Jean Chrétien

[Ethics, October 31st, 1994]

Of course, Mr. Speaker. It is in the newspapers and in Hansard .

[Ethics, October 31st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it is a public document. The hon. member should just go to the CRTC and look at the file. It is public. We do not need an investigation.

It looks like the research group of the Reform Party is not very good.

[Ethics, October 31st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, he certainly went to visit the minister. Perhaps they discussed the weather. Perhaps they discussed the application, and the minister wrote a letter asking for information on this file.

I was not there. I was not privy to the conversation. However I know the minister was visited by his constituent and that lead to the letter that is the object of this discussion.

[Ethics, October 31st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the ethics counsellor always tells the Prime Minister that the latter must take his responsibilities, which he did.

[Ethics, October 31st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I have said several times that the counsellor's opinion was transmitted to me and that nothing forced me to change my mind.

In any case, whatever opinion he could have given me, the ultimate responsibility lies with the Prime Minister. I took my responsibilities because the minister had acted as quickly as possible in a situation which, in my opinion, was not fatal, because he had not made any recommendation.

[Ethics, October 31st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the ethics counsellor will make a report to the House of Commons once a year but there is a reality. The only person responsible to the nation for the ministers cannot be anybody but the Prime Minister of Canada.

I want to tell the hon. member that I will never run away from my responsibilities. I am responsible for the integrity of the cabinet and I will take all the steps necessary to make sure that there is integrity.

All of us have a problem. We have to make sure that ministers can at the same time respect the commitment they have made at the time of their election to represent their constituents well while they are ministers. This is the problem we are debating at this time.

I want to have the views of members of Parliament on this issue. We cannot deny the people living in the riding of a minister adequate representation here in Ottawa as these ministers promised when they sought their support at the time of the election.

[Ethics, October 31st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we are not taping conversations. There is no tape of any conversation.

I said last week that the commissioner had been consulted. He has been consulted. That is all and I made the decision. That is what I told you last week. It is what I am telling you today and it is what I will say next week if you ask me a question.

[Ethics, October 31st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I just said that nothing he told me would lead me to change my mind. The responsibility belongs to the Prime Minister in any case, and no matter what advice is given to the Prime Minister, he is the one who decides and in this case he did take his responsibilities.

[Ethics, October 31st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, those are communications between the ethics counsellor and myself. I said in this House that he told me nothing that could influence me to change the decision I had taken previously.

[Crtc, October 31st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am have been saying for five days that the buck is stopping here. Right here. That is all.