Moral Thunder from Mr. Emerson

David Emerson, as a Liberal cabinet minister, said the following over the last parliamentary session (as recorded in Hansard transcripts):

"Mr. Speaker, I have not been in this House for long, but one of the things I have learned is that the members opposite are blatantly opportunistic, partisan and misleading the Canadian people." - April 18, 2005

"I am delighted to be part of the team that has delivered Canadian economic performance that leads the G-7. I am delighted to be part of a government that has delivered seven consecutive balanced budgets, a substantial program of tax cuts and a reduced debt burden that will continue to fall over the next decade." - October 20, 2004

"Mr. Speaker, the fact is that we are protecting jobs. We are protecting jobs in an industry that has gone through some very hard times. If that party were in power today, those jobs would be gone. They would be gone to the U.S., to the U.K., to Europe and to China." - February 14, 2005, in response to a question about the Technology Partnerships Canada Program

"Mr. Speaker, disgusting maliciousness is what it is… All they are doing is muckraking because that is all they know how to do. - October 3, 2005, defending against Conservatives' criticism of the Technology Partnerships Canada program and one company's decision to provide David Dingwall with a contingency fee for his work as a lobbyist.

"Mr. Speaker, for several months in this house I have watched the political chicanery and skullduggery from the other side. - May 13, 2005

"Mr. Speaker, this prime minister has done more to clean up parliament and clean up government than any prime minister in the last 30 or 40 years." - May 5, 2005

"They are pretending that they support Kyoto. They have never supported Kyoto. They do not support Kyoto and they never will." - April 18, 2005, referring to his new party

"Mr. Speaker, this government has said right from the beginning, I have said from the beginning and my colleague the minister of the environment has said from the beginning that we can achieve Kyoto and we can do it while the Canadian economy is made more and more competitive and that means jobs." - February 3, 2005

"Mr. Speaker, I can confirm to the house that those people's thinking is so inconsistent, they should just sit down." - February 4, 2005, once again criticizing his new caucus colleagues

"Mr. Speaker, I really find it difficult to live with this kind of foolishness." - September 26, 2005, in response to a question from Colin Carrie, Conservative MP for Oshawa

"Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should have the courage to stand in the house and tell his constituents that if the Conservatives were in government today, there would not be $5 billion of investments in the automotive industry in Ontario. Oshawa and the workers in Oshawa would be in serious trouble." - November 22, 2005, in response to another question from Carrie.

"If we make a deal, we keep a deal." - November 21, 2005, speaking about government dealings with GM, in one of his final question periods before his election campaign as a Liberal candidate.

Political consultant and former Liberal advisor Jonathan Ross publishes a blog where these quotes first appeared.