Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Public Safety praised the Prime Minister for changing the direction of the coroner's inquest in Toronto and for giving different instructions to Corrections officials than in fact took place.
I would like to ask the minister very directly, why did he not issue these instructions months, indeed years ago? Why did lawyers for the Government of Canada consistently take the position that the coroner's inquest did not have jurisdiction over critical issues facing Ashley Smith?
Why would the minister have left this up to a statement by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons in response to a question from the opposition?