Mr. Speaker, I am a little disappointed with some of the comments my friend made in his speech about the former minister of public works and government services and insinuating that he was implicated with regard to some activity. The member did not say implicated by whom. The facts are that the former minister has not been implicated by the Auditor General, who has reported on the activity of two bureaucrats, or by any charges or referrals to the RCMP. I think the member may want to clarify what he meant by implicated.
Similarly, in the same breath he made a comment on the former minister of defence. The member knows that this was not a matter of legality or corruption. It was a matter of whether or not under the ethical standards it was appropriate, the optics of it. Certainly there was no illegality. I am sorry that the member had to go there.
Even the example that 69% of Canadians feel that the federal government is corrupt is not a direct quotation of that survey. It was federal members of Parliament. It was all of us. It was not the government. The member is incorrect in his statement. I guess this place is situation normal.
Having said that, the member is quite knowledgeable on this matter. I know of his background and his work here, as well as his work as a provincial member. Some of the questions that he has raised concern me, particularly the concern about not being sufficiently tough on this kind of crime.
We have passed legislation in this place wherein for people who are in breach of trust, such as those who are found guilty of spousal abuse, the Criminal Code now prescribes tougher sentencing for them because of that special relationship that exists. We have shown this pattern.
To the extent that the member has experience in this matter, does he believe that the experience that we have had in the courts so far is reflective of a condition of inadequate resources within the court system to properly enforce the laws of Canada as they relate specifically to this or similar matters? Or is it a matter that the courts choose not to deal with these things in the manner that was intended by the crafters of the legislation?