Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the hon. member for understanding so well the issues involved in this very important legislation, Bill C-43.
During the election campaign, the Liberals came up with their famous red book. We heard a lot about it, since that document
included all the election promises which the Liberals were supposedly going to implement if elected.
The Liberals are now in office. In their red book, they pledged to implement the recommendations of the Holtmann report. That report was drafted by a parliamentary committee which specifically looked at the issue of lobbying. The recommendations made in the Holtmann report went very far as regards different tiers of lobbyists, as well as disclosure.
A number of witnesses appeared before the current committee, the Zed committee, which tabled a report which is another red book. Red books keep coming out, but they are not all the same. This one contradicts the election promises made, since it does not go as far as the Holtmann report recommended.
The government seems to be trying to create some confusion in this regard and I would like the hon. member to tell me one thing. The Liberal government is claiming to go farther than the Holtmann report, for example with the appointment of an ethics counsellor. Is that not terrific, Mr. Speaker? However, if you take a closer look, you realize that the ethics counsellor is really just a puppet controlled by the Prime Minister. Indeed, that person is appointed by the Prime Minister and will first report to the Prime Minister, behind closed doors. We, members of the official opposition, will know little about the counsellor's work, in terms of the analysis, research, inquiry and investigation conducted.
The member referred to two very important issues, namely the whole episode involving the Minister of Canadian Heritage and his secret visit to the United States on behalf of friends of the government, as well as the Pearson saga, which also benefited friends of the government. Whether the government is Liberal or Conservative, the result is invariably the same: the rich benefit at the expense of the poor.
My question is this: If the ethics counsellor were appointed by Parliament and accountable to it, to us elected members, would it help reach the objective of Bill C-43, which is to promote transparency? I wonder if the hon. member could elaborate.