Mr. Speaker, I listened very attentively to the hon. member, the justice critic for the Liberal Party, and I was waiting with great anticipation for the point in his presentation when he used actual words that could be attributed to me, and I invite the Speaker, as I know he will, to review Hansard, that would in any way fit the description, which he and others in this place have attributed to comments made by myself or the Prime Minister, that would be categorized as an unprecedented attack, impugning character, imparting motives. That is simply not true. His characterization, similarly, is untrue and unsupported by words that could be attributed to me or found anywhere in Hansard.
On the subject matter, it was not the government that raised this issue in question period. We were responding to questions and, in fact, I would describe them as allegations thrown at myself, the Prime Minister and the government. With respect to not re-arguing or reopening the case, the Leader of the Opposition in particular, in his ever haughty and helpful way, went on to lecture that somehow I and others should have known that the Supreme Court case itself was, to use his language and the language of others, a matter that was unquestionable, that was clear, that was, as some said, well known in legal circles, that an appointment of a Federal Court judge from Quebec was prohibited since the 1870s.
Someone should inform two former Supreme Court justices, Judges Binnie and Charron, a current Supreme Court judge, Mr. Moldaver, who dissented, a current Supreme Court judge, Mr. Rothstein, who came via the Federal Court and, in fact, recused himself, other judges who have come that route through the Federal Court, all current and past sitting Federal Court judges from the province of Quebec, who would have had the audacity to put their names forward for consideration. Perhaps most notably, those who should have known that this decision and this case was well decided and known in legal circles would be members of the parliamentary committee, including the hon. member who just spoke, the justice critic for the NDP party, who, it is now well known, would have seen the list and recommended the list that went forward that contained names of Federal Court judges from Quebec who wished to be considered for a Supreme Court appointment.
This is now, obviously, I would suggest for some, the inside of the inside of a making of a baseball for most Canadians, but the reality is that the government, the Prime Minister and myself sought legal advice, received said advice, and acted appropriately. I also note for the record that this entire subject began when a Supreme Court spokesperson released a statement to the press, to which we felt it was incumbent to respond and clarify.
