It is a tale told by an idiot
Full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.
Thanks to William Shakespeare, who had a certain je ne sais quoi -- would you not agree? Could the following have the makings of a "best seller" once a thorough investigation is completed? NJC
Hear No Evil, See No Evil
*** It is very important to note that funding for RCMP manpower and investigations--which might actually uncover the trail of $$$, the Liberals who were involved, and the nitty-gritty of Liberal Sponsorship/ Adscam/ Slush Funds--has not been allocated. NJC ***
[English]
Sponsorship Program
Hon. Grant Hill (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister has now admitted publicly that the Liberal Party of Canada received hundreds of thousands of taxpayers' dollars, dirty money I might add, through ad scam. For the past seven years the Liberals have campaigned with this dirty money. Why did the Prime Minister permit Public Works to be used as a vehicle to launder money for the 1997 and 2000 elections?
Hon. Stephen Owen (Minister of Public Works and Government Services, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I am not sure exactly what the member is referring to, but there are four processes underway. There is a judicial independent inquiry; the public accounts committee, which they are well aware of; RCMP investigations; and a special council for recovery. Rather than make accusations, the hon. member should put evidence before these processes to make sure that, as we have insisted, the truth comes out.
Hon. Grant Hill (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister says he will not spend all this dirty money, in fact he will give it back. That is a little bit like a bank robber, when he is caught, saying, “If I give the money back, will you let me go?” Would the Prime Minister explain why the sponsorship program was used to funnel money into Liberal coffers for the 1997 and 2000 elections? Why was that?
Hon. Jacques Saada (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister responsible for Democratic Reform, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I would suggest to my colleague that before he makes allegations he should check the facts.
The Liberal Party of Canada has decided to conduct an internal audit into the sources of financing for our party, which by the way no other party has tried to do so far, even though we have invited them to do so.
The facts are going to speak. There is a legal council in charge of getting to the money wherever it has gone, and there is a commission of investigation in place which is charged with finding out what the facts are. I would suggest my colleague should wait and see what the facts are before talking.
Hon. Grant Hill (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): Mr. Speaker, no other party has to do it because no other party took the money.
[Translation]
Not only did the Liberal Party receive this dirty money, but cabinet ministers also received donations: the current Minister of Industry, the Minister of Social Development and the President of the Privy Council, to name but a few. Will the Prime Minister ask them to pay back this money; yes or no?
Hon. Jacques Saada (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister responsible for Democratic Reform, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I am having a hard time understanding why my colleague keeps on talking about dirty money when there is not an ounce of evidence. This is a purely gratuitous allegation. I do not see any basis for his claim.
What I propose is extremely simple: instead of throwing around accusations that only serve to smear reputations, if there are documents or facts to present, then he should put them on the table and we will consider them. Until then he should stop throwing mud just for the sake of it.
