Mr. Speaker, I have listened attentively to the remarks being made by the opposition parties to Bill C-22, and in particular the amendments that have been put forward, especially by the Bloc member.
Let me begin by saying I am privileged to be the chairman of the transport committee of the House. I congratulate members of the Reform and in particular the Bloc, especially the member for Beauport-Montmorency-Orléans, who worked very hard and diligently in ensuring that the public interest was always held high and that work was being accomplished at committee with the valid, helpful suggestions being put forward by the Bloc member in requesting particular witnesses to appear before the committee.
I will address the last question put to government by the Reform first. The hon. member referred to extending transparency, saying that he simply wants the government to determine that if any claims are made by third party interveners that a government committee examine the payments.
We argued this in committee. It was made pretty clear by government members on the transport committee to the hon. member of the Reform Party, the Reform Party that by the way is against duplication of process, a Reform Party I believe that is against a waste of government members' time or the cost of doing government and the expense involved in having committee meetings. He wants to have the committee examine all these third party expenses being allocated by the government to the third parties.
There is a process available now that will ensure that these payments are above board and that will be done by the Auditor General of this country. Why are we duplicating a process by a Reform request to take what are literally these mounds of third party receipts and requests for payments? Somebody laid down some gravel at the site or somebody made a contract for the outhouses to be placed on site. We have to consider all these things. They are legitimate third party payouts. That process is going on right now.
Why do we want to take all that and look at it all over again when there will be an opportunity for the Auditor General to complete that work? Let us save the taxpayers of Canada some money, I say to the Reform. Let us save ourselves some time I say to the Reform.