Tony Clement

[Government Expenditures, May 9th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I have already said, all of the information for every year from 2001 to 2012 can be found in the public accounts.

The Auditor General clearly stated:

We didn't find anything that gave us cause for concern that the money was used in any way it should not have been.

He went on to say that departments:

...are responsible for accounting and reporting their spending through the Public Accounts of Canada....

He said that departments would have undergone normal control procedures in those departments. So there are internal controls in departments about spending, and they would go through all of those normal processes.

Those are the words of the Auditor General.

[Labour, May 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party of Canada can join with the NDP in seeking to defend public sector union bosses, but we on this side of the House will defend the taxpayer to ensure that collective bargaining agreements across government, including those for crown corporations, are fair and reasonable and that they align across all of these departments and agencies.

We will be on the side of the taxpayer. It is clear now that the NDP has some bosom buddies in the Liberal Party of Canada who are going to fight alongside the NDP on behalf of the public sector union bosses. We will not join with them in that fight.

[Labour, May 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the member's question is very timely because there are two different opinions in the House.

We on this side of the House, as the government, believe the government has the ultimate financial responsibility for crown corporations. We have to ensure, on behalf of the taxpayer, that crown corporations remain sustainable. The opposition NDP does not believe that. We believe we must look at all options for the financial viability of these crown corporations to protect the taxpayer. The NDP does not believe that. We want to ensure that public sector labour costs align across the board and better align with the private sector. Those members do not believe that. The NDP is on the side of public sector union bosses.

[Government Expenditures, May 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am hoping the hon. member will agree with me that hiring nurses for first nations health in first nations communities is not somehow an abuse of government or an abuse of the taxpayer. Many of these contracts are for those kinds of services. The hon. member should keep that in mind.

Indeed, we have provisions in place for greater transparency. I take the hon. member's interest in this matter on its face and certainly would be happy to look into the fact that some departments have not increased their transparency.

[Public Works and Government Services Canada, May 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, we have a responsibility to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used as efficiently as possible.

In some cases, the government signs contracts—for example, nursing contracts—with private sector companies, particularly in first nations communities and rural regions.

However, our government is responsible for taking steps to ensure greater transparency. I may be able to find other ways of achieving this transparency.

[Public Works and Government Services Canada, May 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, of course our government has a responsibility to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used as efficiently as possible. In some cases that does mean that government does contract out. For instance, first nation nurses in first nation communities, experts in that particular field, are contracted out. I think that is exactly the right thing to do.

We did take steps, as the hon. member mentioned, to ensure there was greater transparency. She has cited a particular report that indicates that not all departments took that up, and I will endeavour to ensure that is looked into.

[Government Expenditures, May 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, since the hon. member brought up the testimony at committee, I want to quote the Auditor General at committee just last week, where he said:

The spending within the departments would have undergone normal control procedures in those departments; so there are internal controls in departments about spending and they would go through all of those normal processes. We didn't identify anything that would cause us to say that we felt that anything was going on outside of those processes.

[Government Expenditures, May 8th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General was quite clear. He, in fact, said:

We didn’t find anything that gave us cause for concern that money was used in any way that it should not have been.

He confirmed that opposition characterizations of these funds as "lost" were inaccurate. He confirmed that he was reporting on an internal government reporting process but in fact there was a reporting process to Parliament each and every year.

In fact, the Auditor General said that departments “are responsible for accounting and reporting their spending through the Public Accounts of Canada”.

[Government Expenditures, May 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this matter relates to the categorization of expenses by the Treasury Board between 2001 and 2009.

All of the funds in question are accounted for in public documents presented to Parliament, as I have already said, including the public accounts. There is no indication that any dollars are missing or were misappropriated or misspent.

[Natural Resources, May 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Sault Ste. Marie for a most important question for northern Ontario.

I was speaking this morning to the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum in Toronto to emphasize our approach of proactively engaging first nations groups as well as industry groups and other stakeholders with a view to coming to solutions and ensuring that the 15 departments and agencies of the federal government are working together to facilitate the development of this most important project, which means jobs and opportunity not only throughout northern Ontario but throughout Canada.

This will be a game changer for our economy, and it is a positive development for first nations communities. However, it has to be handled correctly, and we will do our part.