Mr. Speaker, I have been sitting listening to the debate today and have been hearing members on the other side trying to defend against this. They have been saying that they are following all the steps of the law.
I would like to quote from the Prime Minister's letter to the ministers. It states:
To be worthy of Canadians’ trust, we must always act with integrity. This is not merely a matter of adopting the right rules, or of ensuring technical compliance with those rules. As Ministers, you and your staff must uphold the highest standards of honesty and impartiality, and both the performance of your official duties and the arrangement of your private affairs should bear the closest public scrutiny.
This is the part that really matters, “This is an obligation that is not fully discharged by simply acting within the law”.
Further on in that “Open and Accountable Government” document, another statement states, “Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries must avoid conflict of interest, the appearance of conflict of interest and situations that have the potential to involve conflicts of interest.”
How can these pay-for-play events not be perceived as potential conflicts of interest?