Thank you again.
We have expressed our concerns. Beyond the point of accountability, it's the case for transparency that was made in 2006. You have to consider what happened with the G-8 slush fund to be very concerned.
We had very serious concerns when the government announced its intentions to cut the auditing powers of the Auditor General. We had additional concerns when the Conservatives refused to allow the Auditor General to testify before a parliamentary committee. It's one thing to receive letters, but it's quite a different thing for a person to give face-to-face testimony. We questioned at the time why they wanted to silence a person responsible for ensuring that taxpayers' money is spent properly. Again, this is an affront to the very things they have purported to stand for.
One wonders why the government seems so intent on taking away the Auditor General's powers. This is the single largest move to restrict accountability in Bill C-38. It is a broad reduction of the oversight powers of the Auditor General.
Let's think about the significance of removing the mandatory oversight of financial reporting by 12 agencies. I'll name them: the Northern Pipeline Agency; the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and people will give testimony about their fears of what impact that could mean; the Canada Revenue Agency; the Canadian Transport Accident Investigation and Safety Board; the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety; the Exchange Fund Account, which is under the Currency Act; the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; the Canadian Polar Commission; and the Yukon Surface Rights Board. The member for Yukon is sitting beside me and will comment shortly.