Thank you, Madam Chair.
I don't think anybody at this committee has a problem with advancing scrutiny on the appropriations process. I think that's fair ball. If we need to do that by calling various witnesses to try to find a way to improve the system, then I see a great opportunity in bringing in the new ombudsman officer. I think that's great. That's under the purview of this committee. Let's go ahead and do it.
To look at this issue right now, in the midst of a court proceeding, would be to deal with an absolute specific rather than a general sense of where we need to go. Once again, the timing is wrong. It would make us look like absolute fools before the Auditor General. I'm not prepared to denigrate the intelligence, capacity, and capability of this committee in deference to this general principle of perception.
We have Mr. Holland, Mr. Angus, Mr. Moore, and we're all amenable to seeing if there is a better way to do this. Should there be scrutiny at some point for the overall process? Yes, but this motion is wrong right now.