Mr. Speaker, I would go even beyond that. Not only do we have to have the best possible public servants in the PCO, but we also have to have public servants who are free from political hectoring that puts them in a position of being asked to do things that are at the very least unethical. That is what happened in public works. That is one of the concerns the public service itself has. Individuals are put in positions where they are asked to do political work for the government at the risk of putting themselves in a completely untenable position.
In the House of Commons on June 6th, 2002. See this statement in context.