Mr. Speaker, Canadians deserve better. The Prime Minister has made efforts to explain his and his government's ethical standards but Canadians think poorly of him, his actions on ethics, his cabinet and his standards of behaviour.
This is entirely understandable. We have already seen one disgraced minister moved overseas to a cushy job. Another minister in trouble was fired but then rehired in his old job. We have seen polling today that suggests Canadians do not buy any of this as a solution. Perhaps it is because of the way the government approaches its apologies. There are none.
Government members do admit their actions may have offended some people but they do not admit any wrongdoing. They blame the bureaucrats for doing it. They blame the opposition for raising it, the media for reporting it, the pollsters for asking about it and Canadians for believing it.
It is time the government looked in the mirror.