Full text of Stephen Harper’s speech to the Conservative caucus about senate scandal Prime minister Stephen Harper speaks to his caucus on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Tuesday May 21 Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand The following speech was delivered by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to the Conservative Caucuse on May 21, 2013. Bon matin tout le monde. Good morning everyone. Colleagues, I want to speak to you about events that have transpired recently. You will not be surprised to hear, that I am not happy with the conduct we have witnessed, conductof Parliamentarians, and the conduct of my own office. Nous avons travaillé fort, collectivement comme parti, comme caucus et comme gouvernement afin de renforcer dramatiquement les règles d’éthique à Ottawa. Et afin d’appliquer ces standards à nous-mêmes. We have worked hard, collectively as a party, as a caucus, and as a government, to dramatically strengthen accountability rules in Ottawa and to apply those standards to ourselves. I need not remind you, that in 2006, this government was first elected, to clean up the Liberal sponsorship scandal, to ensure the rules are followed, to ensure there are consequences when they are not. Since that time we have taken unprecedented measures to achieve that end. Notre Loi fédérale sur la responsabilité, la loi en matière de responsabilité la plus sévère de l’histoire de notre pays, a changé à jamais la façon de faire à Ottawa. Our Federal Accountability Act, the toughest accountability legislation in the history of this country, forever changed the way business is done in Ottawa. We have: Strengthened the powers of the Auditor General. Toughened the office of the Ethics Commissioner, reformed political party financing. Dramatically tightened lobbying rules. And beefed up auditing and accountability within government departments. Le Canada a maintenant l’un des systèmes de gouvernance parmi les plus responsables et transparents dans le monde entier. Canada now has one of the most accountable and transparent systems of governance in the world. This is something of which Canadians are rightly proud. It is also something we can never take for granted … because colleagues, as I said in the room across the hall, in the fall of 2005, when we first pledged to bring in the Federal Accountability Act: … no government will be perfect, because none of us are perfect. We cannot dream of a system so perfect that no one will have to be good. Par conséquent, alors que nous continuons à renforcer les règles, nous devons aussi maintenir à la fois une culture de responsabilité. Therefore, just as we continue to toughen rules, we must also uphold a culture of accountability. And I know that the people in this room have. We have reduced our budgets and travel as a government. We are the caucus that finally bit the bullet and reformed the M.P. pension plan, so that we will pay our fair share. Et je sais, que comme ma famille et moi, vous vous assurez de payer vous-mêmes vos dépenses de nature personnelle. And I know, that like me and my family, you are scrupulous about paying expenses oOf a personal nature yourselves. But, that said, let me repeat something else I said in that same speech, in 2005, and let me be very blunt… …Quiconque… quiconque veut utiliser une charge publique pour leur propre bénéfice devraient changer de plans ou encore mieux, quitter cette salle! Anyone…anyone, who wants to use public office for their own benefit, should make other plans – or better yet – leave this room! Colleagues, let me also address the issue of Senate reform. As Canadians know, it was this party that put Senate reform on the national agenda. C’est ce gouvernement qui a mis de l’avant un projet de loi, opposé tant par le NPD que les libéraux, afin de permettre des élections au Sénat et une limite sur la durée des mandats. And in this room are colleagues from the Senate who have agreed to sit in that place in order to support our efforts to achieve fundamental, irreversible, reform. Chers collègues, nous avons entendu les Canadiens nous le dire haut et fort. Colleagues, we have heard from Canadians loud and clear. They want us to continue our efforts. They are asking us to accelerate those efforts. Le statut quo au Sénat n’est pas acceptable. Les Canadiens. Veulent. Du. Changement! The Senate status quo is not acceptable. Canadians. Want. Change! As you know, earlier this year, we asked the Supreme Court of Canada whether the reforms we have proposed can be accomplished by Parliament alone. We have also asked the Court to rule on options for abolishing the Senate completely. Nous attendons avec hâte les réponses de la Cour suprême sur ces questions. And as we prepare to receive, and act on the judgement of the Supreme Court, we will also take further steps in the area of Senate expenditure and accountability. Senator LeBreton and I have discussed this, and she has my full support to accelerate changes to the Senate’s rules on expenses, and close any loopholes in those existing rules. Chers collègues, nous avons un agenda actif et important, sur des enjeux qui importent pour les familles canadiennes et nous avons beaucoup de travail à faire. Colleagues, we have an active and important agenda, on the issues that matter to hard-working Canadian families, and much work to do. When distractions arise – as they inevitably will – we will deal with them, firmly. But we will not lose sight of our top priority. The world remains a deeply uncertain place. Les Canadiens ont besoin de nous pour les protéger, protéger leurs emplois, leurs familles et leurs communautés. C’est ce sur quoi nous nous concentrons et c’est ce que nous allons continuer à faire. Canadians are looking to us to protect them, their jobs, their families, and their communities. That is what we must be focused on and what we will continue to do. Continue to implement our economic action plan, continue our work on expanding trade, continue our focus on jobs, growth, and long-term prosperity and continue to ensure that, through all the ups and downs in the world economy, there is no better place to be that Canada. Now, let’s get back to work.
Posted on: Tue, 21 May 2013 18:09:35 +0000
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