Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his contributions today and at the justice committee. Some statements have been made, in the context of this afternoon's debate about the justice committee and the work it is doing, that have, in fact, questioned the character of th

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, taking the unprecedented step of waiving solicitor-client privilege was important and it demonstrates respect for transparency and openness in this matter, which has been rightfully raised by many parties in the House in terms of what exactly transpired. The discus

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I have a tremendous amount of respect for the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands. I have no knowledge of that individual. That name has not surfaced thus far in any of the proceedings that I have been following. What I can say is that the issue of corporate governanc

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for her contributions today and her contributions in this chamber generally. In terms of what she has raised about SNC-Lavalin and good governance issues, it is important that the record reflect that concerns about

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, the answer to that, and it is an erudite-type question, is no. It is not possible, pursuant to the law. The only one who has the power to enter into a litigation decision is the Attorney General of Canada at the time. They can either take control of a particular pi

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Victoria for his contributions today and his work over many years on the justice committee. The Ethics Commissioner's investigation has significant powers to summon witnesses and require them to give evidence orally, in writing and under oat

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, as I was indicating and as members well know, the Canadian governmental system is based on a cabinet system. Cabinet consists of ministers acting in the name of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and establishes the federal government's policies and priorities fo

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I would like to wish all members a happy International Day of La Francophonie. I am pleased to have the opportunity to discuss the principles of cabinet confidence and solicitor-client privilege in a governmental context. I would like to begin with a few words abo

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Lethbridge for her contributions today. I will just point out a couple of clarifications before my question. The first is that as an exception, for only the fourth time in history since 1987, cabinet confidence was waived and the absolutely

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Carleton for starting off this debate, as it is an important one. However, I want to clarify a couple of things. In the four hours of testimony that was given by the former attorney general before the justice committee, she stated that the P

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I have three quick clarifications and then a question. The sub judice rule applies to two ongoing matters in respect to SNC-Lavalin: the judicial review that the member opposite just mentioned and the basic prosecution. Second, the member asked about the rule of la

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, in response to both the member for St. Albert—Edmonton and the member for Timmins—James Bay, the important point that needs to be clear on the record for Canadians is that it was stated that the Prime Minister refused to accept the position of the former attorney g

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I will confess that I do find it a bit concerning that we are doing this on a day when we have the Minister of Indigenous Services in the House and are meant to be addressing Bill C-92, regarding something that the member for Timmins—James Bay always advocates in t

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I am not going to speculate about discussions that I am not party to with respect to the government House leader and the negotiations that take place. I will confess that after three and a half years, I still find it confusing as to what happens on any given day.

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I thank the member for St. Albert—Edmonton for his contributions today and all days on the justice committee. We do not often see eye to eye on matters of policy, but I appreciate his robust contributions at the committee and in this chamber. In terms of the natio