Mr. Speaker, as much as the Liberals want it to, the sponsorship scandal just will not go away. As the Auditor General has stated, just about every rule in the book was broken.
Today let us focus on the environment minister. He secured $50,000 for his riding. The minister merely advised his office of a secret slush fund. If funds were requested, they would be provided. No application was required and none was asked for. Ministers of the crown used this sponsorship program as their own personal pork barrel.
With ministers of the crown and Liberal MPs using this fund routinely, how could the Prime Minister not know?
Most Canadians do not believe the Prime Minister. They know that he knew what was going on. It is time that he came clean.