Ethics  Mr. Speaker, once again, I have been very clear that Mr. Wright informed me of this on May 15. We have been very clear on that. As soon as we knew that information, we made it public. If we had known earlier, we would have made it public earlier, unlike the leader of the NDP who

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, the former chief of staff did not inform me of the payment he made until May 15. I have been very clear about this matter. The facts are clear. Why did the leader of the NDP withhold information about the activities of the former mayor of Laval for 17 years?

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, once again, those are the facts. I do not like them, but they are clear. We have been very clear about what the facts are in the situation. When I became aware of such information, I immediately revealed that information to the public. On the other hand

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, of course I have answered that question on many occasions. It was always conveyed to me that it was Mr. Duffy who was going to pay Mr. Duffy's expenses, not the Conservative Party, not Nigel Wright, not anybody else. We have been crystal clear on that. The Leader

Ethics  Once again, Mr. Speaker, I think the RCMP itself has been extremely clear on this matter. All and any information that has been requested from our office has been given to the RCMP, and the RCMP has praised that, and that is what we will continue to do. What is unacceptable

Ethics  . The RCMP has made very clear there are two individuals under investigation. They are Mr. Duffy and Mr. Wright. These are the individuals against whom we have taken appropriate sanction, and we will continue to co-operate with the RCMP.

Rail Transportation  Mr. Speaker, there is an ongoing inquiry into this incident. It is clear that rules were not abided by. Of course our hearts go out to those affected by the death of these 44 people. That is why I visited the community that weekend. I also went there more recently to work

Ethics  . 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

Ethics  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  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

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, once again the member cites the RCMP. The RCMP is clear that there are two individuals who are under investigation, Mr. Duffy and Mr. Wright. The issue at hand here is the fact Mr. Duffy made claims to repay inappropriate expenses when he had not done so. Mr

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, it is clear that two individuals are under investigation in relation to the fact that Mr. Duffy claimed that he repaid expenses, but did not. On the contrary, Mr. Wright did. Mr. Wright did not provide this information. He was not authorized to do it and he did

Ethics  . The RCMP said clearly that the Prime Minister had no knowledge of any such payment to Mr. Duffy. They are absolutely clear. If the leader of the NDP had any honesty, he would accept that judgment.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, this is addressed in the very document that the member cites, and I would refer him to that document. Mr. Wright was very clear that Mr. Duffy was going to repay his own expenses. He never suggested at any time that he was going to pay those expenses, quite

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, once again, my view on this has been very clear. We have rules in both chambers of this House that cover legitimate expenses that members of Parliament and senators have when they travel, when they move around and when they do government business. I do not believe