Thank you, Chair.
Chair, we have an allegation from the Liberals that the Conservative Party has violated elections spending practices and laws because of a transfer situation to candidates and the candidates then spending the money on national ads. Because of that, according to the Liberals, they want this matter investigated. They want our books to be open. They want to examine them because they say we did something wrong and they say they want an opportunity to prove it at this committee.
Yet, Chair, I would suggest that it is more than slightly disingenuous to take that position because there are many examples of Liberal candidates either being investigated or being in potential violation of electoral law. I want to list a few of these examples. Again, I would suspect that these are not examples the Liberals want me to raise, but I will raise them for the record anyway, because it shows again the hypocrisy between their own stated position and what some of their own people have been doing.
The former Liberal member of Parliament in west Vancouver, Blair Wilson, is accused of evading electoral spending limits in 2006 by paying some campaign workers in cash and not reporting some donations and some expenses. Mark Marissen, who is a B.C. Liberal organizer and Stéphane Dion's national campaign co-chair, allegedly was made aware of the irregularities 12 days before they became public, but they were not reported until they did become public.
I'm wondering why the Liberals, in all their sanctimony of saying that we have to get to the bottom of this, that we can't allow this type of scandal to take place, haven't then come before this committee and asked for Mr. Wilson's election returns to be examined.