Madam Speaker, the Conservative Party is asking the Minister of Finance to produce documents and do things that no other member of the House is requested to do.
If members listen to what is being said, they will find that I am arguing that every time the Conservatives get an opportunity to attack the Minister of Finance, they do so. These are the examples I am providing. These members might not like to be reminded of their attitude and voting records on something that is really important to all Canadians, but it is worth noting that, much like the motion we are debating today, the Conservatives continue to want to attack the Minister of Finance.
I then contrasted and put the question to viewers or anyone who might be listening, in particular, my Conservative colleagues across the way, that the Conservatives are not the body, thank goodness, that determines what is ethical or not. We have an independent officer of Parliament to determine that. In this case, it is the Ethics Commissioner, and the Ethics Commissioner is someone we continue to work with.
However, it is interesting how the Conservatives try to give the impression that the Ethics Commissioner is super busy. I would argue that the Ethics Commissioner has always been busy. When I was in opposition, there was no shortage of issues that we encouraged the Ethics Commissioner to look at. I believe members will find that the Ethics Commissioner looks at not just one side of the House but all sides of the House.
We have a Conservative opposition that wants to try to give the impression that the Minister of Finance is in fact breaking a law or doing something that is against our code of ethics. In fact, the Conservatives have not tabled or brought forward anything that gives any clear indication that this is in fact the case. Therefore, I ask: Why would we listen to the Conservative rhetoric on the issue when we have an Ethics Commissioner who is charged with that responsibility?
I believe Canadians will look to the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, because it is independent. I do not have to expand on why that office is independent, but it is much like the independent Commissioner of Elections Canada. We also have an independent auditor general. We have these independent officers of Parliament. This is their job.
Not one Conservative can stand and point to a recommendation from the Ethics Commissioner that the Minister of Finance, or any other member, whether Conservative or NDP, is in violation of the Conflict of Interest Act and conflict of interest code, or is not following the advice or recommendation of the Ethics Commissioner. Instead, they are just denigrating, as they have consistently done in response to a number of points I have raised this afternoon, the Minister of Finance and the fine work he has been doing on behalf of the Government of Canada.
When we look at the results, they are very clear. I will use the simple example of jobs, because jobs matter. There were 400,000-plus jobs created in less than two years.