Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech by my colleague from Barrie—Innisfil, who blames the government for not being transparent or open.
I would like to remind my colleague of Quebec's motto, “je me souviens”, or “I remember”. I would also like to remind my colleague of the following facts. In 2010, during the G8 summit, former Conservative minister Tony Clement diverted $50 million to pay for infrastructure projects in his riding.
The 2011 report by the Office of the Auditor General reads, “the government did not clearly or transparently identify the nature of the request for funding”. A public servant with the Office of the Auditor General, John Wiersema, wrote, “I personally in my career in auditing have not encountered a situation like that where there is absolutely no paper trail behind this.”
My question for my colleague is quite simple. How can a party like the Conservative Party, which aspires to form the next government, ensure that Quebeckers and Canadians can fully trust it given its lacklustre record when it comes to transparency and the management of public funds?