Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise this evening to come back to a situation that concerns many Canadians, namely the whole saga of the resignation of the Governor General, Julie Payette.
On January 27, I had the opportunity to ask the Prime Minister some questions about his decision to appoint Julie Payette to the position of Governor General without using the process introduced by the previous government for viceregal appointments like that of Governor General.
At the time, the Prime Minister chose to go it alone and likely did not take the time to do all the necessary vetting, and proceeded to appoint a star that fit the glamorous image he likes to convey.
It was in order to avoid the type of fiasco that we recently saw with Ms. Payette's resignation and everything that goes with it, including some allegations, that the previous government brought in the advisory committee on viceregal appointments.
The Prime Minister chose instead to indulge in theatrics and to put on a show. By acting unilaterally on this appointment, he managed to end up with a governor general who resigned, as well as all sorts of allegations about a toxic work environment, no background checks and an inadequate effort to find the right person for this very important position for Canada.
We subsequently learned that despite resigning, the former governor general would be able to collect significant sums, including expense reimbursements and a $150,000 annual pension for life, even though she held the position for less than three years, which is a very short time.
As a result, hundreds of thousands of dollars will go from Canadians' pockets to the pockets of the former governor general, all because the Prime Minister made the mistake of not using the committee that, I will repeat, was established by the former government to make important appointments, such as that of the governor general.
On January 27, the Prime Minister said that he would look at the existing processes, which he had already announced he would do. Will the Prime Minister commit right now to do the right thing and strip the former governor general, who resigned from her position, of her pension for life? Will the Prime Minister acknowledge that it was a mistake to proceed unilaterally, without consultation or vetting, and fix this mistake—