The question being asked by four members of this committee is as follows: what safeguards are currently in place to prevent conflicts of interest when the government commits public funds?
As I mentioned earlier, it is certainly an interesting mandate, but a very broad one. I have been wondering, given its importance, about whether the members of the three opposition parties here before us citing names and facts want us to examine the ethical guidelines established by our government and other previous governments, or rather trying to conduct a public trial against individuals. By focusing on specific events and dates, are they simply begging the question?
The opposition members seem to want to conduct an investigation. I would like to remind them, however, that the Ethics Commissioner is specifically mandated to conduct investigations. The commissioner also has the required expertise and is in a position to protect the confidentiality of information received. This committee has frequently discussed the importance of protecting the privacy of citizens. What the opposition wants to do is put the private lives of individuals on display rather than trust a parliamentary official to maintain the confidentialilty of information received.
I am sure that my colleagues around the table will understand what I mean when I say that politics is above all a family decision. I would not be sitting here today without the support of my husband and my three grown boys. I have been in politics for them and thanks to them. However, I would not want them to end up in the spotlight because of me, simply as a result of the fact that they were willing to join me in this adventure.
When I see members of the opposition targeting members of an MP's family, I have serious doubts about this kind of partisan gamesmanship, and have very little interest in it. If we begin to target those close to our adversaries, where is it going to stop? Is this really the kind of slippery slope we want to embark on?
I would like to remind my Conservative colleagues of the words spoken by one of their former leaders in the House:
“The tyranny of the opposition majority has turned its attention to the men and women who make up our political staff,” said Hill.
“Men and women who did not sign up to be tried by a committee—to be humiliated and intimidated by members of Parliament.”
I would accordingly like to ask the following question: do they believe that our sisters, our mothers, our children, our cousins and our brothers-in-law signed on to appear before these parliamentary committees?
I would like to reassure them by pointing out that, unlike their former colleague, I do not believe members of the opposition are tyrannical. I would nevertheless remind them that at one point, they wanted to prevent political staff from appearing, and yet are now demanding that our families be tried by a committee.