Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage has done it again. Last year he attended a select $2,000 a plate fundraising dinner in his honour to help pay off 1993 campaign debts.
The dinner was held at the Montreal home of Richard Gervais, a Liberal bagman who has received at least $110,000 in contracts from the minister's office since the gathering. It was attended by individuals who have direct business dealings or regulatory dealings with the heritage department. It is not the dinner that concerns us but the conflict of interest which it represents.
My question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Does he recognize that by putting himself in such a conflict of interest situation he undermines the integrity of his department and the government?