Mr. Speaker, you have ruled that we would debate the matter of this leaflet, which summarizes what we can call the sponsorship scandal. It lays out known facts. As for the members that raised a question of privilege about this, the leaflet only states that they appeared before the Gomery commission. Those are facts. If the member for Bourassa interprets it otherwise, that is his problem.
Furthermore, he must not blame the members of the Bloc Québécois for wishing to inform the voters about parliamentary issues; it is part of their job as parliamentarians and it is specifically authorized in the Member's Manual of Allowances and Services of the House. If we look at the major findings of Justice Gomery, in the summary of his report, we read:
It is those facts that allow me to draw the following conclusions:
The Commission of Inquiry found:
-- clear evidence of political involvement in the administration of the Sponsorship Program;
-- a complex web of financial transactions among Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), Crown Corporations and communication agencies, involving kickbacks and illegal contributions to a political party—
A message was delivered by the Usher of the Black Rod as follows:
Mr. Speaker, Her Excellency the Governor General desires the immediate attendance of this honourable House in the chamber of the honourable the Senate.
Accordingly, the Speaker with the House went up to the Senate chamber.
And being returned: