Thank you, Mr. Chair. That's very helpful, because they are related.
First of all, again, I'm happy to cooperate with the finance committee, at their invitation, but without prejudice to subsequent rights of members in my position.
I share all the concerns that you've heard expressed so far. I note earlier comments from my friends on the government benches that this government has respect for taxpayers' dollars—except for the $3.1 billion that can't be located right now by the Auditor General in relation to security spending.
The crown corporations and the extension of crown corporations, the interference in collective bargaining by representation of the Privy Council, is a step too far in terms of changing the arm's-length relationship between these crown corporations. The fiscal control over crown corporations comes in the fact that their budgets are approved. That controls any sense of illegitimate spending.
My first amendment is to the generic question of crown corporations and the interference in collective bargaining.
I particularly was impressed by the testimony of George Smith from Queen's University, who said this was in fact the “antithesis” of legislative reform in public sector collective bargaining, and that it contradicts the “spirit and intent” of the Canadian labour code.
That goes to my amendment 10, which is to specific crown corporations and to exclude them.
My amendment 11 is very much related to CBC and the independence of public broadcasting.
I draw to the attention of committee members the letter to the Prime Minister of Canada from some of the luminaries of Canadian broadcasting, including Joe Schlesinger, Hugh Winsor, Don Newman, and a constituent of my own from Pender Island, Patrick Brown, who used to be a CBC foreign correspondent. They point out that collective bargaining terms include such things as “Journalists cannot be pulled off assignments without good reason”, and “Journalists do not have to fear retribution....” These are collective bargaining terms that go directly to journalistic independence.