Before question period begins, I would like to make a brief statement.
On Friday, June 3, I received a letter from Mr. Bernard Shapiro, the Ethics Commissioner, informing me that he is, at the request of a member of Parliament, undertaking an inquiry that will deal with alleged breaches of conduct that include the inducements allegedly sought or offered between the member for Newton—North Delta and the Minister of Health and the surreptitious taping of conversations and the alleged entrapment by the member for Newton--North Delta.
The commissioner went on to call to my attention sections 27 to 29 of the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons which stands as an appendix to our Standing Orders, notably subsection 27(5), which reads as follows:
Once a request for an inquiry has been made to the Ethics Commissioner, members should respect the process established by this Code and permit it to take place without commenting further on the matter.
All House leaders were advised of this on June 3.
Before question period begins today, I wish to advise all members that I will be enforcing the Code of Conflict provisions that the House has adopted for itself with respect to both questions and answers. I ask for the cooperation of all hon. members in this matter.