Edited exerpts from Hansard – From Question Period, April 5, emphasis mine. While I’ve edited out much of the debate, I do urge you to read the original, to establish for yourself the evasiveness of the government members in answering.
Mr. Gilles Duceppe (Laurier–Sainte-Marie, BQ): Mr. Speaker, the Gomery commission is revealing some surprises. The Liberal Party is apparently the victim of a plot hatched by a so-called parallel group. Public testimony alone shows the government story is not credible. It reveals that the Liberal Party is at the heart of the sponsorship scandal to such an extent that, in the past three elections, all Liberal candidates from Shawinigan to Outremont to LaSalle have benefited from tainted money.
Instead of being an accessory, will the Prime Minister demand that the Liberal Party reimburse the tainted money?
Right Hon. Paul Martin (Prime Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Bloc must know that
supporters of all political parties, the Liberal Party, the Bloc Qu�b�cois, the Conservative Party and the NDP, are honest people devoted to their party, their country and their cause. It is important not attempt to tarnish the reputation of thousands of party supporters.
If one isolated group of people has done something inappropriate, it will be punished. We will see with the Gomery commission. The consequences will be felt by–
The Speaker: The hon. member for Laurier–Sainte-Marie.
Mr. Gilles Duceppe (Laurier–Sainte-Marie, BQ): Mr. Speaker, if all the Liberal supporters were honest, why call in the RCMP? Perhaps he would explain that. It makes no sense.
The party was not infiltrated by a small group. The evidence is clear. The Liberal leaders at the highest level are involved. He was the number two in that bunch. There is only one thing to do.
[…]
Mr. Michel Guimond (Montmorency–Charlevoix–Haute-C�te-Nord, BQ): Mr. Speaker, according to previous testimony at the Gomery inquiry, a number of high profile Liberals have been identified as being very active in the sponsorship scandal including Carle, Pelletier, Chr�tien, Gagliano, Corbeil, Morseli, Bard, Corriveau. The list is long.
My question is for the Minister of Transport, the Prime Minister’s Quebec lieutenant. Are all these
people part of the parallel team he is trying to blame for the sponsorship scandal?
[…]
Mr. Michel Guimond (Montmorency–Charlevoix–Haute-C�te-Nord, BQ): Mr. Speaker, the government is trying to shirk its responsibilities by separating the Liberals into the old guard and the new guard.
Has the Prime Minister already forgotten that he was the second in command under the old guard, that he was the finance minister, that he was the vice-chair of the Treasury Board under the old guard and that many of his current ministers were part of what he calls the old guard, that is, the same old gang?
[…]
Mr. Michel Gauthier (Roberval–Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ): Mr. Speaker, when he established the Gomery inquiry, the Prime Minister himself stated that there was political involvement in the sponsorship scandal.
Today, in an attempt to distance himself from the past, he speaks of a parallel group, which supposedly directed the sponsorships. This is my question for the Prime Minister. Does he mean that the political direction behind the sponsorships came from a parallel group within the Liberal Party itself?
Right Hon. Paul Martin (Prime Minister, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I would remind the hon. member that this government, this Prime Minister, called for the inquiry that is now being carried out by Justice Gomery. We did so because we want answers, and because Canadians deserve answers.
Now the member is asking questions. His own leader has said that we want to have complete answers, which is why we need to wait for Justice Gomery’s findings.
Mr. Michel Gauthier (Roberval–Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ): Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the Prime Minister is doing everything he can to dissociate the Liberal Party from the sponsorship scandal. To accomplish this, he is trying to tell us that the Liberal Party has nothing to do with it, and is a victim. Yet the Liberal Party is at the very heart of the sponsorship gimmick, and we all know that.
How can the Prime Minister justify the fact that, the day after Jean Chr�tien testified before the Gomery inquiry, he welcomed him to caucus where he was given a hero’s ovation? If he wants to distance himself from all this, why did he find Jean Chr�tien so admirable the day after his testimony?
