Mr. Chair, I would argue that the basic premise of the Conflict of Interest Act, which I think Parliament passed back in the 1990s, is to ensure that members of Parliament and people across the country who want to serve the country have ways to do so that can mitigate potential conflicts. For all intents and purposes, from our perspective, at the time of the appointment—and the Conflict of Interest Commissioner has underscored this—there were ways to do that here. I think part of the question is whether that process was totally respected.
On September 5th, 2024. See this statement in context.