House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 43% of the vote.
Ethics December 6th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, it was the assistant secretary to the cabinet who informed the Prime Minister's Office that they had actually preserved those emails. They had been preserved in another file for different litigation that was ongoing. At the same time, the assistant clerk of the Privy Council did apologize to the Prime Minister's Office and informed the RCMP that these emails would be made available.
Ethics December 6th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, the member asked about what the Prime Minister knew. As the Prime Minister has said, as soon as he found out on May 15, he made this public.
However, he went even further. As is stated on page 20 of the RCMP documents, it is quite clear:
Rob Staley, legal representative for the PMO, advised my office [the RCMP] that he had clear orders from the Prime Minister to provide complete cooperation with the investigation, and to provide any assistance or documentation that the RCMP requested.
That is the real type of leadership that this Prime Minister shows day in and day out. Full co-operation and full assistance are what Canadians expect, and that is what this Prime Minister delivered.
Ethics December 6th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, as we have said, the party does assist members of caucus with their legal fees. That is not something that is abnormal. That is something that the NDP does. Of course, we understand that the Leader of the Opposition himself took thousands of dollars from his own political party to cover his legal fees. In fact, once the Leader of the Opposition was found guilty, in order to pay thousands of dollars he actually asked his party to pay for that as well.
Ethics December 6th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, Senator Patterson is a great advocate for the region of the country that he represents. He has done some tremendous work in the Senate, and of course I am very proud to serve with the senator.
With respect to the Senate, the Minister of State for Democratic Reform has brought in a number of reforms that are being discussed at the Supreme Court right now. I note that the New Democrats have no opinion on those discussions in front of the Supreme Court. They are always full of a lot of hot air, but when it comes to action, they never act.
Ethics December 6th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, no one.
Ethics December 5th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, it is quite clear that the auditors came before the Senate and they confirmed the fact that this audit was done with the utmost confidentiality. At the same time, the RCMP has indicated in the documents to which the member refers that it is the actions of Nigel Wright and Senator Duffy that are under investigation. At the same time, the audit he referenced was, of course, the basis that the Senate used to remove these three senators from the Senate without pay.
We know that the Liberals were fighting really hard for the status quo in the Senate. We, of course, fought for taxpayers and that was the end result when these three senators were removed.
Ethics December 5th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, we know the Liberal Party itself seemed to have trouble finding emails with respect to the Senate.
However, having said that, on page 21 of the exact same report it says:
Rob Staley, legal representative for the PMO, advised my office that he had clear orders from the Prime Minister to provide complete cooperation with the investigation, and to provide any assistance or documentation the RCMP requested. The PMO employees (current and former) whose e-mails I deemed relevant, have all provided privacy waivers though their legal counsel, relating to the content of their e-mails. The PMO has also waived solicitor-client privilege for those e-mails.
Ethics December 5th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, in a letter the Privy Council has identified the fact that it was a mistake, inadvertently, not to have provided these emails and has said, to actively inform the RCMP and the PMO about the availability of Mr. Perrin's emails: “We apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused”. That was from the Privy Council Office.
Of course, the member for Wascana said the following on Sunday night: “Beyond apologies to the PMO+RCMP, the Privy Council owes its biggest apology to all Canadians”.
I think the Privy Council itself, in its letter, identified the mistake that it made. It has taken responsibility for that and made sure that these emails are available to the RCMP.
Ethics December 5th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, as I just said, the three auditors appeared before a Senate committee, and they were very clear in the fact that this audit had been done with complete confidentiality and that the Senate could have confidence in the report that it used as the basis to remove these three senators from the Senate without pay.
The RCMP report that he references quite clearly identifies that the Prime Minister also advised his office to work with the RCMP to provide as much information as the RCMP required. The report does go on further to say that the Prime Minister had no knowledge that this was being undertaken. As the Prime Minister has said, had he known, of course he would have put a stop to it right away.
Ethics December 5th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, as the documents quite clearly outline, the RCMP is looking into the actions of Senator Duffy and the actions of Nigel Wright.