John Baird

[Ethics, May 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said repeatedly in this House, the Prime Minister was unaware of this payment. When he learned about the payment, he obviously accepted the resignation of Mr. Wright.

[Ethics, May 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, earlier today at a press conference, the Prime Minister took questions on this issue. It was very clear that he was not consulted about this payment. He did not know about this payment in advance. In fact, he only learned about the payment afterwards.

He obviously has spoken substantially earlier today about this issue. I think those comments speak for themselves.

[Ethics, May 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this matter has been referred to the ethics officer, Mary Dawson, for review, as it properly should be. It is currently before her. She will obviously take the necessary time to review this matter and report back to the House.

Obviously, we take strong issue with this. We disagree with the nature of this payment and we look forward to hearing back from her in short order. She is an independent officer of Parliament, and we look forward to hearing her views.

[Ethics, May 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I answered questions very clear yesterday to say the Prime Minister first learned about this payment, the nature of this payment, after it was reported publicly in the media. At a press conference just a few moments ago, responding to questions from the media, the Prime Minister indicated that he was not consulted, nor was he asked to sign off on it, nor would he have signed off on it.

Obviously we take great issue with these actions and we believe that Mr. Wright did the appropriate thing. He submitted his resignation, and it was immediately accepted.

[Ethics, May 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is parliamentarians should be here to serve the public interest. It is a tremendous responsibility. It is a tremendous honour to serve Canadians. People should be working to advance the public interest and not to advance their own interests. That is what this government got elected for, that is what this government has been working hard to do, and that is why we have taken the action that we have taken.

[Ethics, May 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, it is very clear from the committee's report that these expenses should not have been expensed. No one in the government is disputing that fact.

As I understand it, the report did, in the end, reflect the fact that a repayment had been made.

[Ethics, May 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I answered very precisely just a few short minutes ago. No one in the government is aware of any agreement or any legal document with respect to this payment. I cannot be any clearer.

[Ethics, May 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this House, this Parliament, passed legislation to strengthen the role of an independent ethics watchdog for members of Parliament and for the cabinet. This individual, I think, has served with great distinction in that capacity. This matter has been referred to her, and the government is prepared to fully co-operate as she looks into this issue.

Yesterday and last week, the opposition member said there was a legal agreement. In fact, no one in the government knows about any legal agreement with respect to this payment.

[Ethics, May 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, again, what I said was that there was no legal document which had been referred to in this House by members of the opposition on a number of occasions. I said that our understanding was that there was no such legal document. No one in the government is aware of such a legal document.

[Ethics, May 22nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, these two referrals will be looked at independently. There will be members of the opposition, of political parties, on that committee. We will have the opportunity to participate in the process. On the other side in the House, with respect to the House of Commons ethics officer, she is looking into the matter. Let them report back to this Parliament.