Mr. Speaker, this morning's headline reads: "Probe into contracts given to bureaucrat's relatives miffs Dingwall". Apparently the minister is unhap-
py with the lack of action taken against bureaucrats who were caught giving government work to friends and relatives.
The minister should know how internal probes feel by now. This summer he asked his employees to clear him of charges of steering lucrative contracts to a campaign contributor who just happened to be the golfing buddy of the Prime Minister.
The internal whitewash declared the minister clean even though a letter from the minister's office blatantly directed a government agency to do business with this sole bidder and then asked the agency to confirm progress.
We know how internal probes feel. Take two aspirins and call the ethics counsellor in the morning. We know how that feels too. It is not very satisfying over here.