Thank you, Mr. Chair.
This is in fact quite a specific matter that clearly pertains to ethics.
I am a member of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, which considers contracts, and have served on the Standing Committee on National Defence, and various other committees. In this particular case, there is a clear ethical issue and that is why I think this committee should conduct this study.
People have asked why the urgency. Let us not forget that, in the past five years, half a billion dollars has been spent in response to the Lacolle and Roxham Road situation.
Today, there are also specific questions about the Lacolle sector. Liberal party donors are involved in this and there are hidden contracts. National security reasons are cited, and yet the purpose of the contracts is to install tents and equipment. It is ridiculous. The information we have received raises an ethical issue. That information is from Radio-Canada. We did not make it up. Research has been done. When a media outlet such as Radio-Canada does a full report, with specific facts, the least we can do is shed some light on this matter as soon as possible.
It is urgent because contracts are renewed for five years, and we have some very critical questions to ask. That is why this committee is the best place. I would go so far as to say that there should be a number of ethics committees. In fact, there are often ethical issues that we never get an answer to.