Paul Calandra

[Ethics, December 5th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the Senate heard from the three auditors in question. Those three auditors confirmed the integrity of the audit that was completed on behalf of the Senate. That was the basis on which the Senate fought to ensure that those three senators were removed from the Senate without pay.

[Ethics, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the RCMP did identify, on page 21 of the report, the fact that the Prime Minister actually ordered his office to assist in every way possible.

Hundreds of emails—thousands, in fact—were turned over. Of course, the Privy Council Office, in a letter released to the RCMP, outlined the reasons these emails were not found initially and did take full responsibility.

I will use the words of the member for Wascana himself, who said that beyond apologies to the PMO and the RCMP, the Privy Council Office owes its biggest apology to all Canadians.

I will accept what the member for Wascana said on that.

[Ethics, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, again, the three auditors were brought before a Senate committee to confirm that the audit had been done with the utmost confidentiality and that the senators could have confidence in the report that was issued by Deloitte.

It was the basis of that report that led us and the senators to the conclusion that these three senators needed to be suspended without pay from the Senate. We know that the Liberals fought against that. They of course defended these three senators as victims and were defending the status quo. That is unfortunate. We stood up for Canadian taxpayers, as we always do.

[Ethics, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said on a number of occasions, the three auditors from Deloitte appeared before a Senate committee.

They confirmed that the audit was done with the utmost confidentiality, and that the Senate could have confidence in the report that they had put forward. In fact, in the very same documents that the member refers to, the RCMP outlined the fact that it is Senator Duffy and Nigel Wright who are being investigated.

[Ethics, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as you know, there is currently an audit under way by the Auditor General of Canada into all of the expenses of the Senate. That is something that we on this side of the House have been encouraging for some time.

We have made it very clear, of course, that the status quo in the Senate is not something that we would support. That is why we fought so hard to have these three senators suspended without pay from the Senate and that is why the minister of democratic reform has brought forward a number of proposals that are being considered at the Supreme Court.

[Ethics, December 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, of course, the Attorney General does not direct our law enforcement officers to do anything. The Attorney General does not direct anybody to do investigations, but more importantly, these documents have also stated that it is Senator Duffy and Nigel Wright who are the subjects of the current investigation.

Again, as I have said already twice, the three auditors were brought before the Senate committee, and they confirmed that the work they did was kept in the strictest confidentiality and that the senators could have confidence in the report that they tabled.

[Ethics, December 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, again, as the RCMP documents clearly state, the subjects of the investigation are Nigel Wright and Senator Duffy. At the same time, with respect to the audit, as I just said to the previous question, the three auditors were before the Senate committee. They confirmed that the audit was done properly and maintained confidentiality at all times and that the Senate could have confidence in the work that they did.

[Ethics, December 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, of course, the three Deloitte auditors who were in charge of this audit did appear before a Senate committee recently. They confirmed that the report they provided maintained utmost confidentiality at all times and that the Senate could have confidence in the report that was tabled. They made the decision at that point that no further action was needed.

[Access to Information, December 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, this party has led the way with respect to transparency and accountability. One of the first acts our government brought forward in 2006 was the accountability act. At the same time, when it comes to presenting to Canadians the expenses that members of Parliament have, it is this party that has led the way with proactive disclosure.

I note that the NDP members are refusing to put their expenses online. I hope they will join with the Conservative Party in making their expenses available online to all Canadians.

[Ethics, December 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, again, all Treasury Board guidelines with respect to this are being followed. As the member knows, all expenditures of the Government of Canada are, of course, tabled in the House of Commons. Those expenditures are approved by all members of Parliament.