Madam Speaker, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice cited part of the applicable section of the Criminal Code, but he neglected to mention the key one, which is under subsection 715.32(3). It states:
if the organization is alleged to have committed an offence under...the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act, the prosecutor must not consider the national economic interest....
That is the applicable section, which is precisely what the Prime Minister sought to do and is why the OECD has sounded the alarm of concern.
With respect to the factors that the hon. parliamentary secretary cited, those are factors that were pursuant to the legislation within the purview of the director of public prosecutions. The director of public prosecutions had looked at the facts, applied the law and made a decision not to intervene, and the Prime Minister refused to accept it. He tried to do an end run to alter the course of justice, to obstruct justice.
The parliamentary secretary stated that the former attorney general has come to committee. Yes, that is true, but as the former attorney general has stated, the order in council “falls short of what is required”.
Why will the government simply not allow her to speak to all of the matters? Why will the government not let her speak?