Stephen Harper

[Ethics, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, let me just once again correct the preamble to that question.

The records in question that the leader of the NDP refers to were not held in the Prime Minister's Office. All the information held in our office has been made available to the RCMP for some time. The RCMP itself has made that clear. They are certainly not held by the Conservative Party. They are retained by officials of the bureaucracy. When they were made available by a former employee, as the bureaucracy has said, it misinformed the Prime Minister's Office on those facts. When it discovered that error, it admitted to that error and properly conveyed that information to the RCMP, as we would expect it to do.

[Ethics, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, there are officials in the bureaucracy who are responsible for the retention of these records and, obviously, responsible for communicating this information to the RCMP. The official responsible has fully answered questions before the parliamentary committee and is, obviously, always willing to do so.

[Ethics, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, no. Mr. Perrin left the Prime Minister's Office in March and I learned of this affair in May.

[Ethics, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the official in question did indicate that there were no such records. It was later discovered that such was not the case. The official has been very forthcoming on this and has answered all questions at the parliamentary committee.

[Ethics, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, just to be clear on the previous matter, Mr. Duffy was living at a long-time residence and claiming travel expenses. The two senators in question are long-time residents of the province of New Brunswick.

Of course, it is the bureaucracy that holds the records for departed employees. It had indicated it did not have such records. When officials discovered that was not correct, they immediately acted to make sure that information was made available to the RCMP, and that is the appropriate course of action.

[Ethics, December 4th, 2013]

Once again, Mr. Speaker, the RCMP itself has made very clear who is under investigation, and the Prime Minister's Office and the government continue to fully assist with that investigation. We shall continue to do so.

[Ethics, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, of course the senator denies that. The fact of the matter is the following: Senator Duffy accepted payment from Mr. Wright that was not properly reported and, in fact, was misrepresented widely to myself and to the Canadian public. That is the reason action has been taken in this case against these two individuals and why they are under investigation and, of course, why we continue to assist with that investigation.

[National Defence, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, a number of programs and services are available for our soldiers and veterans. They include the Canadian Armed Forces military assistance program, military family resource centres, the operational stress injury social support program, and the road to mental readiness program.

There are more, but the most important thing is that we understand that what our soldiers go through is not easy. The work they do is very hard, very dangerous and full of very difficult experiences. I think it is important for all of us to encourage soldiers who need help to get that help.

[National Defence, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, those services are available at Service Canada offices across the country. This government has invested far more in services for our veterans.

As I just said, our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends who have been touched by these events. It is the responsibility of all of us to encourage those who need support to get that support. We understand the difficulties that our military personnel have faced, and services are available to them.

[National Defence, December 4th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, once again, let me just say, I think that this applies to all members of the House of Commons, all of our thoughts and prayers are with all of the friends and families of those who have been touched by these recent suicides.

I think it is the responsibility of all of us to encourage those who need support, those who need help, to get that help. We should reach out to them and encourage them to do that. Those supports are available and we will make sure, of course, that they continue to be available to those people.