Mr. Speaker, this is the first time these issues have been discussed before House committees through the participation of the ethics counsellor.
In the past, no such questions could be posed in these areas, because there was no one to analyze them and we were obliged to hold strictly to the statement by the individual in the House of Commons.
Now, there is an independent official, who has the job and the power to study and answer questions before the committee, when he appears, according to the rules of this House.