Mr. Speaker, I appreciate you hearing this question of privilege. I know this matter has come before you once before as a question of privilege about question period and the veracity of members in the House during question period.
\nHowever, I want to tell you, Mr. Speaker, that I would not rise on this matter if I did not believe that question period today revolved around a question which is essential for the security of Canada, the security frankly of the western world, and the security of individual citizens in our country. This is an extremely grave matter when the government members in this House believe as if they were reading from a textbook written by Mr. Goebbels when he was preparing for power in Germany. It is absolutely shameful.
\nYesterday the Prime Minister alleged that this party and myself as foreign minister did nothing. He said that we did not utter a peep in respect of Mr. Arar. Today he repeated that allegation and the Minister of Public Safety did the same and sought to distort the evidence before the House and yourself, Mr. Speaker.
\nThe O'Connor report clearly shows the following facts: that I attended on the minister from Syria at the United Nations, that we had regular phone calls, and that I attempted to write a letter to the minister himself, but was unable to do so because of instructions from the RCMP to the solicitor general at the time.
\nThis matter was only resolved because of the intervention of the then prime minister, Mr. Chr\u00e9tien. While all this was going on, all these efforts being made to get Mr. Arar out of jail, we were unable to do so because of the actions of the RCMP and egged on by the present public security minister who in this House alleged that we were helping a known terrorist. He said it on the floor of this House. It is disgraceful to have him stand up and say what he said today. It is dishonourable.
\nSome of us here have spent our lives in honourable service to our country and to this House of Commons. To have dishonourable allegations of that nature made on a file of such importance to the security of Canada and Canadians is not acceptable to the House. It is not acceptable to the country. It is not acceptable to our decorum and I suggest it affects the privileges of all members of the House.
\nIt is just not possible to have a question period in which hon. members are allowed to distort the truth so much and tell lies about what took place on the public record. It totally destroys the credibility of this House of Commons and I raise it as a personal privilege.
", "fr": "Monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident, je vous remercie d\u2019entendre cette question de privil\u00e8ge. Je sais que vous avez d\u00e9j\u00e0 eu \u00e0 vous prononcer sur la v\u00e9racit\u00e9 des r\u00e9ponses fournies par les d\u00e9put\u00e9s au cours de la p\u00e9riode des questions.
\nJe tiens toutefois \u00e0 vous dire, monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident, que je ne soul\u00e8verais pas cette question de privil\u00e8ge si je ne croyais pas que la p\u00e9riode des questions d\u2019aujourd\u2019hui portait sur un sujet essentiel pour la s\u00e9curit\u00e9 du Canada, en fait la s\u00e9curit\u00e9 du monde occidental et la s\u00e9curit\u00e9 des citoyens de notre pays. Il est extr\u00eamement grave que des d\u00e9put\u00e9s minist\u00e9riels croient pouvoir tenir \u00e0 la Chambre des propos qu\u2019on pourrait croire sortis d\u2019un trait\u00e9 de propagande de M. Goebbels au moment o\u00f9 il se pr\u00e9parait \u00e0 acc\u00e9der au pouvoir en Allemagne. C\u2019est absolument honteux.
\nHier, le premier ministre a all\u00e9gu\u00e9 que mon parti et moi-m\u00eame, en tant que ministre des Affaires \u00e9trang\u00e8res, n\u2019avions rien fait. Il a d\u00e9clar\u00e9 que nous n\u2019avions pas \u00e9mis la moindre protestation au sujet de M. Arar. Il a r\u00e9p\u00e9t\u00e9 aujourd\u2019hui la m\u00eame all\u00e9gation et le ministre de la S\u00e9curit\u00e9 publique en a fait autant et a cherch\u00e9 \u00e0 d\u00e9former les faits devant la Chambre et vous-m\u00eame, monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident.
\nLe rapport O'Connor montre clairement les faits suivants: que j\u2019ai rencontr\u00e9 le ministre syrien aux Nations Unies, que nous avons communiqu\u00e9 r\u00e9guli\u00e8rement par t\u00e9l\u00e9phone, que j\u2019ai essay\u00e9 d\u2019\u00e9crire une lettre au ministre, mais sans pouvoir le faire \u00e0 cause des instructions que la GRC avait donn\u00e9es au solliciteur g\u00e9n\u00e9ral.
\nCette question n\u2019a \u00e9t\u00e9 r\u00e9solue que gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 l\u2019intervention de l\u2019ancien premier ministre, M. Chr\u00e9tien. Nous avons fait tout cela, nous avons d\u00e9ploy\u00e9 tous ces efforts pour sortir M. Arar de prison, mais nous n\u2019y sommes pas parvenus \u00e0 cause des agissements de la GRC, encourag\u00e9e par l'actuel ministre de la S\u00e9curit\u00e9 publique qui all\u00e9guait \u00e0 la Chambre que nous aidions un terroriste connu. C\u2019est ce qu\u2019il a d\u00e9clar\u00e9 \u00e0 la Chambre. Il devrait avoir honte de ce qu\u2019il a dit aujourd\u2019hui. C\u2019est indigne.
\nCertains d\u2019entre nous ont consacr\u00e9 leur vie \u00e0 servir honorablement notre pays \u00e0 la Chambre des communes. Il n\u2019est pas acceptable que l\u2019on prof\u00e8re \u00e0 la Chambre de telles all\u00e9gations au sujet d\u2019un dossier aussi important pour la s\u00e9curit\u00e9 du pays et des Canadiens. C\u2019est inacceptable pour notre pays. C\u2019est inacceptable pour notre d\u00e9corum et je consid\u00e8re que cela porte atteinte aux privil\u00e8ges de tous les d\u00e9put\u00e9s.
\nIl est inacceptable que des d\u00e9put\u00e9s puissent, pendant la p\u00e9riode des questions, d\u00e9former autant la v\u00e9rit\u00e9 et prof\u00e9rer des mensonges au sujet de ce qui s\u2019est pass\u00e9. Cela d\u00e9truit totalement la cr\u00e9dibilit\u00e9 de la Chambre des communes et j'en fais une question de privil\u00e8ge personnelle.
"}, "url": "/debates/2006/12/7/bill-graham-1/", "politician_url": "/politicians/124/", "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/1435/", "procedural": false, "source_id": "1827922", "h1": {"en": "Government Orders", "fr": ""}, "h2": {"en": "Privilege", "fr": ""}, "h3": {"en": "Alleged Veracity of Answers to Oral Questions", "fr": ""}, "document_url": "/debates/2006/12/7/", "related": {"document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2006%2F12%2F7%2F"}}