Debate Continues Over Further Usefulness of Public Hearings

Lee Mark Chang

Senate President Chang also told reporters today that he shares the opinion of Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber and Chairman Aldo Salazar that the Committee’s public aspect is starting to become wearing.  But Committee member Mark Lizarraga disagrees, stating that it is absolutely important to get to the bottom of what happened at the Immigration Department.

Lee Mark Chang, President of the Senate

“It has been a very long process and a lot of it has been repetitive and stuff like that. I have not attended and so I am not privy to any information that the Senate Select Committee does or who they call. I stay away from that and that’s how I’m going to leave it.”

Mark Lizarraga

Mark Lizarraga, Senator, Business Community

“Personally, I believe that there are a lot more things that we need to unearth. And even if in some cases it appears to be repetitive or more of the same, the Auditor General invested a lot of time and our resources and our money in investigating countless pages of instances of illegalities and irregularities, and I believe that it is our job, it is our responsibility in the Senate to try and expose as much of the irregularities or illegalities that took place. I believe that that is our job and if we try to rush, then we would be abdicating the responsibility given to us. So I certainly believe that we should continue to try and unearth as much of the breakdowns in procedure, as much of the irregularities that took place.”