, do not want another referendum. They do not want to be arguing about this. They want to be taking this country, united together, forward into the future.

[Ethics, October 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the answer is of course.