Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to join the adjournment proceedings this evening to speak about an issue that we see reported in the papers today. That is the question of lobbying during this time when we have so much money flowing out from the federal government.
Of course, helping Canadians is paramount during these unprecedented times. We need to make sure that we are getting funding to support individuals, families, seniors and people who are living in at-risk situations and are marginalized. We need to make sure we are supporting small and medium-sized businesses, and that the provinces have the funding they need to fulfill their health care obligations.
When the federal government spends money there are questions to ask. Who is keeping an eye on the cash that is leaving the register? Who is making sure that it is being done in a fair and transparent manner? Of course we have independent officers of Parliament who are given the responsibility to make sure that things are done in an ethical manner. We have our Ethics Commissioner. We have our Lobbying Commissioner as well. When requests or interventions are made, where people are looking to do business with the government or do business with Canadians on behalf of the government, there are rules that need to be followed.
We are going to see the WE scandal back in the news in the coming days as we have more witnesses testifying at the ethics committee. Of course, this is an issue born out of a situation where Canada's Prime Minister and Canada's now former finance minister failed to recuse themselves from awarding a contract worth half a billion dollars to an organization that employed the immediate family members of the then finance minister and that had paid members of the Prime Minister's family half a million dollars.
If that is not enough to raise flags that perhaps there is a conflict of interest, or a need to recuse, or an obligation to consult the Lobbying Commissioner or the Ethics Commissioner, I am not sure what would. However, while originally we were told that nobody in the Prime Minister's family was paid by the WE organization and the two could not be farther apart, we later learned that, of course, that was not true. Half a million dollars was paid to members of the Prime Minister's family. During its heavy lobbying of the government, the WE organization even included pictures of the Prime Minister's family working for them in its brief to the federal cabinet, just to make sure it sealed the deal and that everyone at the table knew who was who in the zoo.
Even today, we read in Blacklock's Reporter that a lobbyist with a group here in Ottawa had emailed the procurement minister's office last March, seeking a contract for their son. The response from the minister's chief of staff was that she had vouched for the individual and forwarded the email for preferential treatment. Was that contact reported to the Lobbying Commissioner? I think colleagues know the answer to that.
We have seen this pattern with the government. What we are looking for is transparency. We are looking to hear from the government if it will finally co-operate with the independent officers of Parliament, give them the unfettered access they need and waive cabinet confidences. That is what we are looking for.