SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

René Villemure

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of Parliament
  • Bloc Québécois
  • Trois-Rivières
  • Quebec
  • Voting Attendance: 62%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $100,349.98

  • Government Page
  • May/30/23 12:50:51 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. I really appreciate his concern and wisdom. I would say that, right now, there is one person, that is, Mr. Johnston, who is saying that he has seen something, but that he cannot talk about it. I am not sure that having three other people also tell us that they have seen something but cannot talk about it will restore public confidence. My intervention is based on the need to restore trust. I do not think that Mr. Johnston's suggested method is the only one; there could have been others. Also, I do not think this is the best way, and I would like to hear about others. As we know, in essence, I am asking for Mr. Johnston's recusal, as is my colleague. I am not about to start following his recommendations, either.
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  • Oct/4/22 2:44:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, every time we ask the government for the Roxham Road contracts that it refuses to disclose, it responds that to the government, and I quote: transparency is critically important. That is a rather Orwellian response. Refusing to disclose contracts out of concern for transparency is not that far removed from being told that war is peace. I am blinded by all that transparency. Seriously, hiding public contracts is not transparency, it is secrecy. Can the government actually be transparent and simply disclose who it gave taxpayers' money to for Roxham Road? People have the right to know.
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  • Oct/3/22 2:29:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, honestly, we are not talking about top secret documents here. We are talking about leases signed for land, trailers and hotel rooms. By refusing to disclose all the contracts tied to Roxham Road on a questionable pretext, the government is the one sowing doubt. The government is the one whose actions are reminding us of the billions of dollars awarded without a call for tenders to the big Liberal family during the pandemic. The government is the one suggesting that there is something to hide. Why wait to be forced to be transparent? Why not simply disclose the contracts?
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  • Oct/3/22 2:28:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the decision to make Roxham Road and all its facilities permanent raises some serious ethical questions. We know that the government awarded two Liberal donors at least seven contracts without a bidding process. We have no idea if there are more. Since the government refuses to disclose all the contracts, this afternoon, I will be asking the Standing Committee on Ethics to investigate the ethical aspect of awarding contracts. If the government has nothing to hide, it should disclose these documents itself. Will it make public all the federal contracts tied to Roxham Road?
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Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Saskatoon—Grasswood for his speech. No one could disagree with the principle of Bill C-250. Ignorance and intolerance must be condemned. Like my colleague, I believe that education is essential. However, I am concerned that naming a specific group in such a law could imply that one group is more important than another and that there are laws that favour some groups over others, even though I know that is not the legislator's intent. I would like to know what my colleague could do to give his bill the broadest possible scope.
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  • Feb/7/22 3:59:20 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. Opaqueness and transparency are two things that we talk a lot about in ethics. It is said that if something has to be opaque to succeed, it is probably less ethical than something that can stand up to transparency and light. I do not know why the government is dragging things out because, honestly, in its place, I would follow the unanimous recommendation of the committee and shed some light on the situation and, if necessary, prove that everything was done properly. I want to reiterate that I am not presuming that a mistake was made. I would just like confirmation that everything was done properly.
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