Mr. Speaker, it is indeed a pleasure to rise today to take part as we debate the motion for concurrence in the 25th report of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
In that regard, of course, it has been said many times today that we are very pleased Dr. Shapiro has been appointed as the ethics commissioner. He is a man of great standing. Within the House it certainly appears that there is every confidence he will perform well in his office. We certainly wish him the very best of good fortune in that regard.
As we look back on the history of getting to this point, clearly we see that it has been a very lengthy struggle. Many members today have commented on the fact that it has taken a long time for us to deal with the issues that reflect on our ability to represent the public in an open and transparent way, where in fact the public will have the good faith and the trust that we are operating not in our self-interest but rather in the public interest.
I think that one of the problems we face today, and I know the member for Peterborough has been very active in this regard, is in working to encourage more individuals to participate in the voting process in the election of members of the House and in other elections within our various legislatures. Clearly public cynicism is rampant on many of these issues of the day concerning our ability to act freely and without conflict of interest.
So when we come today to deal with concurrence in this report, clearly it is of great concern to all of us that we make certain we are dealing with this in an appropriate manner and that we are going to increase the transparency and the trust in the public interest.
When one deals with the concept of trust and public confidence, I think the public perception created through the various media outlets is extremely important. We must be very responsible in trying to make certain that when we represent the facts brought before this place, we do our best to make sure that the members of the media and also the members of our constituencies do hear, clearly defined, what steps are being taken to protect their interest.
I believe that in the process of disclosure it is very important that we have guidelines. Although in the past there may not have been problems of any significance with respect to MPs generally, clearly it is important that disclosure be made. I will take a moment to reflect on a passing thought as we look at the disclosure requirements. Some of the requirements tend to suggest at the moment--and I will accept clarification on this--within the report that a member who has a private corporation and is unable to or chooses not to dispose of that interest in the private corporation would in fact have to place that corporation in a trust in order to be able to sit in the House and deal with the affairs of government.
My concern in that regard relates to whether something of this nature might tend to deter someone who has assets of that nature from coming forward into the House and participating in the legislative process. I know that if members participate as parliamentary secretaries or as ministers and fall into that category, they have an opportunity to be compensated for the cost of maintaining a trust of that nature.
I do not believe that any similar provision is available to any other member of the House. I am not aware of any at this moment. Although it may not fit appropriately in a code per se, I would think steps need to be taken which would appropriately place all members of the House on an equal footing in terms of costs required in order to be in this place.
The possible alternative to that, of course, if there were no compensation for those who would have to place their assets in trust, could be that one might be able to look at it as another cost of doing business. Therefore, through amendments to the Income Tax Act, one might be able to appropriately dispose of such a concern.
We in this House do not wish to discourage those who would come forward and who do have significant assets. I know that we do see within the House a great deal of concern about one's property and other assets, and sometimes it is used to take political advantage by certain inferences that are made within the House. I think it is quite inappropriate to make adverse inferences if in fact people are fully open and clear as to what assets they possess. Therefore, I think that in this code of conduct we will be able to deal with this issue in a manner that I think is acceptable. I think there will be full and complete disclosure, which should, I believe, relieve members of the concern that they would be unduly attacked for having assets in their name.
I believe that a code is just that: a code. Each of us must respect the code. It is like the hon. member for Elk Island said: stopping at the crossing when the light shows that he should not cross. I think each and every one of us has a responsibility not just to respect and reflect the actual words within the code but to actually think about and reflect the intent of the code as we go about our work here.
In the past, clearly, for the most part there have been no such violations. Obviously, as has been pointed out, more of those violations that have a higher profile have come from a cabinet or ministerial level.
At this juncture I believe we are much more aware and respectful of those who deal in these issues, but clearly the public is demanding for their trust and confidence that we take every available step to meet the needs as seen. The standards we have here must always be maintained at the highest level and we must always put the public interest ahead of our private interest.
As we look at the history of getting the code to this point, it is quite incredible. I think it has been more than three decades now that the House has struggled with this issue of how to deal with a code of conduct. On and off over that time, we have seen that both Liberal and Conservative governments have dealt with and considered this concept.
In 1997, as has been previously mentioned, there was the Milliken-Oliver committee, a special joint committee that recommended the independent ethics commissioner and a code for members of this House and the Senate. That was an extremely interesting committee, because it did ultimately provide us with a report that drew on the experiences of others, both in other provinces and in other countries of the world. It was a rather comprehensive report. Since 1997, obviously we have spent a lot of time thinking about and trying to develop a code, but it has always seemed to bog down in the process of debate.
Clearly today we are at a crossroads. We have come to the point where there is general consensus that this is the appropriate way to go and that the code does reflect the best we have been able to gather from other jurisdictions. Simply put, I am very supportive of the principle and I know that members of my constituency are supportive of anything that will advance the public trust.
I believe the presentation of the motion for concurrence is one that deserves the support of the House and one that we should be able to support.
As we look at the office of the ethics commissioner, I believe the ethics commissioner will be given the opportunity to do what I think all of us would hope an ethics commissioner ought to do, and that is to independently deal with the concerns of the House, member to member or side to side, as we may find ourselves from time to time; that the ethics commissioner will be able to make an appropriate assessment; and that when the ethics commissioner assesses a complaint or a concern that it will be given the good judgment of the ethics commissioner as an independent person to determine whether a complaint is frivolous or done for some type of partisan politics that does not actually go to the foundation of the code, and that is to have the public interest served above private interests.
I believe that provision will take away some of the concerns that some members had that complaints might just simply pile up and that the process of actually getting to the bottom of a legitimate claim would not be well-served.
In this case, with the provisions that are in this report, I believe the ethics commissioner can very easily deal with those issues that he believes are simply not well-founded and grounded in legitimacy and have them disposed of, without causing any member within the House undue concern.
Today I am very pleased to present my views and thoughts on this matter. I am pleased that within the House we seem to have come to a consensus on going forward with this code. I am pleased to support this code of conduct and the concurrence in this motion as it goes forward today.