Mr. Fergus asked me to make a ruling with regard to whether or not the motion is admissible. I have conferred with the clerk on this matter once again, and have concluded that it is. I conclude that it is within the mandate of this committee based on Standing Order 108(3)(h)(vii). Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(h), the committee is able to review the safeguards that are in place to avoid and prevent conflicts of interest in federal government procurement, contracting, granting, contribution and other expenditure policies, as outlined in the motion.
Standing Order 108(3)(h)(vii) states that the mandate of this committee includes the following: “the proposing, promoting, monitoring and assessing of initiatives which relate to access to information and privacy across all sectors of Canadian society and to ethical standards relating to public office holders”. Given that this is part of the mandate of this committee, I see no reason why the motion does not stand. Therefore, I am ruling it as within the purview.
We go to Madame Brière.