Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Questions on Mulroney/Schreiber Investigation and the Parliament of Canada Act

Hon. Judy Sgro (York West, Lib.):

Mr. Speaker, section 41 of the Parliament of Canada Act states:

No member of the House of Commons shall receive or agree to receive any compensation, directly or indirectly, for services... to be rendered to any person... for the purpose of... attempting to influence any member of either House.

What steps is the government taking to determine whether Brian Mulroney should be prosecuted for the $100,000 cash he received while still a member of Parliament in 1993?

Hon. Rob Nicholson (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, CPC):

Mr. Speaker, I can tell the hon. member that we have appointed an individual in the person of Dr. Johnston to investigate all issues with respect to this issue. We look forward to his report.

Hon. Judy Sgro (York West, Lib.):

Mr. Speaker, I would expect that the minister would be well aware of what the rules are anyway.

Yesterday, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs said:

There is nothing preventing members of Parliament, backbench MPs, as he would have been classified at the time, or even today, from engaging in activities outside of their parliamentary responsibilities.

Will the justice minister remind that member and all other government members who do not seem to be clear on what the law is, that it is illegal for MPs to accept money to make interventions on a government file? Even a 10-year-old knows that.

Hon. Rob Nicholson (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, CPC):

Mr. Speaker, I am well aware of the responsibility in all matters.

With respect to the allegations that the hon. member is making, again if she has any allegations, she should bring them forward in the appropriate manner. We are addressing this issue with the appointment of Dr. Johnston, and we should let Dr. Johnston do his work.