Stephen Harper's responses to questions in the House of Commons about leaks relating to NAFTA and the policy position of presidential candidate Barack Obama.
MONDAY, MARCH 3
'Government does not condone this'
Mr. Speaker, without getting into the NAFTA issue, I understand the Canadian embassy in Washington has issued a statement indicating it regretted the fact that information has come out that would imply that Senator Obama has been saying different things in public than in private. The government of Canada does not condone this and certainly regrets any implication. I can say that I have watched the U.S. presidential campaign very closely. In my judgment, all of the leading candidates for both parties would continue the strong friendship and partnership that Canada and the United States enjoy.
'Deny any allegation' of interference
Mr. Speaker, I am a little bit amused by the question of the leader of the NDP who is suggesting that we are so all-powerful we could interfere in the American election and pick their president for them. This government does not claim that kind of power. I certainly deny any allegation that this government has attempted to interfere in the American election. The American people will make the decision as to their next president and I am confident that whoever that person is, man or woman, Democrat or Republican, that person will continue the strong alliance, friendship and partnership that we enjoy with the United States.
TUESDAY, MARCH 4
'It is not my chief of staff'
(In French) Mr. Speaker, the Canadian embassy in Washington expressed its apologies regarding the leaking of this information. The government is trying to find out who is responsible for this information being made public. It is not my chief of staff.
Leak of document 'completely unacceptable'
Mr. Speaker, the leak of this particular document is not only regrettable as the Canadian embassy in the United States has already said. It is completely unacceptable to this government and we will do our best to find out who did it. The reality is that what we are talking about here is a report that somebody in the consulate in Chicago wrote to their superior. There are literally thousands of documents like this written around the world by Canadian officials. It is ridiculous to think that the Prime Minister's office even ever sees these documents.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5
'May well be illegal'
Mr. Speaker, as I have already said in the House, this kind of leaking of information is completely unacceptable and in fact it may well be illegal. I can say that the Clerk of the Privy Council, obviously working with the department of foreign affairs, is bringing in an internal security investigation on this. Based on what they find and legal advice we will take any action that is necessary to get to the bottom of this matter.
'Blatantly unfair to Senator Obama'
I do not think that I could be plainer, that we will take every step necessary to get to the bottom of this. The leak of this kind of information, for whatever reason by whomever, is completely unacceptable to the government of Canada. It is not useful. It is not in the interest of the government of Canada and the way the leak was executed, Mr. Speaker, was blatantly unfair to Senator Obama and his campaign. We will make sure that every legal and every investigative technique necessary is undertaken to find out who exactly is behind this.
Two leaks?
Later, Liberal MP Susan Kadis asks the government about two leaks: the embassy document and information from Mr. Harper's chief of staff, Ian Brodie.
Ms. Kadis: "There were two leaks. Why is the Prime Minister's office not investigating the one that came out of the PMO? The Conservatives are masters of parsing words for their own benefit. Unfortunately the first victim is often the truth. Therefore let me ask a very clear question. Did the Prime Minister's chief of staff leak information to CTV news about confidential diplomatic conversations concerning Senator Obama's position on NAFTA? Yes or no."
Conservative MP Deepak Obhrai, parliamentary secretary to the foreign affairs minister: "Mr. Speaker, I just answered this question. I will just answer this question again. We take this leak very seriously. The Clerk of the Privy Council has been asked to investigate it with the department. When the results come through, if needed appropriate action will be taken. I would like to thank the Liberal Party for voting for the budget yesterday."
THURSDAY, MARCH 6
'Not going to comment on rumours'
Mr. Harper: Mr. Speaker, I've already said that the leak of information against the campaign of Senator Obama was extremely unfair. I've also said Mr. Speaker that it's completely contrary to the interests of the government of Canada. Mr. Speaker, I'm not going to comment on rumours. I've said that we are doing a thorough internal investigation into this led by the Clerk of the Privy Council and I will take whatever steps the Clerk of the Privy Council believes are necessary subsequent to that investigation.
Praise for Layton
The Clerk of the Privy Council will inquire into the entire affair and we will act according to the information that we receive. We're going to investigate this entire matter and take whatever action is deemed to be necessary based on the facts that we are able to discover. But Mr. Speaker, I would point out to the Leader of the Opposition that when he was throwing around wild accusations of scandal, the leader of the NDP was already on top of this issue.
Compiled by Brodie Fenlon
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