No Tory MPs investigated in Hill contract: PM

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says no members of hisgovernmentare being investigated as part of an RCMP probe into construction contracts awarded for the nearly $1-billion project to renovate the West Block of Parliament.

During Wednesday's question period in the House of Commons, the prime minister saidif the Mountiesfind any wrongdoingbyindividual contractors, his government expects they will be prosecuted.

"If there are contractors who broke the law they will have to deal with the full force of the law," Harper said in French in response to a question from Bloc Qubcois Leader Gilles Duceppe.

Duceppe compared the ongoing investigation to the federalsponsorship scandal and accused Harper's Conservatives of continuingthe Liberals' oldpractices of rewarding loyalists withlucrative public workscontracts.

"After promising sound and transparent governments, does the prime minister realize he's perpetuating the Liberal way of doing things?" Duceppe told the House.

The Opposition Liberals, in turn,stepped up theircallsfor embattled Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis to resign or be fired.

"Isn't it time he took a little time off to clean up his act," Liberal MP Marcel Proulx told the House.

Government House leader John Baird responded by calling Proulx's comments "reckless," saying Paradis has done an "outstanding" job in cabinet and for his constituency.

Paradis, who isalready under fire fora former aide'smeddling in access-to-information requests atpublic works, was not in charge of thedepartment whenthe tendering process to repair the Parliament buildings began in 2007. Michael Fortier, an unelected senator, was the minister of public works at the time.

Martin slams Public Works 'gravy train'

NDP MP Pat Martin denounced theamount of lobbying in Ottawa, saying well-connectedConservatives are continuing to treat the public works department like a "gravy train."

"All they did was change the engineer," Martin told the House.

The RCMP investigation centres aroundthe head of aMontreal construction firm's allegations surroundingits bid for contracts on therenovations of Parliament's West Block.

Paul Sauv, a Montrealer who owns the brick-laying company LM Sauv, told Radio-Canada he hired Gilles Varin to lobby for him so he could win a government contract that could be worth millions of dollars. Varin, a long-time Quebec Conservative supporter, was not a registered lobbyist.

Sauv said Varin claimed he had very close friends who worked for Public Works Canada. Sauv said he agreed to pay Varin a monthly retainer averaging $4,000.

After LM Sauv won a $9-million contract, Sauv began to make larger payments to Varin an extra $70,000 plus taxes. In all, Sauv said, he paid more than $140,000 to Varin's company.

Varin told Radio-Canada that he felt he didn't need to register as a lobbyist because all he did was pass along Sauv's resum to a friend. He also denied receiving any bonuses.

But Varin did speak with Hubert Pichet, a staff member of Conservative Senator Pierre-Claude Nolin. Pichet confirmed to Radio-Canada that Varin asked for contacts in the office of the Public Works minister.