Madam Speaker, I have a great deal of respect for my colleague, who worked with me on the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the last Parliament. We saw many cases where departments or the government used loopholes to avoid their obligations to Canadians.
In this situation, it is obvious that the Prime Minister found a loophole that enabled him to avoid his obligation and receive an illegal gift. It is possible that lobbyists have influenced the government's decisions. That is unacceptable. It is critical that Parliament eliminate loopholes because, under the Liberals, lobbyists clearly have free rein in Parliament. We need only think of the member for Newfoundland and Labrador, the member for Brampton, or the Prime Minister.
The government has set the bar very low when it comes to its obligation to follow the code of ethics and to limit the influence of lobbyists, and that is dangerous. Therefore, Parliament must ask the government to work with the other parties and eliminate these loopholes.