[…]
Ms. Monique Guay (Rivi�re-du-Nord, BQ): Mr. Speaker, a former communications expert and right hand of one of the owners of an agency at the heart of the sponsorship scandal has confirmed that he met with members of the Chr�tien cabinet or people from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Can the Prime Minister assure us that none of his former or current cabinet ministers participated in meetings with agencies to divert money from the sponsorship program to the Liberal Party of Canada?
Hon. Scott Brison (Minister of Public Works and Government Services, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, these are allegations, not facts. We have to wait for the Gomery report.
Ms. Monique Guay (Rivi�re-du-Nord, BQ): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister is trying to hide behind the work of the Gomery inquiry in order to refuse to give answers here in this House about the use of sponsorship money by the Liberal Party of Canada.
Does the Prime Minister realize that he does not have to wait until the end of the Gomery inquiry to tell us the truth? I repeat my question. Did any minister from his current or former cabinet have meetings with agencies, yes or no?
[…]
Ms. Pauline Picard (Drummond, BQ): Having benefited considerably from the sponsorship money, the Liberals want to play innocent and are claiming to be the victims of a plot.
I again ask the Prime Minister, for the third time, if he can guarantee that no member of his previous or present cabinet took part in meetings with advertising agencies to divert sponsorship money to the Liberal Party of Canada.
I anxiously await hearing the BLOC members explain the multiple $45K donations they were pocketing from Groupaction as well. Is there an honest person left in Quebec?
ADSCAM: Oh, Canada!
Canada’s Attorney General is now determining how to go about cracking down on bloggers: So instead of chasing down felons or prosecuting violent criminals, or perhaps investigating government corruption, the AG intends to start delivering contempt cita…
Yes if its true about the Bloc, do you think they will be as anxious next week to introduce a non-confidence motion against the Liberal government. Hmmmm if they did and an election was called, I wonder if some of those Bloc votes would go over to the conservatives.
Honest person in Quebec? What kind of BS is that? This is a CANADIAN scandal, it LITERALLY has the word CANADA printed all over it since the initial point of the sponsorship (see propaganda) program was to paint Quebec from head to toe with Canadian banners and flags. The rich and influential lined their pockets as usual (when you want to annex or colonize, you’ve got the pay the powerful off first, mind you)
I can see federalists trying to associate this affair with “Quebec”, unfortunately for them this’ll only fall on deaf ears since “Canada” is the only culprit. You’d be hard pressed to find any Canadians feeling guilty about spending 250 million to indoctrinate it’s own citizens, and we’ll remember that very well come next election.
[_] Parti liberal du Quebec
[X] Parti quebecois
[_] Action democratique du Quebec
[_] Parti marxiste leniniste du Quebec
[_] Union des forces progressistes du Quebec
[_] Parti vert du Quebec
On a slight tangent — The title of this thread “The Parallel Group” suggests a possible new name for the old Alberta Liberal Party. The “Alberta Parallel Party” sounds nicer than “Same Pig, Better Lipstick”.
The huffy hand wash by Stephane above is likely to be the theme of the seps. at the next Prov and Fed Elections in Quebec. There is some truth in it and I’m not sure of the best counter argument for feds to use. Perhaps Quebec should stay a ‘colony’ until its leadership is mature enough for bribing without blabbing. What a bunch of small time lowlife jerks.
want your blood pressure to go up, read this
http://www.freedompress.ca
” I’m not sure of the best counter argument for feds to use.”-Wes Warner
Unless ones a masochist, why in the world would we want a counter argument?
Stephane – ” Is there an honest person left in Quebec?”
After being ruled by Prime ministers from Quebec for 35 of the last 37 years, I think we have a pretty good idea about that.
Stephane – “This is a CANADIAN scandal, it LITERALLY has the word CANADA printed all over …….”
