Est-ce que le premier ministre peut nous dire pourquoi il n'est même pas capable de respecter les règles qu'il a lui-même fixées?
Hon. Jody Wilson-Raybould (Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, fundraising is an activity that every member of this House engages in. Thankfully, on a federal level, there are strict rules in place that determine how fundraising activities occur. We do not take donations from corporations. We do not take donations from unions.
In advance, I proactively sought the opinion of the Ethics Commissioner, to which there was no conflict.
Mr. Peter Julian (New Westminster—Burnaby, NDP): With that answer, it seems that sunny ways is clouding over more and more, Mr. Speaker.
It seems like only yesterday, the government released ethical guidelines to state:
There should be no preferential access to government accorded to individuals or organizations because they have made financial contributions to politicians and political parties.
Even Conservative Bev Oda, in an ethically challenged government, was caught in the same type of scandal and gave back the contribution.
Why will the Minister of Justice not do the same thing?
Hon. Dominic LeBlanc (Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, my friend opposite is obviously struggling with a very basic concept. The Liberal Party raises money in accordance with all the rules under the Canada Elections Act.
In this case my colleague, Minister of Justice, proactively reached out to the Ethics and Conflict of Interest Commissioner to discuss this particular event, and she indicated that it was appropriate.
That is the ethical standards that this government has raised from the previous government that was before us.