First, I would like to say that I agree with my predecessor's statement. I remember having said at this committee that I remember fondly the committees—and this goes back 10 or 15 years—that used to go over the main estimates perhaps for two months. Each of the responsible committees did an in-depth review of the estimates.
I have no recommendations to make. As I said, I agree with Mr. Page. Some people talk about reform, others talk about different approaches. The Standing Committee on Government Operations wrote a report that was full of recommendations. It is really a committee of the kind that must make recommendations along those lines. The committee recommended, for example, using an idea from Robert Marleau, a former clerk of the House of Commons, that the old system be a model that would give committees more time than one month to review the main estimates.
Mr. Marleau went further. when he appeared before that committee, he recommended that the three principal committees, the Standing Committee on Finance, the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts should have not only a kind of parliamentary budget officer, but also highly specialized research officers to help them in their work.
With that, I will let you take a look at the deliberations of that committee.