In 1773 a group of men calling themselves the “Sons of Liberty” went to the Boston Harbor. The men were dressed as Mohawk Indians. They boarded three British ships, and dumped forty-five tons of tea into the Boston Harbor.
Now I get it! Since they were “Sons of Liberty” but dressed as Mohawks then it was really the Mohawks that were responsible for Boston Tea Party, not the “Sons of Liberty”.
Bonne chance mon ami.
When you hold your next separation referendum please let me know the residency requirements, to vote.
I would be delighted to live in La Belle Province for six months or so, if I could help with your liberation. I’m sure that I’m not alone.
Perhaps even one of the “have” provinces could subsidise our living expenses to make sure you get the numbers required to succeed. This would be a very wise economic investment for them.
Vive le Qu�bec libre!
“Honest person in Quebec? What kind of BS is that? This is a CANADIAN scandal”
Uh, sure it is. Why, I remember back in the nineties how I was writing my MP here in Alberta about how we needed to spend a bunch of money flying overpriced Canadian flags in Quebec so that we would make a bunch of anti-semitic old white guys who spend their time complaining about the lack of white (pur laine) babies being born that they wanted to remain part of Canada.
C’mon, what freakin’ retard came up with that crap, anyhow? Sheesh.
Look, if Quebec wants to leave, freakin’ leave already and here’s hoping the door hits them on the way out. They bring nothing to the mix that can’t be easily replaced with a superior product at a reduced price.
As Tonto might have asked you Cal, ‘what do you mean WE, white man?’ The ‘feds’ and the ‘seps’ as I thought most Canadians would know by now are short names for the two friendly teams in the Quebec house league. Players often move between teams (Bouchard,,,). The point of the game, played well by both sides, is to scam Canada, and the score is ultimately measured in Dollars.
Continuing the game requires arguments and counter arguments. An actual winning argument would be like a nuclear strike during the Cold War. It would end the MADness.
I’m simply interested in what the arguments and counters are likely to be in the upcoming games.
[grin]
Wes
I’m just tired of the the upcoming games.
They’ve been doing this bad cop, good cop routine, for most of my life.
It started with the founder of Truedopia. He said -“make them feel included, make them feel that all of Canada is their home. Then there will be no desire for separation”.
We’ll I’m perfectly bilingual now, when it comes to cornflake box’s and can tap my toe to Radio Canada when passing through Kamloops. Do they not know this in Sept isles? Is this not important enough for them in Troi-Rivieres?
Have we been misled by the great one?
As you said “the game, played well by both sides, is to scam Canada”
I don’t believe all of the players necessarily want to scam Canada. I sure most would be happy to scam anybody they could. But in this game the Feds have the dough.
Sorry that I jumped over your, argument speculation, but bait cutting time, is over for me.
I agree with Stephane. Adscam IS a Canadian scandal. Adscam is a Canadian scandal because Liberal governments were elected by Ontario voters. The brain dead Liberals hatched a system to A: Reward friends first and B: Rewards friends.
The Parti Quebecois will probably win the next Quebec election. They will also win a referendum on a clear question because there will be no credible federalists to argue for the Dominion.
It was the mentality of federalists to suggest that a vote for anyone other than the Liberal Party was a vote for the separtists. Now that the Liberals have been proven corrupt (and the former PC party), the choice is the Bloc or the PQ!
Vive Le Canada Corruption!
I’m a ex-quebecer ( from Sept-Iles in Quebec) and I have always been against the “s�paration et l’ind�pendance du qu�bec” I even vote for the liberal party once. Now that Im living in Ottawa im thinking about moving back in Quebec to vote for Gilles Ducept he’s the only one that make sense to me, Vive le Qu�bec libre. And yes there’s still Honest person in Quebec but they dont make the news…
After reading all this, the whole federal system, in alliance with Quebec, seems/is corrupt. I say trash it all, and each Prov. go it’s own way. This is all pure crap, and I’m tired of paying for it, and damn tired of hearing about it for the last 30 years.
