Mr. Speaker, I thank the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance for staying up so late to debate this issue. He must have drawn the short straw tonight and had to stay for adjournment proceedings.
He mentioned the report from Justice Gomery and I really hope that we do see that report. We must remember that former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien is exercising his legal privilege right now to have Justice Gomery removed from the inquiry.
One thing that we cannot forget is that the evidence before the commission presents a clear picture of corruption. It compels the finding that the Liberal Party at all levels exercised improper political interference and influence over the sponsorship and advertising activities of the federal government.
The parliamentary secretary made mention that the government filed 19 claims worth $40.8 million and that is just the tip of iceberg. We need to find all the money that was laid out in excessive commissions and funnelled back to the political operations of the Liberal Party. We must ensure that taxpayers get all those dollars back. We know that it is well over $100 million, as outlined in the original Auditor General's report. It is suggested to be even higher than that in the report by the auditing firm of Kroll Lindquist Avey.
I would like to take this opportunity to once again address the sponsorship scandal and how it has shaken this nation, shaken the trust that people have in the political system, and hope that we can come to a quick resolution and have an opportunity to let the electorate decide what they believe is right or wrong.