Mr. Speaker, let me set the record straight. For months now, the House has been paralyzed by Conservative politicians who are putting partisan politics ahead of delivering real results for Canadians. Instead of focusing on delivering for constituents, which is what we were all elected to do, the Conservatives have chosen to filibuster their own motion in the House, to avoid sending it to the procedure and House affairs committee, which is exactly what was recommended by the Speaker.
The member opposite is voicing serious accusations, and I want to be clear: ensuring public funds are disbursed ethically and transparently is of utmost importance to this government. That is why, when allegations of financial mismanagement at SDTC first came to light, our government acted swiftly and decisively, and commissioned a range of independent audits and studies to get to the bottom of the troubling allegations.
There is absolutely nothing to hide. The evidence is there for all to see. This government took immediate action to undertake the proper due diligence to understand the facts, which is what we do when there are allegations of mismanagement in an arm's-length foundation the federal government set up over 20 years ago. We have submitted thousands upon thousands of pages to the House, and are willing to further study this issue at the procedure and House affairs committee, if the Conservatives ever allow the House to proceed in its normal functioning.
What we are not willing to do, however, is compromise the independence of the RCMP investigation. The RCMP commissioner has said very clearly that he does not need or want the information that the Conservatives are asking the Auditor General to provide, that they already have an investigation under way, that they have all of the documentation they need, and that providing the information in the way the Conservatives have proposed would actually compromise their independent investigation. This would compromise one of the pillars of our democracy, which is judicial and police independence.
Conservatives have this reputation. When they do not get their own way, they want to undermine the independence of our institutions. They want to run rampant right over top of them because they want to get their way. They want to paint this with the brushstroke of their partisan politics for political gain. That is just wrong. We have also heard from former House law clerks and from the Auditor General herself, who have warned us that this partisan overreach is a dangerous precedent to set in the House. We know weaknesses were identified in the SDTC governance model, and that is exactly why we have taken definitive action. We have followed up on all of the recommendations that were made by the Auditor General.
In addition to having done a number of third party reviews, we have moved forward on improving the governance model at SDTC. The board's chair and CEO resigned. The board was dissolved and let go. There is a new board that is transitioning under the National Research Council. That is intentional to ensure the minister and our department have better and clear oversight for this organization. Previously it was independent, it was at arm's-length, and that is one of the reasons we felt the monitoring and supervision was not as tight as it needs to be in the future. We take these matters seriously. We have gotten to the bottom of this. This is the accountability all of us should expect.