The theory about the 2 parties working togethor in the scam sounds totally logical, and if there is a linkage that could be proven, look out, gonna be some mighty pissed people out here.
“Adscam is a Canadian scandal because Liberal governments were elected by Ontario voters.”
You’ve just established that eastern Canada is retarded — this isn’t exactly news. Still not seeing how this is an Alberta problem, aside from the monthly ‘protection’ payments we make…
leave. just leave. its about damn time that we stopped fooling around with this.
get your socialist butts out of the freaking country. we’ll keep what contiguous areas want to stay. and we’ll stop shipping money to you. you can have your lovely socialist paradise and see how well you can keep up your racist policies when you run your own country.
/tired of socialist whining welfare queen racists
Take your purple dress shirts and matching neck ties with you
Jeez. (what the hell is up with that?)
Viva Quebec leaving
Eurosocialist racist whinefesting criminals
Oh,… and we keep the St Lawrence and 401
Aura voir (dire),…suckers
This threat of Quebec separation has hung over the country for 30 years to the great advantage of the Federal Liberals. Even the Conservative government’s leader was from Quebec.
Quebec will never separate. It simply is not in her interests nor is there the wherewithall to do it. One: They do not have the money as they would owe 1/5th of the national debt.Two:The Metis own over 95% of the land and they have made it clear THEY aren’t leaving. They wondered aloud during the Charlottetown discussions just how the separatists would manage this ‘separation’. They proffered a boat so the Bloc could float down the St. Lawrence. We all howled at that at the time!
They have perpetuated this myth to their advantage and to the political advantage of the Liberals ( both the Quebec Liberals and the Federal Liberals) who have played both ends against the middle for many a year. Fostering the idea that they are a have not province so that transfer payments would come to them disportionately along with all the meaningful contracts that this country has to offer. No other part of the country except Ontario has benefited more from government largess.
Now, under the cynical disguise of ‘saving the unity of the country’ Chretien ‘launches’ the Sponsorship Program. From the testimony we have heard today and this week that, too was a lie.
This has been going on for over 10 years. Starting immediately Chretien and the Liberals got elected. What largess and disgusting behaviour took place before that we can only guess. If this is any guide it has been ongoing for a long time. The issues before us deal with what we know now and what we know was a lot even before Brault started talking.
They stole from the Canadian people , all of us. From every province and from every pocketbook.
They are the worst of society and they run this country.
It is time they did no longer and it is time for Parliamentary reform where no provincial party has and maintains federal status. Especially when it has ‘separatist’ as either part of it’s name or it’s philosophy. We need to take a stand and take back our country.
Charlottetown Accord made it clear how the country feels about Quebec. We want her but we want her on a level playing field.
The days of pandering to Quebec in all things, on any level should end. Before the country does.
From the moment the Liberals got elected they have lied to us: GST-was to have been ended.
It was a huge political issue and promise at the time. It has never ended.
Lies and coverup about what has happened to over 5 billion dollars at Human Resources. 15 billion at Indian Affairs. 2 billion and counting at the useless and unnecessary Gun Registry.
Often wondering why THESE scandals did not trigger the downfall of the corruption of the Liberals it actually did come as a surprise when all hell broke loose over $250 million at the Sponsorship Program.
I guess it was Sheila Fraser, someone of independent authority quietly and efficiently laying it out for us in devastaing detail.
And now this unmistakable road map from Jean Brault.
We can pretend no longer. If billions in stolen and mismanaged money, criminal fraud isn’t enough for us to stand up and take our country back then perhaps we don’t deserve our country.
We cried when we saw the bravery of the Iraqi’s as they voted and some of them died for their trouble but still they came and still they voted displaying proudly their purple fingers.
Time for us to show the Liberal Party of Canada the purple finger and take our country back.
For ourselves and for our Children.
Snowbunnie i could not have said it better if i had tried. Well done and to the point.