Mr. Speaker, there was not a word, not an answer at all, about Mr. Cooling. I am just trying to get at what happened in Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe. I do not want the whole sorry story of Conservative litigation.
The parliamentary secretary says this is a “dispute”. It is a lawsuit and it involves the Federal Court of Canada and the names Neil Drabkin, Andrew House and Aaron Hynes. The lawyer's letter says these people did not get any reward. It states that “it is defamatory to suggest...that the positions that these individuals have or have had on Ministers' staffs are 'rewards' for having engaged in illegal conduct”.
However, this letter from the lawyer for these individuals does not mention Mr. Cooling. By inference, does that mean that Mr. Cooling did receive a reward because he is not mentioned in the correspondence from the hon. member's party in this little dispute?
Dispute? It is taking taxpayers' money to defend against Elections Canada for a dispute. If it is not all that big a deal, I suggest to my hon. friend that he and his party drop the lawsuit. It cannot be that bad a thing if there is nothing to it. Let them drop the lawsuit and let the people of Canada decide who--