Combating Counterfeit Products Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Timmins—James Bay for his speech, in which he raised several key points. Since this debate seems to be focused on numbers, I want to ask him a question about the Conservative's double-talk. They are so adept at speaking out of both sides of their mouths, they are starting to look like the Liberals.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, it is just too little, too late. Eighteen months ago, Liberal and Conservative senators were informed about Wallin's questionable expenses. The leaders of both caucuses were therefore aware of the expenses, but they chose to cover up the information to protect their cronies.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, the member stands here in the House contradicting his own Prime Minister, and I am not sure the Prime Minister will appreciate that. What the Prime Minister said in Europe was that he had decided not to show us the cheque. That means he has access to the cheque and knows where it is.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, not only will the Auditor General take a look at and have something to say about what is happening, but the RCMP will also be involved. That is because of the work of the NDP and my colleague from Timmins—James Bay. I have two questions. First, do the Conservatives believe that the Prime Minister's chief of staff is also the Conservative Party leader's chief of staff?

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, it will take more than Nigel Wright's chequebook for the government to buy back its credibility. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence said that it is not in the public's interest to show the $90,000 cheque that Nigel Wright wrote for Mike Duffy.

Conservative Party of Canada  Mr. Speaker, we in the NDP have an action plan for the Senate. We will do away with it and get rid of the senators who are cheating the system. That is our action plan. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence said that it would not serve the public interest to produce the cheque Nigel Wright wrote to Mike Duffy.

Conservative Party of Canada  Mr. Speaker, I see that the Conservatives are following the Liberals' how-to-survive-a-scandal guide to the letter. In the end, it is the same old story. Red scandals have simply been replaced by blue scandals. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence said: I don't think..., we don't think it would serve the public interest very well....

Parliamentary Budget Officer Act  Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to rise to speak to the bill of the leader of the official opposition, the member for Outremont. The purpose of this excellent bill is to create a separate and independent Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer—who will be a full officer of Parliament—that will not just be part of the office of the Library of Parliament, as is currently the case.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, a one million dollar slush fund cannot change the world, but it can help to buy the silence of senators who cheated the system. I have another very simple question, and we will see whether the Conservatives will continue to deny the facts and the evidence, whether they will complicate their lives or whether they will finally answer the question.

Member for Edmonton—St. Albert  Mr. Speaker, that kind of drivel is what we get in reply. This lack of transparency was the straw that broke the camel's back for our colleague from Edmonton—St. Albert. He chose to abandon ship rather than to continue being a cheerleader for the Prime Minister. Instead of acting like the Liberals in the sponsorship scandal, he became the spokesperson for thousands of Conservatives who are disgusted that, under this Prime Minister, their party has become everything that he condemned when he was in opposition.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present a petition in this House from over 2,600 people who oppose Bill C-60, particularly with respect to the Treasury Board's ability to interfere in the collective agreement negotiations of crown corporations. These people are extremely worried, even outraged, about this precedent.

Public Works and Government Services  Mr. Speaker, a man is dead because Public Works and Government Services Canada used an unqualified subcontractor. This situation is ultimately the department's responsibility. A former Public Works and Government Services Canada employee warned his supervisors about a problem with the subcontractors that had been hired.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, last Thursday, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment said, “The prime minister himself has expressed deep regret for appointing Mike Duffy.” Can the government confirm that this is indeed the Prime Minister's point of view?

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, question period should be renamed “deflection period”. Since they refuse to confirm that appointing Mike Duffy was a mistake, can they tell us why they refuse to express sincere regret in that regard?

Labour  Mr. Speaker, the NDP refuses to accept envelopes, whereas the Conservatives write cheques to senators who break the Senate rules. That is the difference. The Privacy Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, said that Bill C-377 is a significant invasion of privacy. I do not know if I need to remind them, but the members opposite are supposed to be libertarians rather than control freaks.