The House of Commons is in recess until May 28 and MPs are back in their ridings. That’s probably a good thing. Last week in Parliament, Conservative MPs filibustered three Committee meetings; Conservative Royal Galipeau jumped Liberal David McGuinty in the House of Commons and, yesterday, Conservative whip Jay Hill (left) blew up at Liberal Denis Coderre:
Hon. Denis Coderre (Bourassa, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, June 2 will be my 10th anniversary as a member of this House. I have always worked hard, passionately and with great determination.
During question period, we ask honest questions. We are now spending $6.1 billion on a mission, and we support our troops, yet we have a minister who says that it costs a certain amount of money, then comes back the next day and says that it costs twice as much, so I think it makes sense to ask about that during question period.
I invoke Standing Order 18. The government whip cast aspersions on my passion and my patriotism by calling me an idiot. He said: “Tell that to the troops we are supporting, you idiot”.
I would ask the government whip, who often gets carried away, to withdraw his comment.
Hon. Jay Hill (Secretary of State and Chief Government Whip, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I too have been here quite some time now, about 14 years or close to it.
I have, as my colleagues have, for the past number of weeks listened to the member for Bourassa denigrate and personally attack our Minister of National Defence. The member says he has been asking these questions properly. The Minister of National Defence is a man with an outstanding 35 year career serving our country in the Canadian armed forces. The member has called him an “arms dealer”. Today he called him a “spendthrift” for the minister's efforts to rebuild the Canadian Forces and to give it the equipment it needs, to give it the tanks it needs.
If he wants me to apologize, I will apologize. I should not have called the member an idiot because even an idiot would support the Minister of National Defence.