Thank you.
First of all I'll say that on the face of this, the optics of what transpired are outrageous. It's really outrageous to see where we're at with that merger, that minister and the appointment, which, in a way, looks like a patronage appointment.
I've come to my conclusions, and I think that in fairness to the individuals involved, this committee can present a way for facts to be presented to the committee in order to hold accountability in this space.
What I would suggest, in fact, even though I know time is of the essence, is that we consider perhaps sending an official letter from this committee to the former interim Ethics Commissioner, asking her if she's had any involvement, any communications, any advice, not just now but in the past. I would be keenly interested in knowing what type of advice might have been granted when Navdeep Bains was a minister. Did he receive any advice from the Ethics Commissioner related to his position as a minister and this particular company? I want all that information. I think this committee deserves to have all that information.
I am not clear about having the former interim Ethics Commissioner, given our past conversations and given her very linear relationship with Dominic LeBlanc. I don't want this committee to turn into that.
I would suggest, if the committee is open to it, that we direct the chair to write a letter to both, because I don't want to waste time having them come here and sit down and say in their opening remarks, “I know nothing.” Quite frankly, that's a waste of time and a bit theatrical. I am not naive to the way fundraising happens. All intentions could be good, but I don't want to see somebody impugned just because there is an insinuation that they may have been involved in some of this, because, quite frankly, at this committee it's never the crime; it's the cover-up, and I feel that we would put that particular person in a very difficult situation by bringing them here.
Mr. Chair, I'm going to put it to the committee that we look at a way of first verifying whether they had any involvement at all, even as senior legal counsel, quite frankly, between those two parties on that issue. I know they can't disclose it to us, but if they have, then they can come to committee. If they haven't, then I would say that we spare them the theatrics.
That would be my suggestion.