Mr. Wright, thank you for having accepted our invitation.
The Conservative government has always spoken out against the fact that people holding senior positions within the federal government could move from the private sector to the public sector, and vice-versa. In describing that situation, they talked about the phenomenon of the revolving doors. The Conservative government objected to that by denouncing the situation and announcing that it would put an end to it.
Mr. Harper appointed you as his chief of staff; you are a star on Bay Street. You have come from the private sector, from a corporation that is the largest employer in the Canadian private sector. As chief of staff, you will become the second most influential person in government. In your opinion, does that not constitute an ethical problem?
Despite the fact that you have implemented a system to compartmentalize information, you will be receiving and hearing confidential reports, and reviewing a large amount of information. Despite the fact that sections 34 and 35 of the Conflict of Interest Act set out the post-employment rules, you will not be able to ignore everything that you have heard, seen and read. You will also be privy to state secrets. You will bring all of that information as well as the privileged contacts you will have made to the private sector. Would you not agree that that raises an ethical problem?