Harper and the ethics commissioner

Last night, my colleague Robert Fife reported that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is looking to replace Bernard Shapiro, Parliament's Ethics Commissioner. Today Fife asked Harper about that issue. Here's the exchange that took place in the foyer of the House of Commons this afternoon:

Fife: Prime Minister, the Ethics Commissioner announced that he’s going to be investigating you and Mr. Emerson because he switched parties. I’d like to know what your view is, (what) your assessment of that investigation is and whether you’re going to cooperate with him and what do you think of Mr. Shapiro?
Harper: Well, it’s difficult for me to make an assessment because there’s aspects I’m not clear on. But let me just say this. The power to make cabinet appointments is a power that resides in the office of the prime minister as the highest elected, democratically-elected official in the country. And this prime minister has no intention of ceding that jurisdiction in any way, shape or form to any government official. And I’ve conveyed that view to the Ethics Commissioner.
Fife: May I ask you another question, sir? Mr. Broadbent says there had been discussions with him about possibly replacing Mr. Shapiro. He can’t do it because his wife is sick. Is it fair to assume that if you have your way Mr. Shapiro will not be working as Ethics Commissioner for much longer?
Harper: Well, I think as you know there have been some concerns some time around that post and I don’t want to get into that today. I will simply tell you, Bob, that I’ve had only one conversation on this subject and that was with Mr. Broadbent. I haven’t had any other conversations, you know, and obviously I that’s I think a question for another day.

Other members of the gallery were interested in this issue as well. In the next exchange, Sean Gordon of The Toronto Star follows up on the issue of Shapiro's status:

Gordon: Mr. Harper, … your office said on Friday that you were loathe to cooperate with a partisan process launched by — and those are their words — by Mr. Shapiro. Now you’re saying that you have had conversations with him or that you’ve at least transmitted your point of view. I’m wondering what has changed?
Harper: Nothing’s changed. We’ve conveyed — we’ve conveyed our response to Mr. Shapiro’s letter. As I say, there’s some doubt in my mind what exactly he is pursuing but we certainly conveyed to him the view and there should be no mistake about the view, the power to name cabinet ministers is in the hands of the prime minister. It’s not in the hands of a government official.
Gordon: But Mr. Shapiro is an officer of parliament and by not cooperating I mean how is that not sort of flouting the wishes of Parliament by refusing to meet with him?
Harper; Well, we’ve conveyed our views. We’re operating within the ethics code and we expect everybody, including the ethics commissioner, to operate within the code.