Justice  Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times, my office had no say in the decision to stay the charges. This decision was made by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. I did not give any instructions or directives, and neither I nor my office had any contact whatsoever with anyone regarding the decision to pursue or stay the charges.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, the prosecution in question was handled by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which operates independently from the Department of Justice and independently from my office. My office had no role whatsoever in the decision to seek a stay of proceedings. The decision belongs to the director of public prosecutions alone.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, as I have stated a number of times in the House, the government has met all of its obligations with respect to third party records applications during the course of the trial. All documents and priority individuals identified by the defence in February had already been provided to the court.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, as I already told the House, the government followed all the rules in this case. The prosecution was handled by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. The PPSC is the one that decided to launch this investigation and to prosecute, and it was the PPSC's decision to stay the proceedings.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, the prosecution in question is being handled by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which operates independently from the Department of Justice and independently from my office. Counsel to the Attorney General of Canada has been fulfilling all of its obligations before the court with respect to third party records applications.

Public Services and Procurement  Mr. Speaker, the prosecution in question is being handled by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which operates independently of the Department of Justice and my office. Counsel to the Attorney General of Canada has been fulfilling all of its obligations before the court with respect to third party records applications.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada has itself said, “The PPSC has not sought or received instructions in respect of the prosecution of Mr. Norman from the Privy Council Office or any other government department or body.” The Public Prosecution Service of Canada is independent of the ministry and the Attorney General.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, my answer has not changed. After taking office, we implemented a transparent, merit-based judicial appointment process. We have since appointed over 300 judges of the very highest calibre, half of whom are women. As a group, they represent this country's diversity. We are very proud of our record on this.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, all Canadians, including lawyers, have the right to make donations under the Canadian system. Once again, the system is transparent. What is more, they have to fulfill their obligations to the system. It is a transparent process that all Canadians have the right to participate in.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, as I have stated, we have put together a transparent, merit-based process that is highly rigorous. These appointments, which were made by both my predecessor and me, have resulted in over 300 appointments of the very highest calibre. Of those appointments, 55% are women.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, as I said many times, the prosecution in question is being handled by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which operates independently from my department and our government. Counsel for the Attorney General of Canada is fulfilling all of its obligations to the court with respect to third party records applications.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, the government is fulfilling its obligations to the court and to the trial by providing the required documents during the process. All our obligations have been fulfilled.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, once again, I can assure this House that all rules are being followed in this case. All demands for legal assistance are being undertaken according to the rules. All requests for documents under third party records applications are being met by my department. This prosecution is being handled by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, once again, quite simply, the government is meeting all of its obligations with respect to third party obligations. The government is following all rules with respect to applications for the support of counsel.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, we have set up a process for the appointment of judges which is transparent, merit-based and rigorous, beginning from the applications being treated by judicial committees across Canada all the way through the rest of the process. Canadians have a right to donate to political parties.