Mr. Speaker, I would like to rise today in regard to the investigation of the Prime Minister's recent trip to the Aga Khan's private island by the Ethics Commissioner. As you may know, it was my letter to Mary Dawson that started the inquiry into his actions.
In June 2015, a new section was added to the Conflict of Interest Code that requires MPs who launch an investigation to await confirmation that the MP under investigation has been informed of the complaint before making public comment. When I sent my letter to Ms. Dawson, I copied the Prime Minister at the same time to make sure that he was made aware of my complaint. I also copied his office.
As you can imagine, there was a great deal of media interest in this affair, and I did respond to questions from journalists.
The commissioner has since informed me that I should have waited for her to get back to me before I commented on the matter publicly. I can assure you and the House, Mr. Speaker, that the error was totally inadvertent, because I believed that my actions were in accordance with the law. As a former Speaker of the House, I have the greatest respect for her office, for the rules governing ethics and conflicts of interest, and for the process by which those investigations are conducted.
Therefore, I want to apologize unreservedly to the Ethics Commissioner, to the House, and to yourself, Mr. Speaker.
I thank Ms. Dawson for having clarified the rules relating to this section of the act, for providing us with guidelines on how to proceed in the future, and for the attention she is giving to this matter.