Hansard May 4, 05: Government Contracts -- Saved by the Speaker -- "not entitled to ask"

Hansard May 4, 05

Mr. Michel Gauthier (Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ): Mr. Speaker, L'Actualité has printed a list of the transport minister's clients before he got into politics. They include Onex, Loblaws, Imperial Tobacco, and Réno-Dépôt/The Building Box. He also acknowledged having worked for Cossette Communication.

My question for the Minister of Transport is quite simple. When he was working for Cossette Communication, was he paid on a fee-for-service basis or was he paid on retainer, in other words, did he have a fixed-rate contract?

Hon. Jean Lapierre (Minister of Transport, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell the hon. member that during my 12 years in the private sector, I never billed anyone for any meeting.

Mr. Michel Gauthier (Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ): Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport has a problem because he earned his living by counselling, as he called it, for a series of companies.

What I want to know is, when he worked for Cossette, was he paid on a fee-for-service basis or was he paid on retainer, based on a fixed-rate contract?

(1445)

The Speaker: The hon. member for Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean knows full well that questions regarding an hon. member's business are not admissible during oral question period. The question has to concern the administration of the Government of Canada. What someone did before being a minister is not a question about that administration.

Mr. Michel Gauthier (Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean, BQ): Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Transport said in this House that he was not paid for that work.

With respect to that statement made in this House, I am asking him how he was paid when he worked for Cossette. I want him to answer. It is important to those watching. He swore—

The Speaker: The hon. member is not entitled to ask an unacceptable question triggered by the response he got to an acceptable one.

The hon. member for Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord.

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