Petitions  Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I have the privilege to present to the House two petitions signed by concerned constituents of my riding of Crowfoot. More specifically, these two petitions come from the area of Camrose, a city in my riding, and also from the community of Three Hills.

Corrections and Conditional Release Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-470, an act to amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Cypress Hills--Grasslands for seconding my private member's bill. I rise to introduce my private member's bill which, if enacted, will amend the Corrections and Conditional Release Act to provide that any person who receives a sentence as a result of being convicted of an indictable offence while on conditional release is obliged to serve the remainder of the original sentence and at least two-thirds of the new sentence.

Government Grants  Mr. Speaker, the solicitor general's lobbying activities extend far beyond passing along one grant application. Now we learn that he lobbied Correctional Service Canada for another grant of $3.7 million for Holland College on the same day he lobbied the RCMP commissioner. An aggressive political agenda to centralize Correctional Service Canada staff training for all of Canada at Holland College in P.E.I. has been revealed.

Government Grants  Mr. Speaker, not only is the solicitor general guilty of conflict of interest in lobbying on behalf of his brother, he is also guilty of breaching one of the most fundamental responsibilities of a minister of the crown, to act in the best interest of all Canadians regardless of what part of the country they come from.

Government Grants  Mr. Speaker, we look at Airbus, we look at APEC and we look at Shawinigate. The government is mired in allegations of political interference with the RCMP. The Prime Minister's defence of the solicitor general putting political pressure on the RCMP for financial favours substantiates those well founded allegations.

Government Grants  Mr. Speaker, any suggestion, whether it is real or perceived, that the independence of the RCMP has been compromised is extremely serious. This may be difficult for the ethically challenged members of the government to comprehend, but Canadians must have confidence that the RCMP can do their job without the fear of reprisal or interference from their political masters.

Government Grants  Mr. Speaker, the solicitor general admitted yesterday that he did in fact discuss a $3.5 million grant application with the commissioner of the RCMP. Canadians are offended that he has not admitted and refuses to admit that he blatantly abused his ministerial position. Will the Prime Minister admit that it was wrong for the solicitor general to lobby the very organization that he controls?

Government Grants  Mr. Speaker, clearly it is not the responsibility of the solicitor general. It is not his duty to lobby the organization that he controls, and certainly not on behalf of a family member. Canadians do not need an eight point ethics package to tell them that the solicitor general crossed the line.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member from across the way for her speech. Although she talked about trade she did not mention too much specifically about agriculture. I come from an agricultural riding and I would like to pose a question that was posed to me this morning as I spoke to one of my constituents in the Provost area of Crowfoot.

Government Grants  Mr. Speaker, the solicitor general's attempt to influence the RCMP commissioner, whether or not the $3.5 million was or ever will be granted, was highly unethical, highly inappropriate and a clear case of political interference. When will the solicitor general do the right thing and tender his resignation?

Government Grants  Mr. Speaker, on October 16, 2001, the solicitor general said the following in the House: Mr. Speaker, if there is one thing I do not do it is run the operations of the RCMP. If in fact that is true, then why did the solicitor general feel that it was appropriate to discuss with the commissioner of the RCMP the awarding of a $3.5 million grant to Holland College which is headed by his brother, Alex MacAulay?

Government Contracts  Mr. Speaker, while it is a good thing that the RCMP is now investigating Groupaction, Canadians cannot be confident that there will be no political interference. Judge Ted Hughes called for legislation to ensure no political interference with the RCMP, but the government rejected it.

Government Contracts  Mr. Speaker, Canadians must have confidence that the RCMP can do its job and that includes doing its job with respect to investigating the government in suspected cases of wrongdoing without the fear of reprisals or interference. I therefore ask the Deputy Prime Minister: Will he immediately launch a full public inquiry to clear the air over the corruption allegations?

Child Predator Act  Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to participate in the debate on this private member's bill, Bill C-437, sponsored by the member for Saskatoon--Humboldt. I want to congratulate my colleague from Humboldt for bringing forward this private member's bill. It is a timely piece of legislation.

Correctional Service Canada  Mr. Speaker, the solicitor general says that $700 was paid in one institution. It was $700 per inmate in one institution that received the incentive payment.