Mr. Speaker, I would like clarification on a couple of points.
With all due respect to the member opposite's financial acumen and judgment, the government's activities on the international scene on financial management have been ranked number one in the world by no less respected authorities than the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the internationally respected The Economist, and many others. It is quite a stretch to suggest that the government does not have a handle on the economy when everybody else around the world has judged us to be sitting in the number one position.
The member talked about all of these dollars, so much per minute, per hour, per day. He has been around this institution quite a bit longer than I have and he must realize and certainly must admit that the planning and preparation and construction of the infrastructure is a lengthy process. This is not a three day conference. It is a three day formal meeting. The preparation and planning has taken days, weeks, months, and has even stretched into years. There has been an enormous capital investment in manpower, technology, training, security, and organization. It is quite a stretch to suggest that all costs by the hour, by the week, of the actual conference can be directly attributable to that.
A lot of the other countries have not been as transparent as Canada has been when it comes to what has been spent. Some countries just included the overtime costs for the given day, not the regular ongoing operating costs. We have been transparent and open about all of the ongoing daily operating costs, and that is what Canadians want to see.