Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect governments and ministers to act at the highest ethical standards. That is exactly what every minister of this government has done. Within hours of the Prime Minister asking me to assume these responsibilities, I proactively reached out to the Ethics Commissioner. I asked for her advice as to what measures could be put in place to ensure that there was no conflict of interest. Nor would there be an appearance of a conflict of interest. I will be following her advice at every moment, as I always have.
In the House of Commons on June 7th, 2016. See this statement in context.