I am absolutely appalled by this government's refusal to even uphold the principles of good governance. Some fundamental issues are involved here. However, the government would have us believe that we can address important issues related to the independence of the Bank of Canada and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in two and a half meetings. We will be hearing from witnesses who will provide us with interesting and relevant information. However, they will ultimately be talking about two separate parts and about a dozen divisions of part 3. All we want is to hear from a few witnesses.
If we had an opportunity to hold four, five or six committee meetings, we could have perhaps invited representatives from the Investment Board or the Bank of Canada who could have told us about this issue. We have two and a half meetings to discuss a bill that will amend some 20 pieces of legislation. The fact that the government is beginning to doubt the underlying principles or the philosophy behind the NDPs motions is absolutely astonishing to me. We are not doing this for us, you or the committee. We are doing this for the sake of those two organizations' principles of independence, which are fundamentally important for Canada's financial and monetary systems.
Some of our economist colleagues should recognize that. Yet all they want to do is eliminate any discussion as quickly as possible. That is why the time limit was imposed on us in committee. We are hearing testimony and we already know the outcome because the Standing Committee on Finance has not adopted any amendments on a budget bill.
As a government, are you really serious about wanting to adopt and uphold the principles of good governance? Or are you simply trying to push an ideological agenda without taking anything else into account and without taking the time to truly consider the consequences of your actions as a government?