Well, that's not much of an answer, Mr. Minister. I say that with respect.
In your remarks, you said that the estimates would actually involve an increase of $146.8 million in operating expenditures, yet the Parliamentary Budget Officer, in a report issued November 19, says that what we had in the Department of National Defence was the single largest change, by value, between last year and this year, on $900 million. In fact, it is the lowest expenditure since 2009.
We have significant decreases in operating budget expenditures within your department. The Parliamentary Budget Officer has been trying to get you and your department to identify where they are. Can you commit to giving the Parliamentary Budget Officer these answers so that he can do his job under the act and so we can help this committee and other parliamentarians do their jobs of holding the government to account?