Ethics  Speaker, as I think has been illustrated many times, the Senate makes its own decisions in these matters. Senator Tkachuk, the chair of the committee, has been very clear that this is the case. It is also clear that we do not always agree with those decisions. However, it is very clear what we expect in this particular case. There has been a breach of public trust, claiming expenses to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars that should never have been claimed, and there should be appropriate action taken to remove those senators from the public payroll.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, once again, the documents make clear there are two individuals who are under investigation, Mr. Wright and Mr. Duffy, as has been said from the outset of this affair. Let me say specifically, what the RCMP says about the PMO.

41st General Election  Speaker, the Conservative Party has been assisting Elections Canada with its investigation. It is our responsibility. We have been very clear. The actions that occurred in Guelph are unacceptable. Any and all information that we have has been given to Elections Canada, and we will continue to work with them, notwithstanding the efforts of the leader of the NDP to apparently clear certain individuals.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, I addressed this issue some months ago. Mr. Wright has been absolutely clear in terms of who he told he intended to repay Mr. Duffy's expenses to. He did not say Ray Novak was one of those people. He has named those people. He has been very clear. He has also been very clear that one of those people was not me, because I obviously would never have approved such a scheme.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, I have been clear from the start. I was clear with Mr. Duffy, with Mr. Wright and with the caucus: Mr. Duffy's expenses were inappropriate and it was his responsibility to reimburse taxpayers. Mr. Duffy did not do that.

Ethics  Speaker, the leader of the NDP is once again trying to pin the blame on one person for someone else's actions. The facts here are absolutely clear. Mr. Wright has been very clear on all of these matters. He has taken full responsibility for his actions and he is being held accountable, as we expect in this party. We hold people personally accountable for their actions.

Ethics  We are obviously making sure authorities are assisted with their look into the various individuals, as is their responsibility. Let me be clear once again, because the leader of the NDP keeps trying to insinuate some role on my part. I have been very clear. I did not know about any payment from Mr. Wright to Mr. Duffy, or about the story to deceive Canadians about that.

Ethics  Speaker, the Senate committee that the member refers to was the committee of Senator Tkachuk, not Senator LeBreton, who was the government leader in the Senate. The Senate made its own decisions. The Senate has been very clear on that matter. We believe, to be very clear about this, that the senators, having failed to repay any expenses they took inappropriately in due course, should be removed from the public payroll.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, once again, Mr. Wright has not only been very clear, he has been very clear about his sole responsibility and his dealings with others on this matter. He is being held accountable for that. I wonder how many members of the NDP are aware that this party leader not only claims expenses for court cases he loses but also expects his political party to actually pay, for him, the damages imposed by a court of law.

Ethics  That was our expectation and I think we were very clear that it was our expectation that there would be consequences if that was not done.

Ethics  Wright is no longer working for us and Mr. Duffy should also be removed from the public payroll. This is crystal clear. I do not know what the difficulty is in the hon. member seeing this. I imagine the fact that he sat for 17 years and knew about bribery in Quebec explains why he does not see this, but it is crystal clear.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, once again, Mr. Wright has been very clear on that in his court filings. He has been very clear on all of the facts. They are in black and white. Mr. Wright says very clearly that the decision was taken with his money. It was his decision and his alone, and he admits that this was the wrong course of action.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, I have made it very clear. We have made it crystal clear. I think every Conservative member understands it. We expect people to act in ways that respect rules and show integrity. If they do not do that, they cannot expect the support of their colleagues, they cannot expect the support of their leader and they cannot expect to stay in the Conservative caucus.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, I have been clear. I spoke to Mr. Duffy on one occasion about that on February 13. The inference of what the hon. gentleman said is that somehow I approved Mr. Wright paying Mr. Duffy's expenses. I did no such thing.

Ethics  Perrin has made a statement on his own behalf in terms of his actions. Mr. Wright has also been very clear on this as well. To be absolutely clear, once again, any assertion that I was in any way consulted or had any knowledge of Mr. Wright's payment to Mr. Duffy is categorically false. Had I known about it, I would not have permitted it.