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House of Commons Debates VOLUME 147 Ï NUMBER 066 Ï 2nd SESSION Ï 41st PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Tuesday, April 1, 2014 Speaker: The Honourable Andrew Scheer CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) 4093 HOUSE OF COMMONS Tuesday, April 1, 2014 The House met at 10 a.m. It is my pleasure to present this petition to the House today. *** Prayers QUESTIONS ON THE ORDER PAPER Mr. Dan Albas (Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS allowed to stand. Ï (1005) The Speaker: Is that agreed? [English] Some hon. members: Agreed. GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO PETITIONS Mr. Dan Albas (Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board, CPC): Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36(8), I have the honour to table, in both official languages, GOVERNMENT ORDERS the government's responses to 11 petitions. *** [English] INTERPARLIAMENTARY DELEGATIONS BUSINESS OF SUPPLY Mr. Dean Allison (Niagara West—Glanbrook, CPC): Mr. OPPOSITION MOTION—GOVERNMENT AIRCRAFT Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fall report of the Canadian Mr. Charlie Angus (Timmins—James Bay, NDP) moved: delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in the European Parliamentary Assembly respecting its participation at the That, in the opinion of the House, government planes, and in particular the plane 22nd annual session of the OSCEPA in Istanbul from June 29 to July used by the Prime Minister, should only be used for government purposes and should not be used to transport anyone other than those associated with such purposes or 3, 2013. those required for the safety and security of the Prime Minister and his family. *** He said: Mr. Speaker, as always, it is a great honour to stand in PETITIONS this place and be chosen to speak on behalf of the people of Timmins —James Bay. I am certainly proud to rise today on the issue of the EXPERIMENTAL LAKES AREA abuse of the public trust in taxpayers with the misuse of government Mr. Bruce Hyer (Thunder Bay—Superior North, GP): Mr. resources, particularly the use of the Challenger jet. Speaker, petitions continue to pour in from Canadians across the country who are urging the government to save the Experimental Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Lakes Area. The government revoked funding for the ELA in 2012, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier. but it has been negotiating to save the research facility after public outcry. This issue needs to be debated in the House because we see within the government the continual and deliberate blurring of the lines It gives me great pleasure to remind my fellow parliamentarians between the use of government resources that are meant to serve the that the Experimental Lakes Area is not yet dead and hopefully we people of Canada and the partisan narrow interests of the can still save it. Conservative war machine. Whether it is the misuse of government Mr. Ted Hsu (Kingston and the Islands, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I resources or the redrawing of the websites, everything the also have a petition from Canadians who are interested in saving the government seems to be doing is taking public resources and Experimental Lakes Area. It is a place where science is done for the turning them to the personal use of the party or its friends. That is good of all of society, indeed, the whole world, because of the something the Conservatives used to rail against in the old Liberal importance of freshwater to human beings. regime. 4094 COMMONS DEBATES April 1, 2014 Business of Supply Very clear rules about the use of flights were set up by the Board on the street what they think of our obligation to veterans, they of Internal Economy. For members of Parliament who do have to would say that it is shameful that the Conservatives are using charter planes into isolated regions—for example, I have had to taxpayers' dollars to argue that they have no social contract with charter flights up into James Bay—there are clear rules. Number one veterans. is, we have to ensure that the only people on those planes actually are government staff. Anyone else on the plane would have to be put Yet the Minister of Justice had a total social contract with the on the flight manifest and would have to pay the full charge. The military when he needed to be picked up from hunting camp to be Board of Internal Economy is very clear on this, so when we find out flown to his lobster dinner. This is the kind of abuse that Canadians- that a guy who raised $3.5 million for the Prime Minister gets to fly — back and forth from Calgary, that is simply not acceptable. That is an abuse of trust. Mr. Robert Chisholm: Got any more? I would like to read a few quotes that will put this into context: Mr. Charlie Angus: We have got lots of them, Mr. Speaker. I We have seen the Prime Minister flying around the country on Challenger jets have been holding this one back, because it comes from one of the doing a few hours of government work, then spending the rest of the time most quotable and most ridiculous members of Parliament that have campaigning and fundraising&. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. The& culture of entitlement goes on. The public must be given a chance to put an end to it. ever sat in this House in the last 150 years. Who said that? It was our present Prime Minister when he was in &the minister has been at his post for five years&. The Sea Kings opposition. Yes, meet the new boss; same as the old boss over there. are no closer to being replaced.& Instead there are Challenger jets to The issue here is that this is a government that is telling the rest of fly the Prime Minister and his cabinet around in luxury. Canadians that the cupboard is bare and yet the Prime Minister can fly one of his buddies down to watch the New York Yankees at a ball Who said that? Think, folks. It was the member for Calgary West. game, where the Challenger jet cost taxpayers anywhere between $8,000 and $11,000 an hour to run. When the government is telling We are having fun with this, but this is not a funny issue. This is senior citizens in my riding that the cupboard is bare, while it is about a contempt for the Canadian people. The Prime Minister told flying its friends to ball games, I would ask the Canadian people if Canadians in 2006 that he would clean up this culture of entitlement. they think that is fair. Instead, his attitude was that he would clean up the Liberals, and once they were done, then he and his friends would pork out at the A number of people have spoken out on this issue. I would like to trough. quote them now: Mr. Speaker, while Canadians are barely coping with higher gasoline prices, the& That is not what Canadians voted for. This is not about saying that ministers do not share such mundane concerns. They prefer going from Ottawa to the Prime Minister and his family should not use the Challenger for Toronto aboard a luxury jet that costs $11,000 an hour to operate&. How can the Prime Minister justify such a waste of public funds? security reasons, although I note that the present Minister of Industry said: Who said that? It was the present Minister of Employment and There is something else the government can do. If the government wants to show Social Development. confidence in the commercial airline industry, here is a suggestion. Will the Prime Minister park his Challenger jet and fly commercial skies as other Canadians do as a There are a few others: sign of faith that security works? Mr. Speaker, if $1 million on airfare were not enough, it turns out, through access to information, that of the 141 flights taken on the Challenger jet between January That is what the present Minister of Industry said when he was in and July, over $71,000 was spent on food. That does not include the bar bill. That opposition. He wanted the Liberal Prime Minister to fly commercial represents an average of $508 per flight, just less than the monthly grocery bill for a Nova Scotia family of four. How does the Prime Minister justify spending the air, but he has not said that in cabinet because they enjoy the perks. equivalent of the cost of a monthly family grocery bill on an air flight? Just what was on that menu? Again, this is abuse of the public trust from a government that said it would do something better. The Conservatives are doing it at a Who said that? It was the present Minister of Justice. We all time when they are telling senior citizens that the cupboard is bare; remember him when he was minister of defence. He is the man who when they are telling veterans who served our country, “Hey, buzz ordered a search and rescue helicopter to pick him up from his off, we are done with you, and we will go to court to fight you”; hunting camp because he was too lazy to come out on his own. He when they are telling first nations children in the north, “You do not used our military government resources to fly him from his hunting deserve schools because we cannot afford them”.