Mr. Speaker, in the past few days we have heard the word corruption used with impunity in the House. I would like to inform the House of the solid facts concerning corruption.
Transparency International has proven Canada to be one of the least corrupt countries in the world. It is the only non-governmental organization devoted to curbing corruption and its annual Corruption Perceptions Index is cited by the world's media as the leading index in the field.
Transparency International ranked 91 countries in 2001 in terms of the degree of corruption perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. This ranking is a composite index drawn from 14 different polls and surveys carried out among business people and country analysts, including surveys of residents, both local and expatriate. Ninety-one countries, both developed and developing, were analyzed. Canada ranked 7th, indicating very low levels of perceived corruption. It may be of interest to know that Australia was 11th, the United Kingdom 13th and the United States 16th.
It is time for the opposition to look at the facts and stop playing games.