Mr. Chair, perhaps I could just finish.
Just for the record, I want to say that I have great difficulty spending that much money on hearings when we do have technology available that could significantly reduce the cost to taxpayers. I know that face-to-face meetings are the ideal; however, given the fact that our government is running on a platform of accountability, of fiscal prudence, I think before we agree to a budget like this, we need to explore all possibilities to reduce the burden on our taxpayers. Clearly teleconferencing is one of those options, and I'm a little disappointed that we hadn't explored that prior to this matter coming before us today.