Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Sherbrooke, a man I respect very much. We share a birthday, but we were not born in the same year.
I take this all very seriously because it is critical. It is why the minister consulted the Ethics Commissioner when he took office. It is also why the Ethics Commissioner has never said that the Minister of Finance was in violation of the law. On the contrary, he consulted the commissioner, followed her recommendations, and they agreed on what he needed to do in order to be able to continue his work.
I take this matter very seriously and the Minister of Finance has shown that he took it very seriously as well. As I said at the beginning of my speech, in the wake of the outcry no one can say that the minister did not follow the recommendations of the Ethics Commissioner. He even decided to go above and beyond what she expected of him. This shows that he is a man of integrity and a credit to all hon. members.