Thank you, Chair.
I have to say I am curious as to where the reference to allegations of political interference is coming from. I, too, would like to be given a little more information from our colleague, Mr. Serge Ménard.
To be perfectly honest, I think the Bloc, and possibly other parties, already have a target in mind. I am quite concerned about the fact that we do not know whether a police investigation is currently underway. I would like the government to tell us whether such an investigation is ongoing. I can understand the Bloc's frustration. Their leader has asked questions regarding this affair on a number of occasions during the Oral Question Period, and the government is refusing to provide clear answers.
So, first of all, I am curious to know whether a police investigation is in fact underway at this time. Only the government can answer that question. It does not hesitate to tell us—in other cases, for example—that it cannot comment because of a complaint, because a police investigation is underway or because the case is before the courts and that, for this very reason, the government must avoid commenting. In this case, it seems to me that the government should be in a position to tell us whether, yes or no, a police investigation is underway regarding this whole question of allegations of criminal fraud, and so on.
Secondly, I would like to receive additional information from our colleague who states, in his motion, that there have been allegations of political interference. Could he please tell us more about that? In the presentation he just made, he referred to the Department of Justice, and to officials working for that department who terminated the charge-laying process. However, the only actual politician he has made reference to is the former Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Hon. Sheila Copps, and he repeated a number of times that she herself had requested that there be a police investigation, without ever alleging that this particular minister or her successors may have tried to interfere in that police investigation. So, I would like to know who those allegations refer to, in order to make an informed decision on the motion.
I would also like to know whether the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Justice is in a position to tell us whether a police investigation is, in fact, underway on this specific case.
This is necessary, because this is a serious case. If the motion is passed by the committee, that will mean that bills that are waiting to be studied by this Committee will have to be set aside, based on what I heard earlier. So, we have to have an answer to those two questions. At the very least, I need an answer from the government, through the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Justice. The other question is for my colleague, Mr. Serge Ménard.
That's it. Thank you.