Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for your question. The problem you described is unacceptable. The Canadian government agrees that fraud and the illegal use of that money are unacceptable in our society. I’m sure everyone here and across Canada agrees as well.

I don’t have the information you want about the number of cases and criminal gangs. I’ll look into it and get back to you shortly.

Senator Gold: I trust the police and governmental authorities to conduct their own investigation. The Government of Canada is always willing to work in good faith with our provincial, territorial and municipal partners to better protect us from fraud.

[English]

Senator Boisvenu: The government’s feelings about this are neither here nor there. It should have had a fraud prevention strategy.

Yesterday, three Conservative MPs, Mr. Paul-Hus, Ms. Dancho and Mrs. Kusie, asked Public Safety Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada to launch an investigation into this matter, specifically with respect to the Montreal region.

Since you don’t know how many criminal gangs fraudulently used taxpayers’ money, I’m sure you won’t oppose this type of public investigation to shed light on the situation. Right?