House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2019, with 30% of the vote.
Government Appointments June 7th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, none of that is true. The Liberals never consulted the opposition parties. Our party leaders received letters two days in advance.
I want to ask the Prime Minister a simple question. Will the next process be non-partisan? Will the candidate be someone who does not donate to the Liberal Party?
Government Appointments June 7th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I just heard the good news. Ms. Meilleur is withdrawing her candidacy. She finally saw the light. Now it is up to the government to restart the process and make it truly transparent, open, and non-partisan.
Can the Prime Minister promise the House that he will consult the opposition parties so that we can have a non-partisan official languages commissioner that we can all agree on?
Government Appointments June 6th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, what a joke.
The more Ms. Meilleur talks, the deeper she sinks and brings the government down with her. She is hell-bent on taking the job, but she does not understand that Canada has two official languages.
When answering questions yesterday regarding what she would do for anglophone minorities, she replied using examples from the francophonie. She has no clue what anglophone minorities in Quebec need. It is therefore not surprising that she is declaring herself the new French language commissioner.
When will this shameful circus finally end, in order to start from scratch—
Government Appointments June 6th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage keeps saying that Ms. Meilleur never talked about the commissioner position with Gerald Butts or Katie Telford.
However, yesterday, in committee of the whole at the other place, Ms. Meilleur stated the opposite yet again, and even confirmed that they talked to her about the process. It is patently obvious that this appointment was decided long before the so-called rigorous but highly suspicious process.
When will the government apologize for continuing to mislead the House and when will it start the process over again?
Government Appointments June 5th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, the beginning of yet another week sees us still waiting for answers.
Just imagine if I had given $5,000 to the Conservative Party and $500 to Mr. Harper's leadership campaign and soon afterward been selected to serve as official languages commissioner.
Just imagine the Liberal Party's reaction. The Liberals would have been up in arms. It is about time they realized they are not above the law.
Do we need to call for a public inquiry into this process?
Government Appointments June 5th, 2017
Mr. Speaker, breach of trust, partisanship, loose ethics, and the list goes on. The Liberal Party opposite is taking us back 15 years to the time of the sponsorship scandal, when the doors were thrown wide open to welcome friends who contributed to the party.
Today, the Liberals are appointing party donors and tough luck for everyone else. Ms. Meilleur is the perfect example.
When will the Minister of Canadian Heritage stop making up stories, tell members the truth, and redo the selection process?
Government Appointments June 2nd, 2017
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage has misled the House day after day and has not even bothered to apologize. It is shockingly easy to talk out of both sides of one's mouth and to avoid the issue.
We are simply asking that the appointment of Ms. Meilleur to the position of official languages commissioner be rescinded and that a new transparent, fair, and non-partisan process be conducted.
Knowing full well that the opposition parties do not approve of this appointment at all, when will the minister do what is right and start over?
Government Appointments June 2nd, 2017
Mr. Speaker, another week ends under the pall of Liberal arrogance. It is a complete disgrace that the Minister of Canadian Heritage refuses to backtrack following her terrible decision to appoint Madeleine Meilleur as official languages commissioner, not because she lacks the skills, but rather for reasons that give a whole new meaning to the word partisanship.
When will the minister realize that Ms. Meilleur has already lost all credibility to fill the position before she has even begun, and that it is high time that the appointment process became transparent and apolitical?
Commissioner of Official Languages Position June 2nd, 2017
Mr. Speaker, on May 15, the lamest show on earth rolled into town starring a Liberal government scrambling to defend its deeply partisan choice to put Madeleine Meilleur in the official languages commissioner seat.
Such a high-ranking appointment must be the outcome of an apolitical, honest, rigorous, and transparent process without a hint of preferential treatment, which is certainly not the case with Madeleine Meilleur.
It is unacceptable for the government to continue misleading members of Parliament even in the face of mounting evidence about this partisan appointment.
It is so sad to see my colleagues opposite held hostage by their Minister of Canadian Heritage, who made a very bad decision that she is still trying to justify even though it is an insult to everyone who has ever been appointed to a high-ranking position in Canada.
We call on the minister to start showing some respect for the House, do the right thing, and remove Madeleine Meilleur from the process.
Cannabis Act June 1st, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I want my colleague across the way to know that members on this side of the House can vote freely when the time comes.
What we saw during yesterday's vote on autism was not a free vote. Many members on that side of the House wanted to vote as we did, but they had to toe the line.