Madam Speaker, first of all, in terms of individuals, and the member mentioned specifically Mr. Gagliano, they were in positions representing important organizations, and in Mr. Gagliano's case, representing the country in the international fora. It is not appropriate, was not appropriate, to have somebody with that level of reputational issues, due to the allegations at that time, representing the country.
It is up to the government, and more specifically the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to make decisions as to who can best represent the country, in this case, in Denmark. Ultimately, I do not know why the hon. member would be critical of a decision that his party and other opposition parties in fact urged and called for at that time.
Further, the special counsel to recover funds, that was successful in recently launching a $41 million action against 19 firms and agencies, was always a parallel process that was announced at the time of the establishment of the Gomery commission. It was an action taken by the Prime Minister to gather evidence and to build cases against these individuals.
While we have cases, we do not have verdicts. It is important that we cannot act based on these cases in terms of the party until there is actually some verdict in hand that can make it possible to move forward on firmer ground.
The party has been clear. If the party received inappropriate funding, it will reimburse the taxpayers.