Briefly, I want to also add my concerns to the changes in this bill that would eliminate the Auditor General's oversight to about a dozen agencies.
The Auditor General is, and has been, enormously respected and trusted by the people of Canada. That oversight is an important check and balance for government institutions and agencies that we rely on. The Auditor General is a source not only of fiscal accountability but of good common sense oversight to the way government operates.
I want to contrast the supposedly cost-effectiveness of removing the government's oversight with the Auditor General to the decision last fall by the government to spend $90,000 per day to hire outside private consultants to advise the government on how to make these cuts. They were planning to spend, at that point, almost $20 million to get advice on how to cut programs, services, and operating expenses in the federal government when we already have tools within the government to help the government do that.
I just have to say it's not a bad gig to get $20 million to advise the government to lop off environmental agencies, privatize oversight, and privatize government operations. The question is whether Canadians are better served with this approach. I would argue that they are not.
This is, of course, something one would have to argue should not be in this omnibus budget bill, but in fact I know it's justified because, ultimately, any time you chop government services or programs, it affects the budget. However, this more properly should be discussed in terms of what are the appropriate oversight measures and checks and balances in the government, and have a broader discussion on that measure alone.
To see this solely within the context of balancing the books I think can be short-sighted, because if you remove checks and balances that were put in place to prevent problems, to prevent waste, to determine where there are inefficiencies, to determine where government could spend its money better, you could be penny-wise and pound foolish, as my dear departed granny used to say.
I don't think this is appropriate in this bill. I don't think it is an appropriate measure for proper oversight and accountability for Canadians, and for this reason we're opposing it.