Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Senator Gold, earlier this month, the Minister of Diversity and Inclusion, Ahmed Hussen, told Parliament that he had been alerted to the anti-Semitic tweets of Laith Marouf, a consultant hired by your government, a month before he even acknowledged the situation publicly. MP Hussen characterized the delay as a matter of procedure, saying it took time to consult with the legal department to cut off funding for Mr. Marouf.

Leader, even if that were the case and the minister had to wait for legal approval to cancel the funding, this still does not justify the timeline of your government’s silence on this issue. Surely your government doesn’t need weeks to put together a statement.

Leader, I would like an honest answer here, please. Why did your government wait an entire month until mounting media reports and public pressure forced you to finally say something?