Madam Chair, as I've stated very clearly before—and I'll say it again unequivocally—I take any allegation, regardless of rank or position, very seriously.
Immediately after that meeting, I took it to the appropriate authorities. I think we can all agree that no politician should ever be part of an investigation. By taking it immediately to the appropriate authorities, the independent ombudsman was able to provide information to an independent agency in the Privy Council Office, which is responsible for Governor in Council appointments, so that it could be taken to exactly where it needed to go and so that action could be taken. That was done immediately.
I can assure you that it's something I take very seriously. As I told the ombudsman at the time, the rank or position of the person does not matter. It has to be independently investigated. Why the former ombudsman did not provide that [Technical difficulty—Editor] is for him to [Technical difficulty—Editor], but what we can do is make sure that the information is provided independently. It is extremely critical to say—and I state this unequivocally—that no politician should ever be involved in an investigation.