Mr. John R. Rodriguez (Nickel Belt) moved

for leave to introduce Bill C-459, an act to honour the immigrants and pioneers who have come to Canada from the four comers of the world by placing a monument on Parliament Hill to recognize their contribution to Canadian society.

Mr. Rodriguez:

Mr. Speaker, on the Hill we have monuments which recognize individual contributions of Canadians. My proposal is to recognize the collective contributions made by immigrants who have come to Canada from all corners of the world as well as by the pioneers who helped to build the country that we know today as Canada.

Mr. Rodriguez:

Madam Speaker, second, Mr. Larry Duchesne did not make his money lobbying government for his private interests.

My supplementary question for the Prime Minister is this. The Prime Minister is fond of saying that you dance with the one who brung you. Well, by golly, the lobbyists and the Tories are still dancing. I might add they are not ballroom dancing, they are dancing the lambada.

Given that the Tory leadership candidates are continuing to boogie with lobbyists, the question that I and many Canadians want to ask the Prime Minister is this. Is this not a clear signal that it is better to know the Prime Minister than to be the Prime Minister?

Mr. John R. Rodriguez (Nickel Belt):

Madam Speaker, my question is for the Prime Minister. It concerns the fact that the campaigns of the Tory leader candidates are a virtual who's who of the Canadian lobbying industry. In fact more than 100 lobbyists are working on the campaigns of the top three contenders.

With the Campbell campaign are Bill Neville, Gerry Doucet and Nancy Jamieson. With the Charest team there are Jodi White, Gary Ouellet and Pat MacAdam, among many other lobbyists for profit. The Jim Edwards campaign is managed by John Laschinger and assisted by other lobbyists for profit like Chester Burtt.

Does the Prime Minister not think that his party and his government are sending out the wrong message to Canadians when lobbyists for profit who make their living off government procurement contracts are accumulating political IOUs that can be cashed in with the new Prime Minister?

Mr. John R. Rodriguez (Nickel Belt) moved

for leave to introduce Bill C-447, an act to amend the Trust and Loan Companies Act.