Mr. Speaker, I am rising on the same matter raised by my colleague, to speak to the importance of this emergency debate because of the unprecedented testimony we heard yesterday about a sustained and coordinated campaign to interfere with an independent prosecution. It puts in question the entire credibility of Canada's justice system and the role of the attorney general.
This warrants that Parliament be seized of this matter immediately. What is really concerning is the testimony that the former justice minister gave. She said she had copious notes, and she was very believable, but what she laid out were allegations that are very serious. They include the Clerk of the Privy Council, whose role it is to be the non-partisan voice for the civil service. For him to have sent clear threats to the Attorney General to stop a prosecution raises the whole question of the independence of the Privy Council, so Mr. Wernick is certainly questionable.
Ms. Telford said she was not interested in legalities, but she has an obligation to uphold the law if she is in the Prime Minister's Office. Mr. Butts, according to her testimony, said that he did not like the law, and that it was Harper's law. The former attorney general, to her credit, said it was the law of Canada. The government does not get to pick which laws it likes and which ones it does not like. Then Mr. Butts said there was no way this was going to get done without interference.
That is a clear statement of the attempt to undermine for partisan purposes, and the partisan purposes go right to the Prime Minister himself. He said he was worried as the MP for Papineau and that this was not going to happen on his watch. He was not speaking in the interests of all Canadians or in the interests of all the workers, who are very seized of this matter. He was looking at it from the point of view of his own particular re-election. That is not acceptable.
We do not get the opportunity to get to the bottom of this at the justice committee, because the Liberals have not allowed the former justice minister to speak about what happened in the period between January 14 and her resignation. She has made it clear that something happened in that period, and she quit cabinet. We will not be allowed to hear that.
The Prime Minister has refused the independent inquiry we have requested to take this out of Parliament and put it in the hands of a retired justice or a justice official, who could look at this and return. It therefore falls upon Parliament to address this, to look at this and to be seized of this matter, particularly since we will be going back to our constituencies for two weeks. We have to reassure constituents that the rule of law in Canada will not be monkeywrenched for partisan purposes. This is why this emergency debate is needed now.
