Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The great irony is that the opposition, who claims to seek so desperately to examine the financial and electoral practices of the Conservative Party, would be doing just that in public hearings right now if it had voted for the motion we put forward that asked for such an examination.
The second great irony, Mr. Chair, is that the Conservative Party, according to the opposition and sympathetic minds at the Elections Canada bureau, is the party that has something to be defensive about. Yet the Conservative Party is the only party asking for its own finances to be scrutinized by this committee. Of the four parties represented in this room, the Liberal, Bloc, and New Democrat have all rejected requests to have their finances scrutinized before this committee. Only one party has voted in favour of having its finances scrutinized. If it really is the case that the Conservative Party is the only party that has done anything wrong, why would that be the only party that actually wants to investigate its finances under the glaring light of a national television camera?
Further, if we accept the claims of the oppositions parties that their practices are incomparable to those of the Conservative Party, then why would they not want a comparison of all practices to be done before the public? If, as they claim, their practices are entirely different from those the Conservatives practice, then one would think that would become very evident after mere days of public scrutiny. I call upon them to support their allegations against the Conservative Party and to defend their actions by voting in favour of a motion that will allow both to come under the scrutiny of the public.
We in the Conservative Party have our finances in order. We raise our money legitimately, through everyday people. You know the kind of people I'm talking about, Mr. Chair. They are those who work hard, pay their taxes, and play by the rules. They know that we manage our money with great ethical care and that we've always followed all the rules. We know the same, and that is precisely why we are prepared to have all of our actions scrutinized. It is precisely why we want hearings. It is precisely why we want our party officials to come before this committee and answer any of the questions that the most partisan and vitriolic opposition member can conjure up.
If, as the opposition claims, there is some wrongdoing on the part of the Conservative Party, should this motion pass they will have the chance to expose it. If, as they further claim, their practices are entirely different and above reproach, they will have the opportunity to demonstrate that as well.
So once again, Mr. Chair, we ask ourselves why they would have voted against such scrutiny. Why would they have voted against having hearings into their own affairs if they believed they had nothing to hide?
Ironically, there hasn't been a single motion put before this committee calling for our finances in the Conservative Party to be scrutinized that we voted against. We have not voted against a single, solitary motion looking into our affairs.