I'd hate to think that in some of the discussions that are taking place we might be engaging in delay tactics to avoid the inevitable.
I'd like to go back to a comment made by Mr. Dechert. He referenced wasting tax dollars and perhaps going down a path that isn't within our mandate. It's been made quite clear that it's a very limited mandate we have. It's public officer-holders; that's been defined to us. I can't imagine how much clearer it could be. Those are the only individuals this would pertain to. I'm very concerned that by continuing this discussion while talking about wasting taxpayers' dollars by going down this path, we are in fact doing that. We're wasting time and wasting taxpayers' dollars.
Let's not forget that at the very core of this was the fact that Elections Canada was seriously disturbed, and criminal investigations have begun, because it appears that taxpayers were abused by individuals who were public office-holders. That's a very serious allegation. If we allow that to slip by us, it seriously undermines the confidence the public holds for public office-holders, and it gets to the very essence of whether or not we respect those taxpaying citizens.