Mr. Speaker, I said before that it seems this minister runs his department by reading the newspapers.
The Treasury Board has been paying these bills for years. This tribunal reports to his department. He knows this and should be aware of what is going on.
He is now sending a clear signal to people who violate the ethics of their office, who have abused the principles of expenditures of their office, that it is perfectly okay to sit where they are. He has not even suspended him without pay until this investigation is complete. This type of ethics from this government we have heard time and time again.
Can the minister explain this double standard of keeping this guy on the payroll when if it were in the private sector he would be before the courts today?