Mr. Speaker, it would be so handy if the Canadian public and this parliament knew exactly what the ethical code and guidelines are. Nobody seems to know what they are. The ethics counsellor simply has coffee with and reports to the Prime Minister but not to parliament. He is accountable to parliament. Could the Prime Minister stand in his place and make this determination: I am committed, as I said in the red book, to have an independent ethics counsellor who will report to parliament and not simply to the Prime Minister?
In the House of Commons on February 1st, 1999. See this statement in context.