Information & Ethics committee  She indicated that she was the one who raised the question, but I—

Information & Ethics committee  As I indicated, Chair, I have not seen anything that would indicate that if the program had proceeded and were in operation today the WE organization would not be able to deliver it. When you examine the contribution agreement, including the nature of having to report against obj

Information & Ethics committee  I certainly would not. We are governed by the Conflict of Interest Act. I very deliberately am not going to pass judgment on questions that are before the Ethics Commissioner. That is his responsibility. But I would indicate that the Conflict of Interest Act is followed every day

Information & Ethics committee  The act, as every other mechanism of accountability, is the result of successive encounters with problems over decades of governments. In that sense, it is kind of a living document.

Information & Ethics committee  It's ultimately for parliamentarians to say whether it is adequate to the challenges we face.

Information & Ethics committee  I'm not sure it was public at that point. It may have been. Having said that, I imagine his mother's involvement with WE Charity was in the public domain.

Information & Ethics committee  I was talking about the involvement, the Prime Minister's own past relationship with the organization. The family aspect wasn't necessarily raised.

Information & Ethics committee  No, I cannot say it is common, but I can say that the procedures followed with the organization in order to ensure a solid contribution agreement are common. In fact, they're standard.

Information & Ethics committee  I will say again, Chair, that the development of this program took place over a period of time. When WE submitted their ideas—and they submitted more than one idea—one proposal they made was not accepted by the government. The government said, “No, not that program. We're not int

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. I think I indicated to the finance committee my identification of a problem. I do not have a final answer, but I did indicate that one of the main vehicles—it's clearly in the Conflict of Interest Act—for dealing with conflict of interest is disclosure of the conflict so tha

Information & Ethics committee  I offer that as at least some insight into why I, for my part, did not identify any looming conflict of interest here. The Prime Minister's past involvement with the charity was well known. I would say that what the Prime Minister himself said about recusal.... That is the seco

Information & Ethics committee  I'll just say very briefly, if I could, Chair, that I take no offence from the earlier proceeding and I'm keenly aware that sometimes public servants come and go, as well. The first 10 years of my career—I should say, of my misspent youth—were on Parliament Hill, so I wasn't actu

Information & Ethics committee  If I remember correctly, I wasn't at that meeting, but all the programs for students were discussed. That included the items announced by the Prime Minister, but not the program that received the most attention. At that point, guidelines were established but not determined. There

Information & Ethics committee  I'd say it was a combination of things as to the will. In terms of personal goals—

Information & Ethics committee  I understand your question. However, when staff in the ministers' offices and the public servants spoke, they found a problem. There's been an explosion of ideas about what's possible. There has been a kind of back and forth that is typical of program development in any field. A