House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2021, with 43% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2019
Mr. Chair, the various institutions in question here operate independently of the Department of Justice. The RCMP, in its investigative role, and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, under the direction of the director of public prosecutions, have performed their functions independently of us, and I am satisfied that the justice system in Canada functioned well to get to an appropriate result.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2019
Mr. Chair, as I have said a number of times in this House, the RCMP did its job in gathering evidence and initially laying charges. The prosecution service took on the carriage of the case and eventually decided to stay the charges. I am confident that our justice system, our investigative system and our prosecution system have functioned well.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2019
Mr. Chair, once again, I was not privy to the conversations in question, so I have no real way to evaluate other than to say that there are a number of competing narratives that are compatible with everyone having told the truth.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2019
Mr. Chair, once again, there are perfectly compatible competing interpretations of events in which everyone is telling the truth.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2019
Mr. Chair, again, I cannot comment, because I was not party to those conversations.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2019
Mr. Chair, that was certainly her statement. As I said, there are competing accounts. I was not privy to any of those discussions or conversations, and I do note that there were competing narratives.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2019
Mr. Chair, as I have said on a number of occasions publicly, I have felt no pressure from anyone in cabinet or in the Prime Minister's Office to exercise my powers of directing a DPA in this particular case. If such pressure were to happen, I would immediately react.
I cannot speak for what my predecessor felt. I know that there are competing narratives out there.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2019
Mr. Chair, as I have repeated a number of times, Canadians obviously deserve the truth. My predecessor has stated in her testimony before the justice committee that she did not feel that anyone broke the law. The director of public prosecutions has said that she felt no political interference.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2019
Mr. Chair, as I have pointed out, a public inquiry is being undertaken by the Ethics Commissioner.
Business of Supply May 14th, 2019
Mr. Chair, all members on all sides of the House want Canadians to have the truth, and all members on all sides of the House are endeavouring to ensure Canadians have the truth. The Ethics Commissioner will play a role in this matter. The justice committee has played a role in this matter, and other participants have made statements in this matter.