Mr. Speaker, the member rightly points out that there are other provisions with respect to conflict of interest and certainly we are dealing with a very case specific amendment to the code with respect to someone being sued and his or her participation being cut off by his actions. He also rightly refers to an action that took place outside the House for which there were remedies, et cetera.
What was different in Mr. Ouellet's case was that there was no issue of his abilities as a member being cut off. In the case of where a justice of the Federal Court, Justice Joyal, criticized this Parliament, we as a Parliament considered bringing that judge in for contempt.
There are checks and balances with respect to contempt by the judiciary toward parliamentarians and vice versa. The example mentioned by the member has nothing to do with an MP's ability to speak.
As the member for Scarborough—Rouge River said, what happens outside regulates itself. The member for West Nova will go through a lawsuit. It is the Conservatives who have imbued the actions outside with terms like “legitimate lawsuit” and “potential conflict of interest” to make it sound as if they are the judges of what is meritorious and what is not. However, it is very clear: private interest, conflict of interest, recusal.
With respect to Mary Dawson, I do not think she got it right in that case. She inserted the words “contingent liability”. The matter needs to be reviewed for the protection of all members. The member for Dufferin—Caledon is sometimes quite outspoken and maybe he will join the “I've been sued” club some day. I hope not. The member for Winnipeg Centre suggested that I might be, but I hope for his sake he is never a member of that club.