Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Finance. The issue of MacLean's magazine published today contains new revelations on the Ginn Publishing deal, this time implicating the current Minister of Finance.
It says that the minister participated in a meeting with his colleagues from Industry and Heritage before the government authorized the sale of Ginn Publishing. The minister, through his Nellmart Ltd. holding, owns three cinemas in Vancouver and leases them to Famous Players, a Canadian subsidiary of Paramount Communications.
Does the Minister of Finance confirm that he participated in the meeting over this deal with his colleagues from Heritage and Industry on February 16, two days before the government authorized the sale of Ginn Publishing to Paramount, even
though the minister has direct business links with Famous Players, a Paramount subsidiary?